Yao Ming (Chinese: 姚明; pinyin: Yáo Míng) (born September 12, 1980, in Shanghai, China) is a Chinese professional basketball player who plays for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is currently the tallest player in the NBA, standing at 7 ft 6 in (2.29 m).
He started playing for the Shanghai Sharks while he was still a teenager, and played on their senior team for five years in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA), winning a championship in his final year. He entered the 2002 NBA draft, and after negotiating with the CBA and the Sharks to secure his release, he was selected by Houston as the first overall pick of the draft.
He has been selected to start for the Western Conference in the NBA All-Star Game in all six of his seasons, and has been named to the All-NBA Team team three times. However, the Rockets have not advanced past the first round of the playoffs since he has joined the team, and he has missed significant time due to injury in each of the past three seasons.
Career in China
Early life and pre-CBA career
Yao was the only child of his parents, 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) Yao Zhiyuan and 6 ft 3 in (1.90 m) Fang Fengdi. His father played for the professional basketball team of Shanghai, and his mother was the captain of the women’s national team that won the first Asian Championship in 1976. Yao, who weighed eleven pounds at birth, twice the average size in China, grew to be 5'5 by age ten, and 6 ft 7 in (2 meters) by age thirteen, and doctors predicted that he would grow to the height of 7 ft 3 in.
Yao first started playing basketball at age nine, and he went to a junior sports school at the same age. He made the Sharks junior team when he was thirteen, after practicing for ten hours a day to make the team.
Career with the Sharks
Yao joined the senior team at age seventeen, and averaged 10 points and 8 rebounds a game in his rookie season. However, his next season was cut short when he broke his foot for the second time in his career, which Yao said decreased his jumping ability by four to six inches.
The Sharks made the finals of the CBA in Yao Ming’s third season and again the next year, but lost both times to the Bayi Rockets. When Wang Zhizhi left for the NBA the following year, the Sharks finally won their first championship. During the playoffs in his final year with Shanghai, Yao averaged 38.9 points and 20.2 rebounds a game, while shooting 76.6% from the field, and made all 21 of his shots during one game in the finals.
Entering the NBA Draft
Yao was initially pressured to enter the NBA draft in 1999 by Li Yaomin, the deputy general manager of the Shanghai Sharks. Li also pressured Yao into signing a contract with Evergreen Sports Inc. for them to become his agent. The contract stated that Yao would have to give Evergreen 33% of his earnings, but Yao later terminated the contract after it was determined invalid.
When Yao decided to enter the 2002 NBA draft, a team of advisers was formed that was collectively named “Team Yao”. The team consisted of Yao’s negotiator, Erik Zhang, his NBA agent, Bill Duffy, his Chinese agent, Lu Hao, a professor at the University of Chicago, John Huizinga, and the vice president for marketing at BDA Sports Management, Bill Sanders. Yao was widely predicted to be picked number one overall. However, some teams were concerned about Yao's NBA eligibility due to uncertainty over whether the CBA would let Yao play in the United States.
Shortly after Wang ZhiZhi refused to return to China to play for the national team and was subsequently banned from playing for China, the CBA stipulated that Yao would have to return to play for the national team. They also said they would not let him go to the United States unless the Houston Rockets would take him first overall. After assurances from Team Yao that the Rockets would draft Yao with their number one pick, the CBA gave permission on the morning of the draft for Yao to play in the US. When the Rockets selected Yao with the first pick of the draft, he became the first international player ever to be selected first overall.
NBA career
Initial years (2002-2005)
Yao did not participate in the Rocket's pre-season training camp, instead playing for China in the 2002 FIBA World Championships. He played his first NBA game against the Indiana Pacers, going scoreless with a point and a rebound. His first NBA basket came against the Denver Nuggets. After averaging only 14 minutes and 4 points in his first seven games, Yao scored 20 points on a perfect 9-of-9 from the field and 2-of-2 from the free throw line against the Lakers, who were playing without Shaquille O'Neal. Two games later against the Dallas Mavericks, he scored 30 points and took 16 rebounds, both career highs up to that point.
