Yao was born in Shanghai, People's Republic of China. He started with the Shanghai Sharks as a teenager and played on their senior team for five years in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). The team won a championship in his final year. Then he entered the 2002 NBA Draft. The CBA had to release him, and he was selected by the Houston Rockets to play on their team. He had also been chosen to play for the NBA All-Star Game for all six of his seasons. However, the Rockets have not advanced past the first round of the playoffs since he joined the team, and he has also had injuries in each of the past three seasons. On July 20, 2011, Yao announced that he was retiring from basketball after many foot and ankle injuries. 