The All-NBA player was inducted five times into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016 alongside Shaq and Allen Iverson. Yao and the Chinese basketball team lost to Lithuania in the quarter-finals.
Yao carried the Olympic torch as part of the Olympic torch relay for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The star center announced his retirement from the league at a press conference in Shanghai on July 20, 2011. The furthest advance in Houston in the playoffs was the 2009 Western Conference semifinals against the Lakers, in which the Rockets fell to the final champion in seven matches. Yao and the Rockets have fought with the Dallas Mavericks, the New York Knicks and the Los Angeles Lakers, with Shaquille O’Neal dueling throughout his career. Missed the 2009-2010 season due to a foot injury. – 8x NBA All-Star – 2x All-NBA Second Team – 3x All-NBA Third Team – NBA All-Rookie First Team (2003) – Number 11 Retired by Houston Rocketsĭuring his nine-year NBA career, Yao averaged 19 points, 9.2 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.9 blocks. As one of the most popular international prospects ever, Yao immigrated to the United States where he was the first public choice for the Houston Rockets in the 2002 NBA Draft.
Yao averaged 23.2 points and 15.6 rebounds in five years with the team. At 17, Yao started playing professionally with Shanghai Sharks. He started playing basketball at the age of nine and attended a small sports school. Professional basketball players Yao Quan and Fang Fengdi were born on Septemin Shanghai, China.
Yao ming wife movie#
RELATED: The 5 Tallest NBA Players To Become Movie Stars On May 21, 2010, the husband and wife who play basketball welcomed their daughter Yao Kinley (whose English name is Amy).