Who Is Yao Ming, The Retired Basketball Player? His Wife, Parents, And Age

Quick Facts

Yao Ming is a retired professional basketball player who surprised everyone when he was called to join the NBA. As you may tell from the name, he was born and raised in Chinese’s largest City, Shanghai. His talent was realized when he was just a boy and this along with his physique put him on the global spotlight. Although he has retired from professional basketball, his name will go in the books of history as one of the most unlikely stars this world has ever seen.

But how well do you know Yao Ming? What do you know about his social life? Well, it may be impossible to know your answer but if you are reading this post then it is highly likely that you want to know more about the celebrity. So here’s more about Yao Ming’s wife, parents, his age and statistics.

How Old Is Yao Ming?

According to Wikipedia and other believable sources, Yao Ming was born on September 12, 1980 making him 35 years of age. Yao is the superstar’s family name while Ming is the superstar’s given name. His birth weight was 4.5 kilograms (10 pounds) which was not unusual. However, the boy recorded unusually fast growth despite the fact that the high population of china made food a little scarce. It appears Yao Ming’s family had to find enough food satisfy their son’s ravenous appetite and they succeeded.

When he was in third-grade, the retired basketball professional had achieved an adult height of 5 feet 7 inches. That was when Chinese sports officials spotted him and gave him the opportunity to take part in local school sports in Shanghai. It is worth noticing that Yao Ming had absolutely no interest in basketball but loved military history and reading related books. He surprised everyone when he surpassed his mother in height at sixth grade. He was signed to American NBA Team in 2002 at the age of 22 years and that was the beginning of his progress in the American basketball profession.

Who are Yao Ming’s Parents and how tall are they?

Because of Ming’s unusual height, many people believe that he inherited all of the traits from his parents making most people believe that his parents will look as tall or as huge as he is. Well there is some truth to this. The superstar was born to Yao Zhiyuan (his father) and Fang Fengdi (his mother). The father stands 6-foot 7 inches high while his mother stands 6-foot 3 inches tall. It is worth noting that he is the only son to his parents.

By Chinese standards these were among the tallest individuals in Shanghai and they both contributed to their son’s enormous height. By the end of his teenage years, Yao Ming had already surpassed both his parents in height. Both his parents were professional basketball players. They played for national teams in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) and were good at it. This is probably the reason why Chinese sports officials believed Yao Ming could also be talented.

Yao Ming’s wife

Yao Ming is married to Ye Li, another Chinese professional basketball player who played for China women’s national basketball team at the 2004 summer Olympics. She was born on November 20, 1981 (making her 33 years of age). She is 6-foot 3 inches tall. Ye Li met Yao Ming at the age of 17 years in 1998 and the two dated for about 9 years before finally tying the knot in August 2007. The couple are currently blessed with their first born daughter named Yao Qinlei (Amy in English). She was born on May 21, 2010 in Houston, Texas, United States. Curious eyes are on the young girl to see if she inherited her fathers genes that would make her the tallest woman on the planet.

Yao Ming’s Stats

Although he has officially retired from professional basketball, Yao Ming’s records while he was playing speak for themselves. He played the center position in the NBA. In his time, he played 468 games managing 9.2 (rebounds), 1.6 (assists), 0.4 (steals), 1.9 (blocks) and 19.0 (points). For the playoff games, he managed a total of 28 games achieving 9.3 (rebounds), 1.0 (assists), 0.3 (steals), 1.5 (blocks) and 19.0 (points). These stats indicate that he turned out to be one of the best basketball players of all time.

It is worth noting that Yao Ming did not retire because of age or drain of talent. He was actually forced to retire owing to frequent disabling injuries that kept him out of court for extended periods. Nevertheless, he stood a very good chance of becoming one of the most successful professional basketball players in the world.

Also Read: Top 10 Richest People in the world with full biography and details.