Forever a Giant! Happy Birthday to Yao Ming!

September 12th marks the 44th birthday of Chinese basketball legend Yao Ming. Let’s wish him a happy birthday.

Yao Ming is currently the chairman of the Chinese Basketball Association, born on September 12, 1980, in Xuhui District, Shanghai, China.

In 1997, Yao was promoted to the first team by Shanghai team’s head coach Li Qiuping, starting his CBA career. During the regular season of 2001-02, he averaged 29.7 points and 18.5 rebounds per game, leading the Shanghai team to a 23-game winning streak. In the playoffs, Yao’s performance improved to 37.7 points and 20.2 rebounds per game, ultimately defeating the dominant Bayi Men’s Basketball team 3-1 in the finals and helping the Shanghai team win their only championship in team history.

He then participated in the 2002 NBA draft and was selected as the top pick by the Houston Rockets.

Throughout his NBA career, Yao was selected to the All-Star team eight times, named to the Second Team All-NBA twice, and the Third Team All-NBA three times. After repeatedly falling short in the first round of the playoffs, he finally led the Rockets to the second round of the playoffs as a solo star in the 08-09 season. Unfortunately, he suffered an injury during the series against the Lakers, with the team eventually losing 3-4 and failing to advance to the Western Conference Finals. This was almost the end of Yao’s NBA career. Although he made a brief comeback in the 10-11 season, he ultimately announced his retirement in 2011 due to his inability to recover from severe injuries.

During his time in the NBA, Yao played 486 games, scoring a total of 9,247 points. He averaged 19 points, 9.2 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1.9 blocks per game in 32.5 minutes, with a field goal percentage of 52.4% and a free throw percentage of 83.3%.

On the national team level, Yao joined the Chinese men’s basketball team in 1998, representing China in the Olympics three consecutive times in 2000, 2004, and 2008, advancing to the quarter-finals twice. He also served as the flag bearer for the Chinese Olympic delegation in both 2004 and 2008.

In 2016, Yao Ming was officially inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, becoming the first Chinese person ever to receive this honor.