Chinese star Yao Ming retires after eight NBA seasons

Yao Ming. AFP FILE PHOTO

HOUSTON—Yao Ming, the 2.29m Chinese giant who became the NBA’s first superstar player from Asia, has notified the Houston Rockets and the NBA that he has retired, according to multiple reports Friday.

The Houston Chronicle, ESPN and Sports Illustrated reported that Yao has decided against trying to make another comeback after injuries limited him to playing in only five games over the past two NBA seasons.

The Chronicle reported that Yao told the club a month ago he was not coming back.

With NBA players locked out by owners in a contract dispute, there was no immediate confirmation from the Rockets or the league regarding the status of Yao, whose groundbreaking career helped the global growth of basketball.

The 30-year-old from Shanghai made his debut for the Rockets in 2002 after a stellar career for the Chinese national team and the Shanghai Sharks.

While Yao was not the first Chinese player in the NBA, his engaging personality made him a favorite for sponsors seeking a way to attract interest in China and for NBA fans across Asia.

Beyond that, there was a formidable set of skills. Yao had a shooting touch for shots away from the basket, a quickness with the ball that enabled him to baffle even the best of rival centers, including NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal, who himself retired last month.

“Ni hao, brother,” O’Neal said in a video posted on his Twitter internet microblogging site.

“You are one of the greatest players ever to come out of China, one of the greatest players period. I’m going to miss you bro. Enjoy retirement. Let’s go on vacation, bro me and you.”

Yao’s former Rockets teammate Tracy McGrady paid tribute to Yao on Twitter as well, saying, “Join me with standing ovation for yao ming. I wish Yao continued success in all his ventures in life.

“yao ming absolutely instrumental in the growth and popularity of our game abroad.”

Yao’s NBA career with the Rockets had been plagued by numerous injuries, the most recent of them a stress fracture in his left leg suffered in a November 10 loss last season at Washington which proved to be his farewell bow.

In 486 NBA games over eight seasons, Yao averaged 19.0 points, 9.3 rebounds, 1.9 blocked shots and 1.6 assists.

But because of broken bones in his left foot, Yao missed the entire 2009-2010 season and played only five games last season before what was originally diagnosed as a high ankle sprain was found to be a career-ending stress fracture.

It came in the first NBA meeting between Yao and countryman Yi Jianlian that Yao wound up losing to Yi, although Yao barely made an impact before exiting in the opening minutes.

Yao was the top selection in the 2002 NBA Draft by Houston, becoming the first player from outside the United States to be selected as the top choice.

With tremendous support from his fans in China, Yao was voted an NBA All-Star Game starter eight times. His 2007 initial NBA matchup against Yi was seen in more than 200 million Chinese homes.

Rockets owner Leslie Alexander and Daryl Morey, the club’s general manager, said they would have wanted to sign a new contract with Yao if he was healthy.

In May, Yao said he was continuing with rehabilitation in hopes of making a return but that any decision was unlikely before August.

With the NBA club owners and players having shut down the league for the first time since the 1998-1999 season was cut to 50 games, the planned start of the upcoming season around November 1 is in jeopardy. That might have offered Yao even more time to recover had he felt he had been able to do so.

Yao helped bridge a culture gap between NBA players, who gained respect for Yao’s work ethic and hustle as well as his determination to learn English and bridge yet another gap.

The monumental tribute to Yao’s success for China was in the quality of performance China’s Olympic basketball team showed in a 2008 Beijing Games matchup with the United States, their defensive skills and overall effort having evolved massively from the days before Yao had reached the NBA.