yao ming (chinese: 姚明; pinyin: yáo míng; born september 12, 1980 in shanghai, china) is a professional basketball player who plays for the houston rockets of the national basketball association (nba). he is currently the tallest player in the nba, at 2.29 m (7 ft 6 in). yao, who was born in shanghai, started playing for the shanghai sharks as a teenager, and played on their senior team for five years in the chinese basketball association (cba), winning a championship in his final year. he entered the 2002 nba draft, and after negotiating with the cba and the sharks to secure his release, was selected by the houston rockets as the first overall pick of the draft. he has since been selected to start for the western conference in the nba all-star game in all seven of his seasons, and has been named to the all-nba team five times.
however, the rockets have advanced past the first round of the playoffs only once since he joined the tea