Before Yao Ming’s first meeting with Shaquille O'Neal on January 17, 2003, O'Neal said, "Tell Yao Ming, ching-chong-yang-wah-ah-soh", prompting accusations of racism from the Asian American community. O'Neal denied that his comments were racist, and said he was only joking. Yao also said he believed O'Neal was joking, but the comments led to increased media coverage in the buildup to the nationally-televised game. In the game, Yao Ming scored six points and blocked O'Neal twice in the opening minutes, as well as having a game-sealing dunk with 10 seconds left in overtime. Yao finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds; O'Neal scored 31 points and 13 rebounds.
Yao finished his rookie season averaging 13.5 points per game and 8.2 rebounds per game, was second in the NBA Rookie of the Year Award voting to Amare Stoudemire, and a unanimous pick for the NBA All-Rookie First Team selection. He was also voted the Sporting News Rookie of the Year, and won the Laureus Newcomer of the Year award.
Before the start of Yao's sophomore season, the Rockets' head coach Rudy Tomjanovich resigned due to health issues, and long time New York Knicks head coach Jeff Van Gundy was brought in. After Van Gundy began focusing the offense on Yao, Yao averaged career highs in points and rebounds for the season, and had a career-high 41 points and 7 assists in a triple-overtime win against the Atlanta Hawks in February 2004. He was also voted to be the starting center in the 2004 NBA All-Star Game for the second straight year. Yao finished the season averaging 17.5 points and 9 rebounds a game.
The Rockets made the playoffs for the first time in Yao's career, as they claimed the seventh seed in the Western Conference. But eventual NBA finalists Los Angeles Lakers eliminated Houston in the first round, with the Rockets winning only one game. Yao averaged 15 points and 7.4 rebounds in his first playoff series.
In the summer of 2004, the Rockets acquired Tracy McGrady from the Orlando Magic in a seven-player trade that also sent Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley to Orlando. After the trade, it was predicted that the Rockets would be title contenders. Both McGrady and Yao were voted to start in the 2005 NBA All-Star Game, and Yao broke the record previously held by Michael Jordan for most All-Star votes, with 2,558,278 total votes. The Rockets won 51 games and finished fifth in the West, and made the playoffs for the second consecutive year, where they faced the Dallas Mavericks. The Rockets won the first two games in Dallas, and Yao made 13-of-14 shots in the second game, the best shooting performance in the playoffs in Rockets history. However the Rockets lost four of their last five games and lost Game 7 by 40 points, the largest Game 7 deficit in NBA history. Yao's final averages for the series were 21.4 points on 65% shooting and 7.7 rebounds.
Injury-plagued seasons (2005-2008)
Yao had missed only two games in three years up till 2005, but 22 games into his fourth season he was forced onto the inactive list for an extended period for the first time in his career due to a case of osteomyelitis in the big toe of his left foot. On December 18, 2005, he had surgery performed on the toe, and missed a total of 21 games. In the 2006 NBA All-Star game balloting, Yao again led all NBA players in voting, and was named the starting center for the Western Conference for the fourth consecutive year.
In 25 games after the All-Star break, Yao averaged 25.7 points and 11.6 rebounds per game, while shooting 53.7% from the field and 87.8% at the free throw line. His final averages in 57 games were 22.3 points and 10.2 rebounds per game. It was the first time that he ended the season with a "20/10" average. However, Tracy McGrady played only 47 games in the season, missing time because of back spasms. Yao and McGrady played only 31 games together, and the Rockets did not make the playoffs, winning only 34 games. With only four games left in the season, Yao suffered another injury in a game against the Utah Jazz on April 10, 2006, which left him with a broken bone in his left foot. The injury required a full six months of rest.
Early into his fifth season, Yao was injured again, this time breaking his right knee on December 23, 2006 while attempting to block a shot. Up to that point he had been averaging 26.8 points, 9.7 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game. and had been mentioned as an NBA MVP candidate. Yao was not able to play in what would have been his fifth All-Star game, but was medically cleared to play on March 4, 2007 after missing 34 games.
Despite Yao's absence, the Rockets made the playoffs with home court advantage against the Utah Jazz in the first round. The Rockets won the first two games, but then lost four of five games, and were eliminated in Game 7 at home, despite Yao's 29 points, 15 in the fourth quarter. Although he averaged 25.1 points and 10.3 rebounds for the series, Yao said afterwards “I didn't do my job”. At the end of the season, Yao was selected to the All-NBA second team for the first time in his career, after being selected to the All-NBA third team twice.
