Yao Ming

 Yao Ming, Chinese: Yao Ming; born September 12th 1980 in China) is a former professional basketball player, executive and coach from China. He was a player for the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) and the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Yao was selected to start for the Western Conference in the NBA All-Star Game eight times, and was named to the All-NBA Team five times. During his final season as a player, he was also the tallest currently playing player in the NBA at 2.29 m (7 ft 6 in).Yao, who was born in Shanghai began playing for the Sharks in his teens, and played on the team's senior squad for five years in the CBA winning the championship during his final year. Yao was released by the Rockets after he had reached an agreement with the CBA, Sharks and other teams to get his release. He was the 1st overall pick in the 2002 NBA draft. The Rockets were victorious in the opening round of postseason play in of 2009 winning their first playoff games since 1997. Yao made it to the NBA playoffs four more times. In July 2011, Yao announced his retirement from professional basketball due to several foot and ankle injuries which forced him to miss 250 games over the course of his six seasons. [2] Yao is the franchise's sixth top spot for total points and rebound in eight seasons with the Rockets and second in total blocks.