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6.A sneak preview
Yao came to the United States in 1998, also courtesy of Nike, to practice and play summer tournaments across the country. He was 17 and measured 7-foot-5, 252 pounds. He told reporters his favorite player was Olajuwon, and he matched up against a 16-year-old Tyson Chandler at a camp in San Diego. He attended the Nike All-America Camp in Indianapolis and the Michael Jordan Flight School in Santa Barbara. Scouts quickly became familiar with Yao. It wasn't a matter of whether the NBA wanted him, but how soon he could be pried from the Sharks and China's national team.
7.Mom and dad played, too
Yao is the son of former pro basketball players Yao Zhiyuan and Fang Fengdi. The elder Yao is described as anywhere from 6-foot-7 to 6-foot-10, depending on the source. Fang, 6-foot-2, once captained the China women's national team. Yao married Ye Li, a 6-foot-3 former basketball player, on Aug. 6, 2007, in Shanghai. The couple has a daughter, Yao Qinlei, who was born in Houston in 2010 and goes by her American name, Amy.
8.Helping hands
The Yao Ming Foundation was founded to provide relief following a massive earthquake in the Sichuan province of China in 2008. Yao serves as a global ambassador for Special Olympics. He has campaigned for environmental causes and against AIDS-related discrimination.
9.How his career ended
Yao began his NBA career in strong form, missing only two games in his first three seasons. Injuries then began to take a toll, and he played in fewer than half of the Rockets' games over the next six seasons.
10.A grape investment
Shortly after retiring from the NBA, Yao entered the wine business. Yao Family Wines launched its inaugural brand in December 2011 and recently opened a tasting room in St. Helena, California.
11.Hall of Fame
Yao will be the first China native inducted into the Hall of Fame. He will also be the first person born in the 1980s to be so honored. This year's induction ceremony will take place three days before Yao turns 36, but he won't be the youngest Hall of Famer in history. That honor belongs to Cheryl Miller, who was 31 when she was inducted in 1995.
