Yao Ming

Chinese basketball player Yao Ming is recognized as one of the most famous Asian athletes of the early 21st century. Thanks to his performances in the national championship and games in the leading NBA club, the center of the American team "Houston Rockets" repeatedly participated in the show matches of all stars.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Yao Ming (@yao) on Sep 12, 2016 at 3:34pm PDT

In 2016, along with Shaquil O'Neill and Allen Iverson, he was inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame in Springfield and became the current chairman of the Chinese Basketball Association. At 229cm tall and weighing 141kg, the athlete has always attracted the attention of journalists, who have made the face of laughing Yao Ming one of the most popular memes on social media.

Yao Ming was born on September 12, 1980 in Shanghai. His biography was predetermined in advance, as his parents Yao Jiyuan and Fan Fandi were athletes who played professional basketball.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Yao Ming (@yao) on Feb 2, 2017 at 10:34am PST

When the boy, who was twice as young as the other children, turned 9 years old, he began to train in the children's section and soon got into the junior team at the Chinese club "Shanghai Sharks".

Medics, who regularly examined the young players, thought that in the future Yao will reach the height of 221 cm, and did not make a mistake, predicting the athlete's brilliant career in basketball. In pursuit of this, as a child Ming trained for 10 hours a day and by the age of 17 gained form, which allowed to become a member of the senior team of the national association.

In his debut season Yao showed good results, but a broken leg for a while knocked the young athlete out of the rut, and the Shanghai Sharks lost the championship to the famous club "Bai Rockets". In 2002, Mina's team achieved victory and for the first time in history became the CBA champion. Yao, with an average of 38.9 points and 20.2 rebounds per game, became one of the best basketball players of the season and the only lifetime number 15.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Yao Ming (@yao) on Sep 26, 2017 at 10:37am PDT

The athlete's agent insisted on Ming's move to the NBA league, but the final decision was postponed for a long time due to disagreements with the leadership of the Association of China. A special "Yao team" was created for the negotiations, which included representatives of the Asian and American sides. As a result, in 2002, Ming took part in the draft, held on June 26 at Madison Square Garden.

In the first round, the young athlete chose the Club of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference "Houston Rockets", and it became a sensation in the Western basketball world, as Ming became the first foreigner to leave the NBA team at number one.

After missing preseason training due to the Chinese national team's games at the World Basketball Championship, Yao made his first appearance on the court against the Indiana Pacers. The day before, sports commentators predicted the failure of the legionnaire, who finished the meeting without a single point.

Pressure on the athlete increased in the match against the Miami Heat team, when, following the Eastern tradition, the spectators in the stands were handed out 8,000. cookies with predictions. Later in the interview Yao said that he did not understand American humor, because in China such a stereotype never existed.

In addition, in January 2003, Shaquille O'Neal allowed himself derogatory racist remarks against a Chinese basketball player, and later admitted that he regretted the way he treated Yao at the beginning of his career. In place of the NBA star put the success of Mina, who defeated the American in the voting on the eve of the All-Star Game 2003 and was recognized as the best rookie of the season and winner of the Laureus World Award.

After that, the new Houston Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy put Yao at the center of the attack, and the team advanced to the playoffs for the first time in a long time. Although the club failed to reach the final, Ming was again part of the Western Conference stars who beat their rivals in a showpiece match in 2004.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Yao Ming (@yao) on Nov 11, 2016 at 6:55am PST

By season four, Yao had 244 games left, followed by a long hiatus due to deteriorating health and surgery on his left toe. Nevertheless, the basketball player, who became the winner of the vote in the West, was again invited to participate in the show star-studded weekend.

Injuries continued to haunt the athlete and permanently deprived him of playing practice in the NBA. In the spring of 2006, Yao was recovering for six months from a fracture sustained during a game against the Utah Jazz, and then suffered a serious injury in another game while trying to block an opponent.

