After being inducted in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame just last month, Chinese basketball superstar Yao Ming will receive another recognition from the only team he played for in the NBA.
The Houston Rockets have scheduled the 7-foot-6 big man's number 11 to be retired and hang in the rafters of the Toyota Center. The ceremony will happen on February 2 during halftime of the Rockets' game against the Atlanta Hawks.
Yao, humble as always, believes it is too soon to see his jersey beside other Rockets greats. According to Calvin Watkins of ESPN, the former top overall pick of the 2002 draft said he never dreamed of it happening and is thankful to the whole city:
“Jersey retired? It just happened too soon. It's something I couldn't have dreamed of. I appreciate everything Houston did for me, the opportunity to come over here and play.”
“I said it before, but so many nights when I walked through that court or played on that court, I looked up to those jerseys and thought, ‘Those jerseys are the spirit of the team of Houston.'”
“Those jerseys are honored, and those jerseys are motivation … I would be honored to continue.”
Even if he was forced to retire early due to multiple foot injuries, Yao's impact not just in Houston, but the whole world in making basketball as popular as it is today, made him one of the biggest – literally and figuratively – personalities the sport has ever had.
He may think it's not yet time for his number to be retired yet, but it only goes to show how much he is appreciated in Houston. The way Rockets CEO Thaddeus Brown described Yao is indeed true:
“A native Texan and a Houston Rocket for life.”
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