Yao Ming played for NBA team Houston Rockets in the United States for eight years. When he retired in July 2011, NBA Commissioner David Stern said: “He was a bridge between Chinese and American basketball fans. He had a wonderful mixture of talent, dedication, humanitarian aspirations and a sense of humour.”
In his US career, he reached the NBA Play-offs with the Rockets four times. He was selected to start for the Western Conference in the NBA All-Star Game eight times and the All-NBA Team five times.
He began playing for Shanghai Sharks as a teenager and remained with the team for five years, winning a Chinese Basketball Association championship in the final year. He was selected by the Rockets as the first overall pick in the 2002 Draft, making him the first international player to be selected first overall without having previously played US college basketball. For the impact he made arriving in the NBA, he was presented with the 2003 Laureus World Newcomer of the Year Award.
Yao Ming recovered from surgery to play for the Chinese national team in the Beijing Olympics, one of the highlights of his career. He carried the Olympic flame into Tiananmen Square as part of the Olympic torch relay and then led the Chinese team at the Opening Ceremony. China reached the quarter-finals, with his average of 19 points a game the second-highest in the Olympics.
On July 20, 2011, aged 30, he announced his retirement from basketball.
In 2008, he founded the Yao Foundation in response to the devastating earthquake in Sichuan Province, China. The foundation committed to rebuilding schools in the earthquake region.
For his Foundation work, Yao Ming was presented with the 2015 Laureus Spirit of Sport Award in the Awards Ceremony in Shanghai, where it was also announced that he had been elected a member of the Laureus World Sports Academy.
The Yao Foundation continues to work with young people and is guided by the philosophy of educating through sports and is committed to supporting education and promoting the healthy development of young people.
In his US career, he reached the NBA Play-offs with the Rockets four times. He was selected to start for the Western Conference in the NBA All-Star Game eight times and the All-NBA Team five times.
He began playing for Shanghai Sharks as a teenager and remained with the team for five years, winning a Chinese Basketball Association championship in the final year. He was selected by the Rockets as the first overall pick in the 2002 Draft, making him the first international player to be selected first overall without having previously played US college basketball. For the impact he made arriving in the NBA, he was presented with the 2003 Laureus World Newcomer of the Year Award.
Yao Ming recovered from surgery to play for the Chinese national team in the Beijing Olympics, one of the highlights of his career. He carried the Olympic flame into Tiananmen Square as part of the Olympic torch relay and then led the Chinese team at the Opening Ceremony. China reached the quarter-finals, with his average of 19 points a game the second-highest in the Olympics.
On July 20, 2011, aged 30, he announced his retirement from basketball.
In 2008, he founded the Yao Foundation in response to the devastating earthquake in Sichuan Province, China. The foundation committed to rebuilding schools in the earthquake region.
For his Foundation work, Yao Ming was presented with the 2015 Laureus Spirit of Sport Award in the Awards Ceremony in Shanghai, where it was also announced that he had been elected a member of the Laureus World Sports Academy.
The Yao Foundation continues to work with young people and is guided by the philosophy of educating through sports and is committed to supporting education and promoting the healthy development of young people.
