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Yao Ming (Chinese: 姚明; Pinyin: Yáo Míng) (born September 12, 1980 in Shanghai, China) is a Chinese professional basketball player and currently considered as one of the most dominant centers. He plays for the Houston Rockets in the National Basketball Association. more...

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He was selected by Houston with the 1st pick of the 2002 NBA Draft and eventually signed with them on October 21, 2002. Yao Ming is also currently the tallest player in the NBA, listed at a playing height of 7 feet, 6 inches (2.29 m). In his rookie season, though now less so, he spoke via his interpreter and now close friend, Colin Pine. Yao is regarded as the most dominant center, if not player, to come out from China.

CBA career

Yao Ming debuted in the Chinese Basketball Association as a presumably shorter 17-year old. He put together a solid year for a young player, scoring 10 points and grabbing 9 rebounds a game in 1997–98. Missing much of the following season to injury, he returned in 1999–2000 with 21 points, a league-best 14 rebounds, and over 5 blocks per game. The 2000–01 season proved highly fruitful for Yao, as he became MVP of the league at the age of 20 with a fantastic year, scoring 27 points and grabbing an exceptional 19 rebounds per game.

Having been a veteran of international competition for several years, he played well in the Sydney 2000 Summer Olympics, and was a teammate of Wang Zhizhi and Mengke Bateer on the Chinese National Team where they became known as “The Walking Great Wall”, but it was his MVP selection that put him in the minds of NBA scouts. However, after the CBA assured him that he would not get released from their league if he entered the draft, Yao chose not to enter the 2001 NBA Draft. This proved to be a good decision, as he played even better in 2001–02, scoring 32 points and grabbing 19 rebounds per game with a 72% field goal percentage, second in the league in both points and rebounds per game. He won a sportsmanship award and, more importantly, led his team, the Shanghai Sharks, to a CBA title (coincidentally, the team he helped beat was a "Rockets" team, the Bayi Rockets). He was even more dominant in the playoffs and had a game in which he made all 21 shots he attempted.

Yao automatically became eligible for the 2002 NBA Draft, with international players being eligible if they were 22 at the start of the NBA season. Widely considered a top prospect, he reportedly wowed scouts with a terrific exhibition at a draft camp. It caught the interest of the team with the number one overall draft pick, the Houston Rockets. The Rockets needed a center after the departure of long-time star Hakeem Olajuwon a year before, and decided Yao would be able to fill the void. In the 2002 NBA Draft, Yao became the first international player without U.S. college experience to be selected first overall.

Yao played with the Chinese national team at the FIBA World Championships in Indianapolis during the 2002 offseason. After making the all-tournament team in Indianapolis, he played with NBA rookie-to-be Manu Ginobili and NBA stars Dirk Nowitzki and Peja Stojakovic. This helped reinforce his reputation and led many to predict that Yao would become the next dominant NBA center.

Read more at Wikipedia.org