Mahatma Gandhi
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Photo: U.S. Department of State, 2016, public domain, cropped and resized from the original · Photograph by the U.S. Department of State, 7 June 2016, Beijing, from the Department's Flickr photo captioned as showing 'Former NBA player and Chinese national Yao Ming' (Commons file 'Former NBA Player Yao Ming Looks On as Secretary Kerry and Chinese Vice Premier Liu Deliver Remarks ... - 14.jpg'). A US Government work in the public domain (State Department photo marked Public Domain; Flickr licence 'United States Government Work'; passed Commons licence review); no conflicting notice found. Original 4681 x 3121; cropped by the project to the area around Yao (1160 x 1548 pixels at original resolution) and downscaled once to 899 x 1200 (no upscaling). Edges of the crop are out-of-focus foreground from the original composition. Rejected alternatives: the Keith Allison 2006 game photo (permission recorded only as an emailed permission ticket with a relicensing template) and a 2026 conference photo whose subject identification rests on the uploader alone. · Public Domain (US government work)
athlete · Contemporary
Yao Ming
b. 1980
Known For
athleticculturalhistorical
Not yet included in personality matching — the documented evidence doesn't yet cover enough of the personality model. Everything else on this page is fully available.
Trait Constellation
Key Achievements
Taken first overall by the Houston Rockets in 2002 after starting in the Chinese league, he played nine NBA seasons as a center and was an eight-time All-Star averaging 19.0 points, 9.2 rebounds and 1.9 blocks.
Is given much of the credit for bringing the NBA to China, where merchandise sales and television ratings grew during his career and a 2007 game he played in was watched by more than 200 million people.
Elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and had his No. 11 retired by the Rockets, even though foot and ankle injuries ended his playing career in 2011.
Moments That Reveal Them
Van Gundy describes Yao's routine before every practice: weight-room work, film study with assistant coach Tom Thibodeau and an individual workout, so that he had been at the facility for a couple of hours by the time practice began.
This account is consistent with a steady, routine-based approach to preparation. Discipline
Van Gundy recalls that Yao stood and cheered from the bench on teammates' good plays and was first off the bench to greet them at timeouts.
This is consistent with a team-first, supportive way of relating to teammates. Collaboration
Turning Points
In 2002 he moved from the Chinese league, where he had just won a title with the Shanghai Sharks, to the NBA as the first overall pick, opening a nine-season career in Houston.
This move is consistent with an ability to adjust to a new league and environment, as his rookie-year results suggest. Adaptability
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Sources
- Yao Ming (Q58590) -- verified live via the Wikidata API (2026-10-26): English label 'Yao Ming', description 'Chinese basketball player (born 1980)', Korean label '야오밍', born 1980-09-12, no death date, citizenship China, P18 images including 'YaoMingonoffense2.jpg'. The name search also returns a particle physicist (Q113443345) and several other namesakes, which were rejected. Orientation only; not used as support for any row.
- Encyclopaedia Britannica, 'Yao Ming', read in full: retired from professional basketball in July 2011 after leg, foot and ankle injuries; led China's team to a respectable 10th-place finish at an Olympic Games; first overall pick of the Houston Rockets in the 2002 NBA draft; fan-voted All-Star starter as a rookie and unanimous All-Rookie team; Rockets improved from 28-54 to 43-39 in his first season; All-Star in each of the next six seasons and five playoff appearances; series of broken bones in his first seven years, a failed-to-heal broken foot in 2008-09, a missed 2009-10 season after surgery, five games in 2010-11 before a stress fracture; Hall of Fame 2016; president and owner of the Shanghai Sharks franchise since 2009 and CBA president from 2017; large Asian broadcast audiences and the NBA's efforts to popularise the league abroad. CANONICAL SIGNIFICANCE SOURCE. Reference biography, retrospective; family passages not used.
- ESPN, 'Eleven things to know about Hall of Famer Yao Ming' (espn.com, 2016), read in full: calls him a pivotal figure in the globalisation of basketball who catapulted the NBA's popularity in China; first international player taken first overall without US college basketball; his scoreless 11-minute NBA debut and his remark that he still had a lot to learn; Michael Jordan's comment on his footwork; his blocks against Shaquille O'Neal in their first meeting and Yao's 'like a truck' remark; his 2000-2002 Chinese league seasons (Shanghai championship in 2001-02); and that he later rescued his former team from financial peril by buying it in 2009. Sports-journalism feature with named participants; admiring in tone; personal and family passages not used.
