Yao Ming may have only played eight seasons in the NBA before his career was cut short by foot and ankle injuries. However, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is going to enshrine him later this year and his impact on international basketball is a big reason why.
After being selected first overall by the Houston Rockets in the 2002 NBA Draft, Yao quickly became one of the league's most popular players. He started for the Western Conference in the All-Star Game in each of his eight seasons, and helped the NBA reach a more global audience, particularly in Asia.
The Hall of Fame's Direct Elect International Committee nominated Yao, 35, for enshrinement in December. He is the committee's first nominee and his votes were not affected by the North American Committee's nominations.
Adrian Wojnarowski learned Yao's enshrinement will be formally announced this weekend at the NCAA Tournament Final in Houston, where Yao played in his NBA career. Fittingly enough, Yao will enter the Hall of Fame alongside fellow big man Shaquille O'Neal. Other inductees are Allen Iverson and Tom Izzo.
Basketball has grown exponentially as a global sport in the two and a half decades since Yao entered the NBA. While he certainly attracted a lot of fans in China to the NBA, basketball's popularity is now spread all over the world. Not only are international players entering the NBA Draft every spring, but American-born players are traveling overseas to play professionally as well.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver has emphasized the global reach of the game for years. In 2014, he highlighted the role technology plays and emphasized China's importance on both fronts as a major market for both basketball and technology.
"And I'm sure that there will be technology that will instantly translate a Chinese fan's words along with a German fan's words, a French fan's words, all into a language that everyone can understand to make this one large communal experience," Silver said at the time. "Our ultimate goal through digital media is to come as close as possible to replicating the experience of being at the game.... Nothing can be No 1 at anything in the world unless it is No 1 in China."
Yao's induction will coincide nicely with the Rockets' trip to Beijing next October to play the New Orleans Pelicans in two preseason games. It will be the Rockets' fourth trip to China, while it will be the first for the Pelicans.
In eight seasons for the Rockets, Yao averaged 19 points and nine rebounds per game.
