The NBA is one of the biggest sports in America, and unlike the NFL, the NBA is also legendary outside the U.S. The NBA is big in many countries, and basketball is a widely loved and much played sport.
There are many outstanding players who have shone bright and shown outstanding talent for the game, each leaving behind a legacy to be admired. Whether we just enjoy watching the game or if we watch to find the NBA betting odds and place our bets, we will always look out for the legends who changed the game and have a special place in our hearts.
So, who are we talking about today? None other than Yao Ming.
Who is Yao Ming?
Yao Ming is a Chinese basketball executive, although he is a former professional player. Back in China he played for the Shanghai Sharks in the Chinese Basketball Association, and then he started playing for the Houston Rockets in the NBA.
Yao was selected to start for the Western Conference in the NBA All-Star Game eight times, and he was named to the All-NBA Team five times.
He is an incredible height- as we all know this is beneficial in basketball, and by the time of his final season, he was the tallest active player in the NBA at 7ft 6 inches, or 2.29 meters tall.
He started to play for the Sharks as a teenager, but was then selected by the Rockets as the first overall pick in the 2002 NBA Draft, and we are not surprised, if we were participating in the draft and saw Yao, we would want him on our team too!
Yao reached the playoffs four times, and the Rockets won the first-round series in the 200 post season games, which was their first playoff series victory since ‘97!
Yao retired from professional basketball in 2011 due to a series of foot and ankle injuries which had forced him to miss 250 games in his final 6 seasons. Despite this he is still one of China’s best-known athletes, with sponsorships with many major companies. In fact, his fame goes beyond only this, and his rookie year in the NBA actually became the subject of a documentary film you may know as ‘The Year of the Yao’.
From the Shanghai Sharks to the Houston Rockets.
Yao first tried out for the Shanghai Sharks when he was 13 years old. He played for their junior team for four years and then joined their senior team, in which he averaged at 10 points and 8 rebounds per game in his rookie season. His next season was cut short when he broke his foot for the second time in his career, and decreased his jumping height by about four to six inches.
In his final year with the Sharks he was averaging at 38.9 points and 20.2 rebounds per game, shooting from the field at around 76.6% and making all 21 of his shots during one game in the finals!
HE was then pressured to enter the NBA Draft in ‘99 by Li Yaomin who was the deputy general manager of the Sharks. He started getting American attention, and he was widely predicted to be picked as the number one overall, but some teams were worried about his eligibility due to some uncertainties around whether the CBA would let him play in the U.S.
The CBA said that he would have to return to play for the national team, and they would not let him go to the U.S. unless the Rockets would take him first overall. When the Rockets picked Yao with the first pick on the draft, he then became the first international player ever to be selected first overall without having previously played any U.S. College Basketball!
2008 Olympics.
While Yao played in the 2000 Summer Olympics, and in the 2004 Olympic where he carried the Chinese flag, he also played in the 206 World Championship after recovering from an injury. He also appeared in the 2008 Olympics, after having surgery to repair his fractured foot. We could see him starting to struggle, and he could not play in the games, stating it was a massive loss to his career. However, he returned to play with the Chinese national team on July 17th, and he carried the Olympic flame into Tiananmen Square, as well as carrying the flag in the opening ceremony.
Yao then proceeded to score the first basket of the game, a three-pointer, in their opening game against the eventual gold-medal winning U.S. They defeated Spain, Angola, and Germany, which solidified their place in the quarterfinals. However, they lost to Lithuania by 26 points, which eliminated them. However, Yao’s 19 points per game in the Olympics were the second-highest, and that is quite the achievement!
A man of many awards.
Yao Ming is a man of many awards, in the NBA and in his basketball career in China as well. His legacy carried through the amount of amazing awards and achievements he made in his basketball career.
These include.
● Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame: 2016.
● 8x NBA All-Star: 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011.
● 5x All-NBA Team: 2007, 2009 (second), 2004, 2006, 2008 (third).
● NBA All-Rookie First Team: 2003.
● NBA Rookie All-Star Game: 2004.
● Sporting News Rookie of the Year: 2003.
● All-Tournament Team, FIBA World Cup: 2002.
These are just some of his many awards, there are many more. But it is safe to say. He is not only an incredible player, he is certainly one of the best in NBA history.
