Rockets Make Ming Their Man

Yao has averaged 23.4 points on .651 shooting with 15.4 rebounds in 122 games with the Shanghai Sharks of the China Basketball Association. The 21-year old has increased his scoring average in each of his five CBA seasons, averaging over 20 points and 10 rebounds in each of the last four years. He has also gained international fame as a valuable member of the Chinese National Team.

This past season, Yao averaged a career-high 32.4 points (on .721 shooting) with 19.0 rebounds and 4.8 blocked shots for the Sharks, leading the CBA in blocks and ranking second in both scoring and rebounding. The recipient of the league’s “Sportsmanship Award” led the Sharks to Shanghai’s first CBA Championship, averaging 41.3 points, 21.0 rebounds and 4.3 blocks in the CBA Finals over the Bayi Rockets. In the clinching victory, Yao scored 44 points on 21-of-21 shooting with 21 rebounds and seven blocked shots.

Yao emerged as the dominant player in the CBA during the 2000-2001 season, when he averaged 27.1 points (on .678 shooting), 19.4 rebounds and 5.5 blocked shots for the Sharks. During the 1999-2000 season, he averaged 21.2 points with CBA-leading averages of 14.6 rebounds and 5.3 blocked shots. Yao averaged 20.9 points and 12.9 rebounds per game during the 1998-99 season. As a 17-year-old rookie, he averaged 10.0 points and 8.3 rebounds during the 1997-98 season.

Yao has played against elite international talent since being named to Chinese National Team at age 18. In the 2001 Asian Basketball Championship for Men, Yao averaged 13.4 points on .724 shooting with 10.1 rebounds and 2.8 blocked shots, helping China capture the title and an accompanying berth in the 2002 World Championship, to be played in Indianapolis later this summer. In the 2000 Olympic Games, he scored 10.5 points per game with team-leading averages of 6.0 rebounds, 2.2 blocked shots. Yao also led China with a field goal percentage of .639.

This year marks the fifth time that the Rockets have made the first overall pick in the NBA Draft. Among the first overall selections in NBA history, Yao stands as the tallest and second-heaviest player ever. Upon entering the NBA, Yao will become the third Chinese player in NBA history, following fellow Chinese National Team members Wang Zhizhi and Mengke Bateer.