According to a Chinese news source, by way of CBS Houston, it’s been reported that the Houston Rockets will look to honor Hall of Famer Yao Ming by retiring his jersey during the 2016-17 NBA 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.
That’s a long backchannel of sources, but given the timing of Yao’s recent induction into the Hall of Fame, it’s perfectly reasonable to believe.
Yao Ming Ming’s popularity in China did wonders for bridging the NBA and basketball with their culture. In the 2000’s he made a substantial competitive impact on the Rockets franchise. His titanic toe-to-toe battles with Shaquille O’Neal were promotional gems for the NBA, not just because Yao’s size was the only presence more imposing than Shaq’s, but because his skill set developed him into a serious threat as an NBA center.
The Rockets may look to publicly confirm in the near future, but in the meantime it’s fair to assume that Yao will be earning this honor in the upcoming season.
