Why 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.”

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.

Ming has made several personal investment ventures over the years that include a restaurant in Houston named ” YAO Restaurant & Bar” along with one in Shanghai and a winery located in California.

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

Ming has a reported net worth of $120 million that largely stems from his contract earnings from the NBA along with his various endorsement deals.

He had an entire skill-set that made him a challenging defensive assignment for any defender due to his all-around ability in the low post and the mid-range. Although other centers such as O’Neal, Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Hakeem Olajuwon all deserve much recognition, it often leaves Ming overlooked.

Since stepping away from the NBA, Ming hasn’t removed himself away from the game of basketball.

The lingering issues started in 2005 with osteomyelitis being diagnosed in his left big toe. He had surgery for that in December of that year.

The most recent was a stress fracture in his left ankle. The Rockets kept him out the rest of the season in the hopes that time would heal, at least, this wound.

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.

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.

The one thing we cannot deny is his stamp on the game from a global standpoint. An NBA that went largely beloved in North America and Europe saw a huge influx of interest from China once Yao Ming took to the Association.

What happened to Yao Ming? He is now a successful businessman.

Despite stepping away from the sport he loves in a professional context, basketball still has a profound impact on Yaos life to this day. In both Houston and his original hometown of Shanghai, Yao built restaurants named YAO Restaurant & Bar.

These spots offer elevated dining experiences with certain touches you would only expect from an NBA legend. Beyond that, the athlete also owns a California winery.

Furthermore, Yao also helped launch the NBA Yao Basketball Club in 2014, which works directly with the NBA itself. Thanks to all of his efforts to bolster the sport professionally after his retirement, the star was appointed the president of the Chinese Basketball Association in February 2017. This was a landmark appointment and a role he has maintained ever since. Article continues below advertisement

Before taking on that prestigious role, Yao owned the leagues Shanghai team from 2009 until his 2017 shift to the leagues president. All of these investments, endorsements, and deals have paid off for Yao, who has a net worth of roughly $120 million.

FAQ

What did Yao Ming do after he retired?

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 league’s greatest “what if” questions.

How much money did Yao Ming make in the NBA?

The injury-plagued Yao retired from professional basketball in July 2011. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016. The following year he became the president of the CBA, having served as president and owner of the CBA’s Shanghai Sharks franchise since 2009.

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