Yao Ming’s Jersey to Be Retired by Rockets: Latest Comments and Reaction

September 23rd, 2016 by Tim Daniels Leave a reply »

The Houston Rockets plan to retire the jersey of recent Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Yao Ming during the team's nationally televised game against the Atlanta Hawks on Thursday, Feb. 2. 

The Rockets passed along the official announcement Friday from team owner Leslie Alexander:



Yao spent nine years with the Rockets after the organization made him the first overall pick in the 2002 draft. The 7'6'' center went on to earn eight All-Star selections and was named to the All-NBA Second Team twice before injury problems forced him into an early retirement.

The 36-year-old Chinese superstar averaged 19.0 points, 9.2 rebounds and 1.9 blocks while shooting 52 percent from the floor across 486 career games, all with Houston. His arrival and success in the NBA also played a crucial role in the further globalization of the league.

Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.com focused on the latter impact in April. The deep dive into Yao's influence on the Chinese and Asian-Americans included comments from Brooklyn Nets center Brook Lopez about the love of the game he's witnessed on trips ...

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