Yao Ming is a professional basketball player who currently plays for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was born in September 12, 1980 in Shanghai, China. He plays as a center for the Rockets. Ming is 7 ft 6 in (2.29 m) in height and weighs 310 lb (140 kg). Yao is married to Ye Li, a former player for the China's women's national team. He is one of China's most well-known athletes, with sponsorships with several major companies, and he has been the richest celebrity in China for five straight years. He currently wears the number 11 jersey for the Rockets.

Yao Ming started playing for the Shanghai Sharks as 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 the Houston Rockets as the first overall pick of the draft. He has since 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 three times.

In his debut season with the Rockets Yao played his first game with the Indiana Pacers scoring only one point and one rebound. He scored his first NBA basket against the Denver Nuggets. Yao averaged only 14 minutes and 4 points in his first 7 game which was very disappointing for the fans. Looking back on the points scored in the previous game Yao played his next game very aggressively and was able to achieve 20 points n a perfect 9-of-9 from the field and 2-of-2 from the free throw line against the Lakers. Yao finished his rookie season averaging 13.5 points per game and 8.2 rebounds per game, and was second in the NBA Rookie of the Year Award.

In the 2004 -05 season 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.

The period from 2006 to 2008 has been an injury prone season for Yao Ming. On December 23, 2006 while attempting to block a shot Yao injured his knee. He missed his next 34 games and also missed most of the games in the upcoming seasons. Yao underwent a successful operation on March 3, which placed screws in his foot to strengthen the bone.

Major achievements

6-time NBA All-Star
3-time All-NBA Selection
2002-03 NBA All-Rookie First Team