Rockets' C Yao Ming To Retire After 9 Seasons

Yao Ming(notes), one of the seminal figures in the globalization of the NBA, has decided to retire after nine injury-plagued seasons with the Houston Rockets, league sources told Yahoo! Sports. Yao played just five games last season, and hasn’t been able to fully recover after having surgery in January to repair a stress fracture in his left foot. The veteran center informed the Rockets, the league office in New York and NBA China of his decision to leave the game within the past 48 hours, sources said. Yao was set to become a free agent once the league’s lockout ends. He was once poised to become the league’s dominant big man, but lower-body injuries repeatedly sidelined him over the course of his career. He missed at least 25 games in five of the past six seasons.

Source Yahoo Sports

 

In terms of games played it's probably more like 6 seasons.

 

Crap, I didn't know we had him that long.:icon_scratch:

 

I always liked watching yao. But it seemed like he was always hurt