Drazen Petrovic's #3 hangs in the Nets' rafters as a monument to the Mozart of Basketball — a Croatian pioneer who proved European players belonged in the NBA, then died at 28 just as he was becoming one of its finest.
Restaurant and investment portfolio in Houston and Shanghai
Chinese Basketball Association Chairman (2017-present)
慈善事业
Yao Foundation supporting youth sports and education in rural China
Environmental conservation initiatives
媒体
Subject of the documentary The Year of the Yao (2004)NBA ambassadorial work in China
你知道吗?
你知道吗?
1
Both of Yao's parents were professional basketball players — his father stood 6'10" and his mother was 6'3" and a national team member, making him almost genetically destined for basketball.
2
Yao's arrival in 2002 transformed basketball into a national phenomenon in China — games featuring him regularly drew hundreds of millions of viewers, making him one of the most-watched athletes on earth.
3
He wore jersey #11 with the Rockets and his number was retired in his honor — the only Rockets player whose number was retired having spent his entire NBA career with one team.
4
Yao has served as chairman of the Chinese Basketball Association since 2017, overseeing significant reforms to league structure and player development programs.
Marc Gasol spent eleven years in Memphis becoming the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year, a three-time All-Star, and the most important player in franchise history.
Clyde Drexler returned home to Houston at the peak of his career and helped the Rockets win the 1995 NBA championship. A Hall of Famer who grew up in Houston and starred at the University of Houston, Clyde the Glide gave the city its greatest homecoming story.