Houston Rockets centre Yao Ming retired on Wednesday after eight seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Houston Rockets centre Yao Ming retired on Wednesday after eight seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
* Born September 12, 1980 in Shanghai, China.
* An only child of two former professional basketball players, Yao started playing at age nine.
* Married Ye Li, a former basketball player with the Chinese national team, in 2007.
* The couple celebrated the birth of their first child, a daughter named Amy, in May 2010.
* He routinely tops Forbes' list of China's most valuable celebrities.
* Co-wrote an autobiography titled: Yao: A Life in Two Worlds in 2004 revealing a life lived between two cultures.
* He has been credited with the NBA's popularity boost in China and throughout Asia, spiking merchandise sales and TV ratings.
* He was selected with the first overall pick by the Houston Rockets in the 2002 NBA Draft.
* Made his NBA debut on October 30, 2002, recording two rebounds, two turnovers and no points in 11 minutes of playing time.
* Scored his first NBA point during his second game, ending with two points in 13 minutes against the Denver Nuggets.
* He finished second in NBA Rookie of the Year voting after averaging 13.5 points and 8.2 rebounds in 82 games during the 2002-03 season.
* He set career-highs for points (41) and assists (seven) during a Feb. 2004 game versus Atlanta Hawks.
* The seven-foot, six-inch (2.3-metre) centre was the NBA's tallest player at time of his retirement and responsible for soaring Chinese interest in the game.
* Missed only two games during his first three NBA seasons before injuries limited his playing time.
* Yao played 57 of a possible 82 games in the 2005-06 season because of an infection in his left big toe and a broken left foot suffered late that same season.
* Limited to 48 games and 55 games over the following two seasons, Yao played 77 games in 2008-09 but suffered a hairline fracture in his foot during the Western Conference semi-finals that required surgery.
* Missed the entire 2009-10 NBA season after suffering a fractured bone in his left foot.
* His final appearance for the Rockets came on Nov 10 when he injured his ankle in Houston's loss to the Washington Wizards, his fifth game of the 2010-11 NBA season.
* Yao, eight-times an NBA All-Star selection, averaged 19.0 points, 9.2 rebounds, 1.9 blocks and 1.6 assists in 486 career NBA games.
* He carried the Chinese flag during the opening ceremony of the 2004 Athens Olympics and 2008 Beijing Olympics.
* Won three gold medals and three Most Valuable Player awards with China at the FIBA Asian Championship (2001, 2003 and 2005).
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