YaoMing(Chinese:姚明;pinyin:YáoMíng;bornSeptember12,1980inShanghai,China)isaprofessionalbasketballplayerwhoplaysfortheHoustonRocketsoftheNationalBasketballAssociation(NBA).HeiscurrentlythetallestplayerintheNBA,at2.29m(7ft6in).

　　Yao,whowasborninShanghai,startedplayingfortheShanghaiSharksasateenager,andplayedontheirseniorteamforfiveyearsintheChineseBasketballAssociation(CBA),winningachampionshipinhisfinalyear.Heenteredthe2002NBADraft,andafternegotiatingwiththeCBAandtheSharkstosecurehisrelease,wasselectedbytheHoustonRocketsasthefirstoverallpickofthedraft.HehassincebeenselectedtostartfortheWesternConferenceintheNBAAll-StarGameinallsevenofhisseasons,andhasbeennamedtotheAll-NBATeamfivetimes.However,theRocketshaveadvancedpastthefirstroundoftheplayoffsonlyoncesincehejoinedtheteam,andhehasmissedsignificanttimeduetoinjuryineachofthepastfourseasons.

　　YaoismarriedtoYeLi,aformerplayerfortheChinawomen'snationalbasketballteam.HeisoneofChina'sbest-knownathletes,withsponsorshipswithseveralmajorcompanies,andhehasbeentherichestcelebrityinChinaforsixstraightyears.HisrookieyearintheNBAwasthesubjectofadocumentaryfilm,TheYearoftheYao,andheco-wrote,alongwithNBAanalystRicBucher,anautobiographytitledYao:ALifeinTwoWorlds.