Yao Ming (born September 12, 1980, in Shanghai,
China) is a Chinese professional basketball player
who plays for the Houston Rockets of the National
Basketball Association (NBA). He is currently the
tallest player in the NBA, standing at 7'6" (2.29
m).
He was born to two former Chinese professional
basketball players, and was in a sports school for
most of his childhood. He started playing for the
Shanghai Sharks while he was a teenager, and after
playing on the senior team for five years in the
Chinese Basketball Association (CBA), and winning a
championship in his final year, he was selected by
Houston as the first overall pick of the 2002 NBA
Draft.
He has been selected to start for the Western
Conference in the NBA All-Star Game in all six of
his seasons, and has been named to the All-NBA Team
team three times. However, the Rockets have not
advanced past the first round of the playoffs since
he has joined the team.
