When Did Yao Ming Retire

On July 20, 2011, Yao Ming announced his retirement from the NBA, ending his career at the age of 30. The former No. 1 overall pick missed the entirety of the 2009-10 season and played only five games the next year due to foot and ankle injuries, quickly becoming one of the leagues greatest “what if” questions.

Despite the abrupt ending, Yao is remembered fondly for a lot of reasons: his massive role in increasing the NBAs popularity in China and breaking down racial stereotypes, his Yo vs. Yao commercial, his generally jovial nature and his ability to make other people look tiny. (That happens a lot when youre 7-6 and 300-plus pounds.)

Yao is a larger-than-life figure in more ways than one, so its easy to forget a simple truth about him. The dude was really, really good at basketball.

In 486 regular season games with the Rockets, Yao averaged 19.0 points, 9.2 rebounds and 1.9 blocks while shooting 52.4 percent from the field and 83.3 percent from the free throw line. He had two individual seasons in which he hit the thresholds of 20 points, 10 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game with 50 percent shooting. The only other 7-footers with those numbers in multiple seasons? Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Patrick Ewing, Artis Gilmore, Shaquille ONeal, Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson and Ralph Sampson. Thats pretty great company.

Strong yet nimble, Yao was capable of rejecting attacks at the rim on one end and finishing with a feathery touch on the other. He presented opposing centers with a challenge they had never faced before.

“I think that was the smallest that Ive ever felt,” Brook Lopez told ESPNs Ohm Youngmisuk when describing a 2008 game against Yao. “Going up for the jump ball and then I do my first hook and he blocked it so easily. It was like nothing to him. It was really really a unique experience. I cant compare it to anything else.”

From 2002-09, the Rockets won 50-plus games in four separate regular seasons, but they routinely lost in the first round of the playoffs. They advanced to the Western Conference semifinals just once with the dynamic duo of Yao and Tracy McGrady, falling to the eventual champion Lakers in 2009.

McGrady, who also got bit by the injury bug repeatedly in Houston, missed that postseason after undergoing surgery on his knee, and Yao was forced to watch the final four games of a seven-game battle with a broken bone in his foot. Its a shame Yao couldnt finish the series because he was dominant in Game 1 against the Lakers.

His line: 28 points, 10 rebounds, two blocks, 9-of-17 from the field, 10-of-10 on free throws. He just worked Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol in the post.

It would have been fascinating to watch how he evolved with the modern NBA. His size made him an ideal rim protector, but how would he have dealt with small-ball lineups? He always had good shooting form and could step out for a midrange jumper. Could he have turned himself into a pick-and-pop threat?

Unfortunately for Yao (and NBA fans everywhere), he never had the chance to answer those questions. His career is best summed up by one of his biggest rivals.

“He was very agile. He could play inside. He could play outside,” ONeal said back in 2011. “If he didnt have those injuries, he probably would have been up there in the top five centers ever to play the game.”

2011

Yao was the perfect blend of a European-type big man with an old-school physical presence. He had a great touch around the rim and was deadly with his turnaround chip shot. He also happened to be one of the few big men that you could actually count on making a free throw.

In 2006, he broke a bone in his left foot. And so it went for Houstons greatest hope for another title. Year after year, he lost time due to nagging issues with his lower body.

Yao Ming joins a cast of other unfinished tenures. It makes you wince a little to think of just how great the missing pieces could have been.

Yao Ming, the pioneer of Chinese basketball, is retiring from the NBA after eight seasons. The promise that came with his size and talent was never fulfilled, and now he leaves the game as a once-prized asset that could never contend with numerous injuries.

With every write-up and diatribe from an ESPN talking head, Yao Ming was promised to be the next great center in the league.

It would have been fascinating to watch how he evolved with the modern NBA. His size made him an ideal rim protector, but how would he have dealt with small-ball lineups? He always had good shooting form and could step out for a midrange jumper. Could he have turned himself into a pick-and-pop threat?

From 2002-09, the Rockets won 50-plus games in four separate regular seasons, but they routinely lost in the first round of the playoffs. They advanced to the Western Conference semifinals just once with the dynamic duo of Yao and Tracy McGrady, falling to the eventual champion Lakers in 2009.

“He was very agile. He could play inside. He could play outside,” ONeal said back in 2011. “If he didnt have those injuries, he probably would have been up there in the top five centers ever to play the game.”

McGrady, who also got bit by the injury bug repeatedly in Houston, missed that postseason after undergoing surgery on his knee, and Yao was forced to watch the final four games of a seven-game battle with a broken bone in his foot. Its a shame Yao couldnt finish the series because he was dominant in Game 1 against the Lakers.

In 486 regular season games with the Rockets, Yao averaged 19.0 points, 9.2 rebounds and 1.9 blocks while shooting 52.4 percent from the field and 83.3 percent from the free throw line. He had two individual seasons in which he hit the thresholds of 20 points, 10 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game with 50 percent shooting. The only other 7-footers with those numbers in multiple seasons? Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Patrick Ewing, Artis Gilmore, Shaquille ONeal, Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson and Ralph Sampson. Thats pretty great company.

What caused Yao to retire? He sustained multiple injuries in the NBA.

On July 20, 2011, Yao held a press conference in Shanghai to announce his retirement from professional basketball. Injuries to his foot and ankle, as well as a third fracture to his left foot that he had nursed since 2010 left him much less agile than he once was. Therefore, Yao opted to step back from his prominent role in the league.

Playing alongside Shaquille ONeill, who constantly commended Yaos agility and prowess on the court, Yaos short yet impressive career set the precedent for his teams playstyle for some time after. Although, nobody, even Shaq himself, was able to replicate it entirely. Article continues below advertisement

FAQ

How long was Yao Ming in the NBA?

In July 2011, Yao announced his retirement from professional basketball because of a series of foot and ankle injuries which forced him to miss 250 games in his last six seasons.

When did Yao Ming retire and age?

Yao Ming’s NBA career

Although he spent just nine seasons in the NBA, Ming’s impact and presence on the floor was undeniable.

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