Yao Ming

Yao at the Houston Rocket’s Holiday Party 12-10-09 (www.yaomingmania.com)

Twenty-nine years ago, Yao Ming was born on September 12, 1980 to Yao Zhiyuan and Fang Fengdi, who were both tall former professional basketball players for the CBA(or the Chinese Basketball Association). When Yao was born, he weighed eleven pounds, which was twice as much as the average Chinese infant. When he was ten, he was 5 feet 5 inches. His doctors predicted that he would be 7 feet 3 inches when he was older. At the early age of nine, he started playing basketball and went to junior sports school. When he was 13, he tried out for the Shanghai Sharks, a team for the Chinese Basketball Association. After four years on their junior team, he joined the senior team.

In 1999, Yao was pressured to be in the NBA draft. He tried in 2002 and was taken by the Houston Rockets. The CBA said that he would occasionally have to play for them and he had to be picked first overall in the draft. Many predicted that Yao would not succeed. “If this guy scores more than 19 points in one of his rookie-season games, I will kiss Kenny Smith.” said Charles Barkley, a retired Houston Rocket. On November 17, 2002, Yao scored 20 points in the game and Barkley fulfilled his bet. In the next three years, he played against some of the country’s top athletes. He also broke Michael Jordan’s record for most All-Star votes.

In 2005, he developed osteomyelitis (an infection of bone or bone marrow with a propensity for progression, usually caused by pyogenic bacteria) in the big toe of his left foot. In 2006, he broke a bone in his left foot. He was forced to be inactive for six months. Later in 2006, after playing for only two months, he broke his right knee. He returned in mid 2007. In late 2007, Yao played against fellow Chinese NBA player Yi Jianlian. It was the most watched game in history. Millions of people in China watched this game. In early 2008, Yao was dismissed for the rest of the season due to a stress fracture in his left foot. In mid-2009, Yao received a sprained ankle, but after a close examination, it was declared as a hairline fracture. He has since discussed the injury with his doctors and will miss the 09-10 season to have surgery.

Yao answers questions for the press (www.wikipedia.org)

I believe that after all of those injuries and surgeries, I would have quit. Yao had the guts to continue playing even after he had all those boo-boos. I picked Yao not just because he is a good basketball player, but also because he is a very charitable man. In basketball in society, he has made a huge impact on the whole world. His courage and perseverance will do well for him in the future. Go Yao.

Yao at a gala where he announced a donation to th (www.yaomingmania.com)