Chairman Yao, The Great Wall of Yao or the NBA version of the Ming Dynasty has officially hang up his boots and announced his retirement from the NBA.
The 7-foot-6 Houston Rockets centre - the tallest in the NBA, Yao made it official today during a packed news conference in his hometown, Shanghai explaining that prolonged injuries forced him to end his playing career at the age of 30.
Yao Ming boosted the popularity of the NBA and basketball in China and Asia and his retirement will have an immediate effect since there is no Chinese player to take up after him.
The eight-time NBA all-star whose personal brand is valued at $1 billion, is a constant feature on Forbes' list of China's most valuable celebrities.
"I will formally end my career," said Yao who joined the NBA in 2002 but missed a staggering 250 regular-season games over the past six years because of his injuries.
"Today is an important day for me and holds a special meaning for both my basketball career and my future, I had to leave the court since I suffered a stress fracture in my left foot for the third time at the end of last year. My past six months were an agonising wait. I had been thinking about my future over and over. Today I am announcing a personal decision, ending my career as a basketball player and officially retire. But one door is closing and another one is opening."
Yao said he will return to work with his former Chinese team, the Shanghai Sharks, with the possibility of becoming general manager. He plans to continue his philanthropic work with his Yao Foundation.