Yao Ming (Chinese: 姚明; born September 12, 1980) is a Chinese basketball executive and former professional player. He played for the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA), and then spent his entire nine-year National Basketball Association (NBA) career with the Houston Rockets. Yao was selected to start for the Western Conference in the NBA All-Star Game eight times, and was named to the All-NBA Team five times. During his final season, he was the tallest active player in the NBA, at 7 feet 6 inches (2.29 m).

Yao, who was born in Shanghai, started playing for the Sharks as a teenager, and played on their senior team for five years in the CBA, winning a championship in his final year. After negotiating with the CBA and the Sharks to secure his release, Yao was selected by the Rockets as the first overall pick in the 2002 NBA draft. He reached the NBA playoffs four times, and the Rockets won the first-round series in the 2009 postseason, their first playoff series victory since 1997. In July 2011, Yao announced his retirement from professional basketball because of a series of foot and ankle injuries which forced him to miss 250 games in his last six seasons. In eight seasons with the Rockets, Yao ranks sixth among franchise leaders in total points and total rebounds, and second in total blocks.

Yao is one of China's best-known athletes internationally, with sponsorships with several major companies. His rookie year in the NBA was the subject of a documentary film, The Year of the Yao, and he co-wrote, along with NBA analyst Ric Bucher, an autobiography titled Yao: A Life in Two Worlds. Known in China as the "Yao Ming Phenomenon" and in the United States as the "Ming Dynasty", Yao's success in the NBA, and his popularity among fans, made him a symbol of a new China that was both more modern and more confident. Yao is also an entrepreneur and owner of Yao Family Wines in Napa Valley, California.

In April 2016, Yao was elected into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, alongside Shaquille O'Neal and Allen Iverson, becoming the first Chinese national to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. In February 2017, Yao was unanimously elected as chairman of the Chinese Basketball Association. Yao had a storied career as a member of the Chinese national team. With the national team, Yao won the FIBA Asia Cup in 2001, 2003, and 2005, winning MVP of the tournament all three times. He also made the All-Tournament Team at the FIBA World Cup in 2002. Yao retired from the Chinese national team after the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Yao Ming was born on September 12, 1980, in Shanghai, China. He is the only child of 6-foot-7-inch (2.01 m) Yao Zhiyuan and 6-foot-3-inch (1.91 m) Fang Fengdi, both of whom were former professional basketball players. At birth, Yao weighed 11 pounds (5.0 kg), more than twice the average weight of a Chinese newborn. When Yao was nine years old, he began playing basketball and attended a junior sports school. The following year, Yao measured 5 feet 5 inches (1.65 m) and was examined by sports doctors, who predicted he would grow to 7 feet 3 inches (2.21 m).

Yao first tried out for the Shanghai Sharks' junior team of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) when he was 13 years old, and practiced ten hours a day for his acceptance. After playing with the junior team for four years, Yao joined the Sharks' senior team, where he averaged 10 points and 8 rebounds a game in his rookie season. His next season was cut short when he broke his foot for the second time in his career, which Yao said decreased his jumping ability by four to six inches (10 to 15 cm). The Sharks made the finals of the CBA in Yao's third season and again the next year, but lost both times to the Bayi Rockets. When Wang Zhizhi left the Bayi Rockets to become the first NBA player from China the following year, the Sharks finally won their first CBA championship. During the playoffs in his final year with Shanghai, Yao averaged 38.9 points and 20.2 rebounds a game, while shooting 76.6% from the field, and made all 21 of his shots during one game in the finals.

Yao was pressured to enter the NBA draft in 1999 by Li Yaomin, the deputy general manager of the Shanghai Sharks. Li also influenced Yao to sign a contract for Evergreen Sports Inc. to serve as his agent. The agreement entitled Evergreen to 33% of Yao's earnings, but the contract was later determined to be invalid.

As American attention on Yao grew, Chinese authorities also took interest. In 2002, the Chinese government released new regulations that would require him and other Chinese players to turn over half of any NBA earnings to the government and China's national basketball association, including endorsements as well as salaries.