Houston Rockets centre Yao Ming retired on Wednesday after eight seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
* Born September 12, 1980 in Shanghai, China.
* An only child of two former professional basketball players, Yao started playing at age nine.
* Married Ye Li, a former basketball player with the Chinese national team, in 2007.
* The couple celebrated the birth of their first child, a daughter named Amy, in May 2010.
* He routinely tops Forbes' list of China's most valuable celebrities.
* Co-wrote an autobiography titled: Yao: A Life in Two Worlds in 2004 revealing a life lived between two cultures.
* He has been credited with the NBA's popularity boost in China and throughout Asia, spiking merchandise sales and TV ratings.
* He was selected with the first overall pick by the Houston Rockets in the 2002 NBA Draft.
* Made his NBA debut on October 30, 2002, recording two rebounds, two turnovers and no points in 11 minutes of playing time.
* Scored his first NBA point during his second game, ending with two points in 13 minutes against the Denver Nuggets.
* He finished second in NBA Rookie of the Year voting after averaging 13.5 points and 8.2 rebounds in 82 games during the 2002-03 season.
* He set career-highs for points (41) and assists (seven) during a Feb. 2004 game versus Atlanta Hawks.
* The seven-foot, six-inch (2.3-metre) centre was the NBA's tallest player at time of his retirement and responsible for soaring Chinese interest in the game.
* Missed only two games during his first three NBA seasons before injuries limited his playing time.
* Yao played 57 of a possible 82 games in the 2005-06 season because of an infection in his left big toe and a broken left foot suffered late that same season.
* Limited to 48 games and 55 games over the following two seasons, Yao played 77 games in 2008-09 but suffered a hairline fracture in his foot during the Western Conference semi-finals that required surgery.
* Missed the entire 2009-10 NBA season after suffering a fractured bone in his left foot.
* His final appearance for the Rockets came on Nov 10 when he injured his ankle in Houston's loss to the Washington Wizards, his fifth game of the 2010-11 NBA season.
* Yao, eight-times an NBA All-Star selection, averaged 19.0 points, 9.2 rebounds, 1.9 blocks and 1.6 assists in 486 career NBA games.
* He carried the Chinese flag during the opening ceremony of the 2004 Athens Olympics and 2008 Beijing Olympics.
* Won three gold medals and three Most Valuable Player awards with China at the FIBA Asian Championship (2001, 2003 and 2005).
