Have you ever wondered who the tallest NBA player might be?

Let me tell you the story of China-born Yao Ming, whose American basketball career was spent as a team member for the Houston Rockets. As an only child, he was born to a father who stands 6’ 7” and a mom that is 6’ 3” tall. It was no surprise that Ming weighed a whopping 11 pounds at birth- that is more than double the average weight of a newborn in China. By age 10, he stood 5’ 5”. And he grew into a 7’ 6” giant of a guy who made basketball a passion for the people in his home country.

Even Ming could have used the adjustable Goalrilla Basketball Goal since it adjusts from 7.5 to 10 feet.

By the way, Ming’s parents were both professional basketball players and they encouraged their child to take up the game when he was nine years old. By high school, Ming played for the Shanghai Sharks and helped dribble the team to a championship before signing on to play for the Rockets.

On July 20, 2011, Ming retired from the NBA, due to recurrent foot and ankle injuries, including a third fracture of his left foot. He left the game after leading China to gold three consecutive times in the FIBA Asian Championships as well as competing against the United States for China in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

Ming lives a quiet life with his wife, a Chinese basketball player he met at 17. He never dated anyone but her, and they have a two-year-old daughter.

Still making money from endorsements such as Nike, Rebok and Pepsi, Ming has proven time and again that his heart is just as huge as his body. He has been known to frequently participate in charity basketball events, especially to raise money for underprivileged children in China. In 2008, he donated $2 million when Sichuan was destroyed by an earthquake.

In 2009, Ming bought the team where he got his start. They were facing such serious financial hardship that they would be unable to play the season without a miracle. Lucky for them and for so many others, that their miracle comes in the form of such a tall, talented and philanthropic young man.

Now you know what we know here at the Basketball Goal store: The game of basketball can very frequently lead to more opportunities than anyone could ever imagine.

-Pat of the Basketball Goal Store Blog Team