Yao Ming Biography, Life, Interesting Facts

Childhood And Early Life

Chinese basketball player Yao Ming was born on the 12 September 1980 in Shanghai, China. Both his parents were basketball players and fairly tall. His father, Yeo was 6’10”/2.08 meters and played for a Shanghai team. His mother, Fang Fengdi, was 6’2” 1.88 meters and played for the Chinese national basketball team. He was an only child who grew to a height of 7’5”/2.29 meters.

Rise To Fame

Yao Ming began playing basketball at the age of nine. When he was thirteen years old, he joined the Shanghai Sharkers and played on the junior team for four years. He was then accepted into the senior team for the Shanghai Sharks,

Encouraged by Li Yaomin, the deputy general manager of the Shanghai Sharkers, in 1999 Yao Ming considered applying to enter the NBA draft. In 2002 the Houston Rockets selected Yao Ming with their first draft pick. He subsequently became the first international player to be selected first overall without a U.S. college basketball background.

Career

Yao Ming played for China in the 2002 FIBA World Championships. Then his first game for the Houston Rockets was on the 16 December 2002. In the 2002/2003 season, he was elected to start for the Western Conference in the All-Star Game. He was also selected to join the All-Rookie team.

The Houston Rockets had a turnaround from 28-54 from the previous season to a 43-39 in 2003 after Yao Ming joined them. He earned all-star honors for each subsequent season he was with the Rockets. The team also had five play-offs during his tenure with them 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009.

Yao Ming was injury prone and missed the 2009/2010 NBA season. He returned at the beginning of the 2010/2011 season but injured his ankle and missed the rest of the season. He retired from professional basketball in July 2011 after playing only seven seasons.

Awards And Achievements

Yao Ming was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016.

Philanthropy

The Yao Ming Foundation was set up to assist children in the United States and China. Initially, the foundation was set up by Yao after a 8.0 earthquake in Sichuan Province in China in 2008. Over 150 school were destroyed, and the foundation is assisting with the rebuilding of schools in Sichuan Province.

Later Years

In 2017 Yao Ming was appointed the president of the CBA. He has been the owner of the Shanghai Sharks franchise since 2009.

Personal Life

Yao Ming is married to Chinese basketball player Ye Li. The couple has one child, a daughter Yao Qinlei, also known as Amy, who was born in Houston, Texas in May 2010.