- ESPN, 'Yao Ming to be inducted into Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame' (espn.com, 2016), read in full: elected to the Hall of Fame; first pick in the 2002 draft and given much of the credit for bringing the NBA to China; NBA merchandise sales and television ratings in China growing during his career; a 2007 game broadcast on 19 networks and watched by more than 200 million people in China; eight-time All-Star averaging 19 points, 9.2 rebounds and 1.9 blocks; retired in 2011 after foot and ankle injuries; 'likable and playful' personality in television ads. News report; factual and admiring.
- Sports Illustrated, 'Yao Ming retires from NBA' (si.com, 8 July 2011), read in full: first overall pick in 2002 and pivotal figure in the globalisation of the NBA; career derailed over two years by left foot and ankle injuries, the full 2009-10 season missed after surgery and five games played in 2010-11 before a stress fracture; eight All-Star starts largely due to an enormous Internet vote from China; the 2007 game against Yi Jianlian shown on 19 networks to more than 200 million homes. Contemporaneous sports-news report; factual.
- Houston Chronicle, 'Rockets' Yao makes it official, retires from basketball' (chron.com, July 2011), read in full: Yao's Shanghai retirement announcement citing his left foot and ankle injuries, and his statement thanking Houston, his national-team friends and Rockets teammates including Chuck Hayes, Kyle Lowry, Aaron Brooks and Luis Scola; owner Leslie Alexander calling it sad that his career ended so soon and saying he was a sports icon at his peak; NBA commissioner David Stern on his talent, dedication, humanitarian aspirations and sense of humour; Rockets executives' reactions. Local newspaper news report with the subject's own words and several named observers; admiring, with a team owner's regret as a counterweight.
- Houston Chronicle, 'On cusp of Hall of Fame induction, Yao Ming has legacy beyond basketball' (houstonchronicle.com, September 2016), read in full: Rudy Tomjanovich on him as a bridge between two countries; Adam Silver on his on-court success as a catalyst for NBA growth; Carroll Dawson on his patience; Tad Brown on the pressure he carried; Jeff Van Gundy on an unparalleled work ethic and enjoyment of others' success and on injuries not diminishing his dominance; his fifth-season scoring average of 25 points and nine rebounds; the Rockets' only playoff series win with Yao in his seventh season, and the note that he never came close to a championship; his own remark that he finds the Hall of Fame beyond his expectations and his description of keeping to a narrow focus. Feature written for a national audience from interviews with former coaches, executives and the subject; admiring; the political-priority and Olympic-flag passages are not used.
- Jeff Van Gundy, 'How to Measure Yao Ming' (The Players' Tribune, 2017, written as Yao's jersey was retired), read in full: his former Rockets coach describes Yao's daily routine (one-on-one weight-room work, film with assistant coach Tom Thibodeau, an individual workout before practice), his behaviour on the bench cheering teammates and greeting them at timeouts, his relationship with Tracy McGrady and Dikembe Mutombo, that he never made excuses after defeats or blamed injuries, and the coach's regret that the team never got past the first round after going up 2-0 in two playoff series. First-person coach testimony; personal, admiring and retrospective; one voice; the hearing anecdote and personal-life passages are deliberately not used.
- NBA.com / Associated Press, 'Houston Rockets retiring Yao Ming's jersey' (nba.com/news, February 2017), read in full: the Rockets retiring his number 11 as the sixth Rocket so honoured; his 19.0 points, 9.2 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game, eight All-Star selections and nine seasons in Houston; his retirement in 2011 because of injuries; owner Les Alexander saying the team would have won a couple of championships had he stayed; his appointment as Houston's goodwill ambassador in 2013. Wire report; factual.
- Wikimedia Commons file page 'Former NBA Player Yao Ming Looks On as Secretary Kerry and Chinese Vice Premier Liu Deliver Remarks ... in Beijing - 14.jpg' with the U.S. State Department's Flickr photo page, checked for the portrait: photograph by the U.S. Department of State, captioned by the Department as dated 7 June 2016 in Beijing (file timestamp 6 June 2016, 23:37), captioned by the Department as showing 'Former NBA player and Chinese national Yao Ming' and marked 'State Department photo / Public Domain'; Commons tag PD-USGov-DOS with a passed Flickr licence review ('United States Government Work', no restrictions); the Flickr page itself shows the licence as 'United States Government Work'; original 4681 x 3121. Not used for any scoring.