He achieved his place in the 2004 NBA All-Star Game for the second consecutive season. During his rookie season, he won the Laureus Newcomer of the Year award and the Sporting News Rookie of the Year. Thanks to him, the NBA also launched the All-Star Ballot in Chinese, in addition to English and Spanish. He first met one of the greatest NBA players of all time, Shaquille O'Neal, on January 17, 2003. Miami Heat handed out 8 fortune cookies ahead of Ming's first game in Miami on December 000, 16. Soon after, he scored his first NBA point in a game against the Denver Nuggets. However, he made his NBA debut in a regular season game against one of the NBA's oldest teams, the Indiana Pacers.
Ming represented China at the 2002 FIBA World Championships and missed preseason training camp with the Rockets. And with that achievement, Ming became the first player living outside the United States to become the first overall pick. Soon after, the Houston Rockets picked him as their first overall in the 2002 NBA Draft. In addition, the Chinese government has also said that it will only allow Ming to play in the United States if an NBA franchise takes him as the overall first choice. However, CBA has announced that Ming is expected to return to China whenever the national team calls him. Finally, in 2002, he decided to participate in the NBA Draft after forming “Team Yao” with Bill Sanders, Bill Duffy, Erik Zhang, John Huizinga and Lu Hao. Shanghai Sharks deputy general manager Li Yaomin influenced Ming to enter the 1999 NBA Draft, although he denied this time. Ming averaged 20,2 rebounds and 38,9 points per game in his last season with the Sharks. He helped the team win their very first CBA championship.
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