Yao Ming was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame this past weekend, and now he will have his jersey retired by the Houston Rockets.
According to multiple Chinese media reports, the Houston Rockets will retire number 11 to honor former center and recently enshrined Basketball Hall of Famer Yao Ming during the 2016-17 season.
China Radio International’s English website cited that the China’s Basketball Pioneers website posted on its Weibo (China’s most prominent social media platform) account that an unnamed member of the Rockets front office said there was a plan in place to honor Yao during the upcoming season.
According to the report the Rockets plan to hold the ceremony close to the Chinese Lunar New Year which will be near the end of January 2017.
Ming spent his entire nine-year career with the Rockets. He was a dominant big man but his time was cut short by injuries. His major contribution to the game is helping the league go international, making it very popular in China, where he now owns a team. The Rockets have not assigned his number since he retired in July 2011. Rockets owner Les Alexander told the Houston Chronicle’s Jonathan Feigen in November of 2012 that the organization planned to retire his jersey “sometime.” It appears that time is coming very soon.
source: CBS Houston