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Yao Ming (born September 12, 1980) is a retiredChinese professional basketball player who played for the Houston Rockets ofthe National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected to start for the WesternConference in the NBA All-Star Game eight times, and was named to the All-NBATeam five times. At the time of his final season, he was the tallest activeplayer in the NBA, at 2.29 m (7 ft 6 in).
Yao, who was born in Shanghai,China, started playing for the Shanghai Sharks as a teenager, and played ontheir senior team for five years in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA),winning a championship in his final year. After negotiating with the CBA andthe Sharks to secure his release, Yao was selected by the Houston Rockets asthe first overall pick in the 2002 NBA draft. He reached the NBA Playoffs fourtimes, and the Rockets won a first-round series in the 2009 postseason, theirfirst playoff series victory since 1997. In July 2011, Yao announced hisretirement from professional basketball due to a series of foot and ankleinjuries which forced him to miss 250 games in his last six seasons.[SUP] [/SUP]In eightseasons with the Rockets, Yao ranks sixth among franchise leaders in totalpoints and total rebounds, and second in total blocks.
Yao is one of China's best-knownathletes, with sponsorships with several major companies. His rookie year inthe NBA was the subject of a documentary film, The Year of the Yao, andhe co-wrote, along with NBA analyst Ric Buchr, an autobiography titled Yao:A Life in Two Worlds.
Source: Wikipedia