On May 18, 2007, only weeks after the Rockets were eliminated, it was announced that Jeff Van Gundy had been dismissed as head coach. Three days later, former Sacramento Kings coach Rick Adelman was signed to replace Van Gundy. It was predicted the Rockets would focus more on offense under Adelman than they would under Van Gundy's defensive-based system.
In the 2007-08 NBA season, Yao was once again voted to start at center for the Western Conference. After a poor start, the Rockets went on a streak of 22 consecutive wins. But on February 26, 2008, it was reported that Yao would miss the rest of the season with a stress fracture in his left foot. He was expected to miss the 2008 NBA playoffs but Daryl Morey said he did not expect him to miss the 2008 Summer Olympics at Beijing, China in August. Yao underwent a successful operation on March 3, which placed screws in his foot to strengthen the bone. Recovery time was estimated at four months, but Yao was not expected to miss the 2008 Summer Olympics. He said if he could not play in the Olympics, "it would be the biggest loss in my career to right now." Yao's final averages in 55 games were 22 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 2 blocks a game.
International career
Early years and 2004 Olympics
During the 2004 Athens Olympics, Yao carried the Chinese flag during the opening ceremony, which he said was a “long dream come true”. He then vowed to abstain from shaving his beard for half a year unless the Chinese national basketball team made it into the quarter-finals. After Yao Ming scored 39 points in a win against New Zealand, China lost 58–83, 57–82, and 52–89 against Spain, Argentina and Italy respectively. But in the final group game, a 67–66 win over reigning world champions Serbia and Montenegro moved them into the quarterfinals. Yao scored 27 points and had 13 rebounds, and hit two free throws with 28 seconds left that proved to be the winning margin. He was selected to the All-Olympics team with his performance, averaging 20.7 points and 9.3 rebounds per game while shooting 55.9% from the field.
2006 World Championships
Yao’s injury at the end of the 2005–06 NBA season required a full six months of rest, which left some doubt as to whether Yao would play in the 2006 FIBA World Championship. However, he recovered before the start of the tournament, and in the last game of the preliminary round, he had 36 points and 10 rebounds in a win against Slovenia to lead China into the round of 16. But in the first knockout round, China was defeated by eventual finalists Greece.
Yao Ming averaged 25.3 points, the most in the tournaments, and nine rebounds a game, which was fourth overall.
Off the court
Personal life
In early 2007, an internet hoax reported that Yao was dating 5 ft 2 in (1.57 m) American actress Nia Long, but Yao rejected the allegations. He is married to Ye Li, a Chinese women's basketball player, whom he met when he was seventeen. Ye was not fond of Yao at first, but finally accepted him after he gave her the team pins he had collected during the 2000 Summer Olympics. Their romance was first made public when they appeared together during the 2004 Olympics closing ceremony, and on August 6, 2007, Yao married Ye in a ceremony attended by close friends and family that was closed to the media.
In 2004, Yao published an autobiography entitled "Yao: A Life in Two Worlds", which was written by Ric Bucher. In the same year, he was also the subject of a documentary film, The Year of the Yao, which focuses on his NBA rookie year, and is narrated by his friend and translator for his first three season, Colin Pine.
Public life
Yao is one of China's most recognizable athletes, along with Liu Xiang. He has led Forbes' Chinese celebrities list in income and popularity for five straight years, earning 54.6 million US dollars (387.8 million yuan) in 2007. A major part of his income comes from his sponsorship deals, as he is under contract with several major companies to endorse their products. He was signed by Nike until the end of the his rookie season, when they decided not to renew his contract, and he instead signed with Reebok. He also had a deal with Pepsi, and he succesfully sued Coca-Cola in 2003 when they used his image on their bottles while promoting the national team. However, he has since signed with Coke for the 2008 Olympics. His other deals include partnerships with McDonald’s, which he said was his favorite restaurant when he was young, Visa, Apple, and Garmin.
Yao has also participated in many charity events during his career, including the NBA’s Basketball Without Borders program, and its NBA Cares program. During the NBA's offseason in 2003, Yao hosted a telethon, which raised $300,000 to help stop the spread of SARS. In September 2007, he held an auction that raised 6.75 million yuan, and competed in a charity basketball match to raise money for underprivileged children in China. He was joined by fellow NBA stars Steve Nash, Carmelo Anthony, and Baron Davis, and Hong Kong-born movie star Jackie Chan.
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