大家好! My name is Yao Ming. You might recognize me as a professional NBA player, but my influence and achievements go beyond the basketball court.
I was a natural at basketball from a young age. Although my height played a factor in my success, hard work and perseverance were what brought me to the top. Even when I was only 13 years old, I trained rigorously by practicing basketball for up to 10 hours every day.
When I first entered the NBA, I was expected to fail. Other basketball players made jokes that discriminated against my Chinese background. However, I never backed down and fought to make sure my culture was properly represented. Overall, I had a very successful career in the NBA. Here are my top 10 plays!
Unfortunately, I suffered from many injuries throughout my entire career. I was plagued with sprained ankles, fractured feet, and bone infections. Despite the pain that the injuries brought on, I persisted and continued to play every time my injuries were healed.
Even after his retirement, I continue to inspire countless people all over the world. As the first Chinese international sports star, I am a figure that Chinese youth look up to. The charity foundation that I built, the Yao Foundation, has promoted sports and fitness education throughout China.
Now, let’s play some basketball! I wish I could we could have a real match, but a virtual game works too! Move around with arrow keys or ‘WASD’. Jump with the ‘Space’ key. Left-click to throw normally, and right-click to throw with less force. Once the ball is thrown, move near it to pick it up again.
Try to complete some challenges:
- Layup – Use the backboard to bounce the ball into the hoop
- Jump Shot – Throw the ball to make a shot in mid-air
- 3-Pointer – Make a shot behind the 3-point line(red line)
- Swish – Get the ball through the hoop without it touching the rim or the backboard. Good luck!
- Ramp Up – There are no ramps in a real basketball court, but let’s get interesting! Make a shot while standing on the ramp.
- Eleven – That’s the number on my basketball jersey! Try to get exactly 11 points. Remember, you receive 3 points for a shot made behind the 3-point line and 2 points for a shot made anywhere else.
- Dunked – Use the ramp and jump up towards the hoop. Then, dunk that ball.
Thank you for visiting! Feel free to ask me any questions.
Hello! I really enjoyed your activity. It was really original and cool. Here’s my question. What year was his most successful year?
Thank you! I think my most successful year was 2004. This was before my career was riddled with various injuries. That year, our team won 51 games and made it to the play-offs. During that same year, I also beat Michael Jordan’s record for the most all-star votes with 2,558,278 votes in total. That was a great year.
Ay Mike really enjoyed the simplicity and engagement with the simple but effective text/video/image layout. Also loved the game, I even completed all the challenges. Awesome. For my question, I was wondering what Yao Ming’s highest point game was? And how many shots has he blocked. Thank you.
Thanks Justin! My highest scoring game was in the 2003-2004 season where I scored 41 points against the Atlanta Hawks. Over my entire career, I have blocked 920 shots.
Great career. If you played through pain, what made you decide to retire eventually? What made you so determined to never give up?
Thank you for asking! After repeated injury to my ankels, I was forced to stop in 2011 to prevent permanent damage. However, I am satisfied and proud of my performance over the nine years that I’ve played in thee NBA. I was determined to keep going no matter what because I knew an entire nation was counting on me. I needed to show the world that Chinese people can be athletes too.
This presentation let me understand how unique you really are from other NBA stars! I really liked the game, (I got a 360 dunk) well done.
-AJ
Thanks Adrian! Good job on getting a 360 dunk!
Great work Mike! I loved the game. It was so amazing. I was wondering how old Yao Ming was when he retired? Also, does Yao Ming’s charity work only in China or is it international? Thanks
Thanks Lucas! I retired in 2011 after receiving multiple injuries to my ankle. I was 31 at that time. The charity that I founded provides physical education opportunities to students in China and also in the US.
Did you have a goal or something that kept you going as you continued to play basketball? As in, was there something that you used to help you perservere in the face of hardships and struggles?
Thanks for asking, Tyson. One goal that I had in mind as I persevered through hardship was showing to the world that Chinese people can be athletes too! I couldn’t let me nation down.
Hello! Your game was so much fun! I really enjoyed looking at your learning centre! 🙂
Thanks Emma! I’m glad you enjoyed the game!