While he may have wished that he had become an archaeologist, Yao Ming ended up becoming the greatest basketball player in 5,000 years of Chinese history.
On Friday night, Yao was honored for his achievements on the court by becoming the first Chinese basketball player to be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame, alongside Allen Iverson and Shaquille O’Neal.
As you’d expect from one of the game’s greatest global ambassadors, Yao gave one hell of a charming speech, which started out with possibly the best line of the night.
Watch the whole thing below:
Just think, the next time we see Yao, he may be out in the woods with Bear Grylls, chowing down on some bull’s testicle. He has come so far.
Another bonus of Yao being inducted into the Hall of Fame is that we all got to see how tall he is again.
Yao Ming with @Rockets owner Leslie Alexander.
Still tall. pic.twitter.com/Kz6TWYtRST
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) September 9, 2016
Congrats to @YaoMing on the Hall of Fame!! pic.twitter.com/LOCfyckNHs
— Jeremy Lin (@JLin7) September 10, 2016
Congrats @YaoMing on the Hall of Fame induction. #NBA #GlobalGame pic.twitter.com/LEVDGKbvby
— Jimmy Alapag (@JAlapag3) September 10, 2016
Yao Ming, with a Shaq assist. pic.twitter.com/sywJNM2DLh
— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) September 8, 2016