In 2008, the athlete required surgery, as a result of which metal screws were twisted into the foot to strengthen the bone. As a result, the Houston Rockets stripped Mina of his salary and in 2011 granted him free agent status. At the same time, the basketball player announced his retirement from professional sports, and social networks exploded with comments about the decision.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Yao Ming (@yao) on Sep 12, 2016 at 3:28pm PDT

Reacting to Yao's resignation, NBA Commissioner David Stern said the player, who had a 48-size shoe and an incredible arms swing, was a key figure in the National Basketball Association and a bridge between Chinese and American fans.

In 2012, the media, which valued the athlete's achievements, nominated Mina for a place in the Naismith Hall of Fame, but modesty did not allow it too early to become part of professional history. Only four years later, the highest-ranked Houston Rockets, along with Shakil O'Neal and Allen Iverson, accepted the honorary title and the honored award.

At the age of 17, Yao met Chinese basketball player E Li, who embraced the young man's friendship after a memorable gift purchased at the 2000 Summer Olympics. The lovers soon appeared together at the closing ceremony of the main sporting event in Athens, and in 2007 E Lee became the wife of the highest-ranking athlete in the NBA.

Three years after the wedding, which was attended only by family members, the couple had a daughter, whose American name was recorded as Amy.

Some details and interesting facts of the athlete's personal life were reported in his autobiographical book "Yao: Life in Two Worlds" and the documentary film directed by Adam Del Deo "The Year of Yao".

These projects increased the popularity of the basketball player and made him a hero of social networks. Photo Mina, which turned into a famous meme, instantly leaked to the Internet and was subsequently used to create comics on Tumblr, MemeBase and other resources. Now the laughing face of the athlete often flashes on the pages devoted to politics and the Ukrainian elections of 2019.

Yao Ming has been president of the China Basketball Association since 2017.

By focusing on the development of youth sports at home, the athlete takes care of children with special needs and promotes a program of interaction between charitable foundations in China and the United States.

Another activity of Mina is winemaking. Drinks, created from different varieties of grapes, have repeatedly occupied honorary places at prestigious exhibitions in America and Europe.

2001-02 - Chinese Basketball Association Champion 2003 - Laureus World Award winner 2003 - NBA Rookie of the Year 2003-2009, 2011 - NBA All-Star Game 2016 - Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame

Yao Ming's estimated Net Worth, Salary, Income, Cars, Lifestyles & much more details has been updated below.

Let's check, How Rich is Yao Ming in 2020?

Yao Ming Net Worth 2021

Yao Ming 's revenue is $1.6M in 2021. It is an approximate forecast of how rich is Yao Ming and could vary in the range between $960.6K - $1.1M.

Yao Ming Net Worth 2020

Yao Ming 's revenue is $1.7M in 2020. It is an approximate forecast of how rich is Yao Ming and could vary in the range between $967.5K - $1.1M.

Yao Ming Net Worth 2019

Yao Ming 's revenue is $1.5M in 2019. It is an approximate forecast of how rich is Yao Ming and could vary in the range between $977.3K - $1.8M.

Yao Ming Net Worth 2018

Yao Ming 's revenue is $1.3M in 2018. It is an approximate forecast of how rich is Yao Ming and could vary in the range between $842.8K - $1.4M.

Yao Ming Net Worth 2017

Yao Ming 's revenue is $1.9M in 2017. It is an approximate forecast of how rich is Yao Ming and could vary in the range between $810K - $1.2M.

Yao Ming Net Worth 2016

Yao Ming 's revenue is $1.2M in 2016. It is an approximate forecast of how rich is Yao Ming and could vary in the range between $938.3K - $1.1M.

Yao Ming Net Worth 2015

Yao Ming 's revenue is $1.1M in 2015. It is an approximate forecast of how rich is Yao Ming and could vary in the range between $987.3K - $1.5M.

It is an overall forecast for the net worth of Yao Ming. The evaluation covers the latest 5 years and a approximation for next year. See above to learn how much money does Yao Ming make a year.

The range above shows an estimation based on evaluation generated by public information about sponsorships or other sources found on the internet. It's summarized data from Yao Ming' projects existing in AidWiki's repository. It's an approximation of the revenue compiled by AidWiki and may not correspond with the real amount.