Yao Ming's Retirement

One of the biggest men to ever play basketball, 7-foot-6 Yao Ming is deciding to call it quits. Yao was one of the most dominating big man that the NBA has ever seen. Yao Ming was an All-Star in all 8 seasons that he played. For his career he averaged 19 PPG and 9.2 RPG, so he nearly averaged a double-double for his career. His size also certainly helped him average almost 2 BPG in his career.

Not only was Yao a star in the NBA and the United States, he became a cultural icon in China. Coming from China, Yao played for his hometown country in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Yao Ming helped increase the NBA's TV ratings throughout Asia, and for most of his career, Yao had the best selling NBA jersey in all of Asia.

Yao was never able to win an NBA title, even when the Rockets acquired superstar Tracy McGrady in 2005. After the 2007 playoffs, both players would begin to have injuries affect their careers. McGrady was traded to the New York Knicks in 2010, because McGrady could not stay healthy. At that point, McGrady wasn't the only superstar who was on the bench. In a playoff game against the Lakers in 2009, Yao broke his foot, an injury that would force him to miss all of the 2010 season.

Yao Ming played only 5 games since the 2008-2009 season. Five games in to the 2011 season, Yao re-injured his foot and missed the remainder of the season. Yao, who was the #1 Overall Pick of the 2002 NBA Draft, will retire at the age of 30. Yao's career will not end because of his diminished desire to continue playing. Or because of his age, and the many years he has played in the NBA. Yao Ming's illustrious career will end due to injury, and what a career it was.

Key:
PPG - Points Per Game
RPG - Rebounds Per Game
BPG - Blocks Per Game

Written on July 9th