Yao, who lives in Houston, came to Manhattan to promote his autobiography, "Yao, A Life in Two Worlds" (Miramax Books).
Yao got his license and a customized BMW 745 last year.)
Though he is becoming proficient in English, he often relies on his translator, Colin Pine. "The Chinese government doesn't force tall people in China to play basketball but they can suggest it," he said. 1 draft pick, the first foreigner to do so. He worked his way up through the ranks of the Shanghai teams and in 2002 became the N.B.A.'s No. His parents played basketball for the Chinese national teams and when their son was 10, doctors X-rayed his hands and predicted he would grow to be over 7 feet tall. Yao, accompanied by a bodyguard about half his size, narrowly missed colliding with a chandelier hanging from the high ceiling.īasketball is in Mr.
Yao, who is 7 feet 5 inches tall and wears a size 18 shoe, walked into Blue Smoke, a barbecue restaurant on East 27th Street, at 7:30 on a recent Tuesday night with an entourage that included his girlfriend, his translator and Team Yao - several businessmen who work for him - all heads turned. Instead of living in a bachelor's pad with women in skimpy bikinis lining the infinity pool, he lives with his parents.īut when Mr. He doesn't have tattoos, and he doesn't party with groupies after games. YAO MING, the 24-year-old Houston Rockets All-Star center from Shanghai, isn't your typical National Basketball Association player.