Yao Ming

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Yao's NBA journey began when the Houston Rockets selected him with the first pick of the 2002 NBA draft. He did not participate in the Rockets' pre-season training camp, instead playing for China in the 2002 FIBA World Championships. Before his rookie season, Charles Barkley said he would 'kiss Kenny Smith's ass' if Yao scored more than 19 points in one of his games. On November 17, 2002, 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, and Barkley made good on his bet by kissing the buttock of a donkey. Yao finished his rookie season averaging 13.5 points and 8.2 rebounds per game, was second in Rookie of the Year voting, and was a unanimous pick for the NBA All-Rookie First Team. In his sophomore season under new head coach Jeff Van Gundy, Yao averaged career highs in points and rebounds, including a career-high 41 points and 7 assists in a triple-overtime win against the Atlanta Hawks in February 2004. The Rockets made the playoffs for the first time in Yao's career that season, though they were eliminated by the Los Angeles Lakers in five games. Yao reached the NBA playoffs four times total, and the Rockets won the first-round series in the 2009 postseason, their first playoff series victory since 1997. In July 2011, Yao announced his retirement because of a series of foot and ankle injuries which forced him to miss 250 games in his last six seasons. In eight seasons with the Rockets, Yao ranks sixth among franchise leaders in total points and total rebounds, and second in total blocks. In April 2016, Yao was elected into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, becoming the first Chinese national to be inducted.

In Their Own Story

Before Yao'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. O'Neal denied that his comments were racist, and said he was only joking. Yao also said he believed O'Neal was joking, but he said a lot of Asians would not see the humor. In the game, Yao scored the Rockets' first six points of the game and blocked O'Neal twice in the opening minutes as well as altering two other shots by O'Neal, all 4 of those attempts coming right at the rim, and made a game-sealing dunk with 10 seconds left in overtime. Yao finished with 10 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 blocks; O'Neal recorded 31 points, 13 rebounds, and 0 blocks. O'Neal later expressed regret for the way he treated Yao early in his career. The NBA began offering All-Star ballots in three languages—English, Spanish and Chinese—for fan voting of the starters for the 2003 NBA All-Star Game. Yao was voted to start for the West over O'Neal, who was coming off three consecutive NBA Finals MVP Awards. Yao received nearly a quarter million more votes than O'Neal, and he became the first rookie to start in the All-Star Game since Grant Hill in 1995.

Reader's Guide

Yao Ming played for the Houston Rockets from 2002 to 2011. He was selected as the first overall pick in the 2002 NBA draft. He was selected to start for the Western Conference in the NBA All-Star Game eight times, and was named to the All-NBA Team five times. During his final season, he was the tallest active player in the NBA, at 7 feet 6 inches (2.29 m). He reached the NBA playoffs four times, and the Rockets won the first-round series in the 2009 postseason, their first playoff series victory since 1997. In eight seasons with the Rockets, Yao ranks sixth among franchise leaders in total points and total rebounds, and second in total blocks. His rookie year in the NBA was the subject of a documentary film, The Year of the Yao, and he co-wrote, along with NBA analyst Ric Bucher, an autobiography titled Yao: A Life in Two Worlds. In April 2016, Yao was elected into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, alongside Shaquille O'Neal and Allen Iverson, becoming the first Chinese national to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Did You Know?

• Yao was the first international player ever to be selected first overall in the NBA draft without having previously played U.S. college basketball.
• Charles Barkley kissed the buttock of a donkey after Yao scored 20 points in a game, fulfilling a bet Barkley made that Yao would not score more than 19 points in a rookie-season game.
• Yao was the first rookie to start in the NBA All-Star Game since Grant Hill in 1995.
• In eight seasons with the Rockets, Yao ranks second among franchise leaders in total blocks.
• Yao was elected into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in April 2016, becoming the first Chinese national to be inducted.