Yao Ming

 Yao, from Shanghai native, started playing with the Sharks when he was a teenager. He was a member of their senior team in the CBA for five years, and was awarded the championship in his final year. After negotiating with the CBA and the Sharks to get his release Yao was picked by the Rockets as the first overall selection in the 2002 NBA draft. The Rockets took the lead in the first round series of the postseason of 2009 winning their first playoff series since 1997, Yao went on to play in the NBA playoffs four times more. In July of 2011, Yao announced his retirement from professional basketball because of an array of foot and ankle injuries which caused him to play in 250 games during his final six seasons. In eight seasons with the Rockets, Yao ranks sixth among franchise leaders in total points and total rebounds and second in total blocks.Yao is among the most well-known athletes in China, and has contracts with a number of big companies. His debut season in the NBA was the basis for a documentary filmcalled The Year of the Yao as well as a co-written together with NBA analyst Ric Bucher, an autobiography titled Yao: A Life in Two Worlds. The book is referred to in China as the "Yao Ming Phenomenon" and in the United States as the "Ming Dynasty" Yao's popularity in the NBA and his acclaim among his fans, made him an icon of a new China that was both more modern and more confident.