Name: Yao Ming
Born: September 12, 1980 in Shanghai, China
Team: Houston Rockets
Position: Center
Height: 7'6"
Weight: 310 lbs.
Nicknames: The Ming Dynasty, Dynasty, Shaquie Chan, The Great Wall of China
Drafted: 2002; 1st round, 1st pick by the Houston Rockets
Teams Played For In Career:
- Houston Rockets (2002-Present)
MAJOR AWARDS AND HONORS:
NBA All-Star
All-NBA Teams
- 2003-04 All-NBA Third Team
- 2005-06 All-NBA Third Team
- 2006-07 All-NBA Second Team
NBA All-Rookie Team
- 2002-03 All-Rookie First Team
Background:
Yao started playing in the Chinese Basketball Association as a 17-year old and was the league MVP in 2000-01, averaging 27 points and 19 rebounds per game. After a lot of experience in international competition, Yao played for China in the 2000 Summer Olympics. After leading the Shanghai Sharks to a league title, he became eligible for the NBA draft.
Yao is known as a classy person and a team player. His strong play has been vital in the NBA brand spreading in China.
His Career Thus Far:
Yao is one of the most recognizable players in the league today and his popularity crosses all borders. Although expectations have been high, he has steadily improved each year and is taking his place as one of the most dominant big men in the game today. Yao is quick and agile for his size and has a solid shooting stroke.
Despite his individual popularity (as seen by the number of votes he gets for the NBA All-Star game every year), team success in the NBA has eluded Yao thus far and a successful playoff pedigree will be needed for him to his place among the all-time great centers.
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