There was a time in which it was assumed Yao Ming was nothing more than a gimmick. He was a 7-foot-6 Chinese basketball player, battling with Duke point guard Jay Williams in mock drafts for the top spot in the 2002 NBA Draft. Eventually, the Houston Rockets selected Yao over Williams, and the scrutiny of a player with unimaginable size and coming from a country of origin that didn't produce top basketball players beg flooding expectations of what he could do.
It wasn't long before Yao proved not only did he belong but he was one of the most important global figures in the world of basketball. He was a legitimate star on the court and he was an icon off the court in a country the NBA was desperate to tap into. While his career was cut short due to injuries, he was influential enough to have reportedly earned his way into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Adrian Wojnarowski is reporting Yao has been elected for the class of 2016:
"Former Houston Rockets center Yao Ming, a transcendent 7-foot-6 Chinese icon, has been elected for enshrinement into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame's Class of 2016, league sources told The Vertical.
"Yao had been nominated and enters the Hall of Fame under a newly created Direct Elect International Committee. The formal announcement is expected to come at the NCAA Final Four in Houston this weekend."
Photos: Yao Ming through the years
