<TABLE width="100%" align=center><TBODY><TR><TD class=vaLabel vAlign=top rowSpan=5 width=100 align=middle>
</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD class=subHead vAlign=top colSpan=3>Yao Ming announces retirement from NBA </TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD class=vaLabel colSpan=3>Yao Ming - C - HOU - Jul. 8 2011</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top colSpan=3>Yao Ming has announced his decision to retire from the NBA at the age of 30.
Yao was a dominant center when healthy, as evidenced by his career averages -- 19.0 points, 9.3 rebounds, 1.6 blocks, and just 1.4 turnovers per game. He had an unusually deft touch around the basket and a soft jumper, shooting 52.4% from the field and 83.3% from the FT line, and his humility off the court was equally impressive. Sadly, his body couldn't support the rigors of an 82-game season -- after battling injuries for years, a series of foot surgeries limited him to a mere five games between 2009-2011.
Source: Yahoo! Sports
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Yao was a dominant center when healthy, as evidenced by his career averages -- 19.0 points, 9.3 rebounds, 1.6 blocks, and just 1.4 turnovers per game. He had an unusually deft touch around the basket and a soft jumper, shooting 52.4% from the field and 83.3% from the FT line, and his humility off the court was equally impressive. Sadly, his body couldn't support the rigors of an 82-game season -- after battling injuries for years, a series of foot surgeries limited him to a mere five games between 2009-2011.
Source: Yahoo! Sports
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