NBA, Yao Ming to open first 'NBA Yao School' in China

Yao Ming speaks during a press conference on launching the first-ever NBA-Yao School in Beijing on Tuesday. The school will provide provide after-school basketball training and fitness programs for boys and girls up to age 16 at all skill levels. [Yan Weijue/chinadaily.com.cn]

About Yao Ming:

The former Chinese professional basketball player and NBA legend was born in 1980 in Shanghai, and is currently studying at the Shanghai Jiaotong University. Yao played for the Shanghai Sharks from 1997 to 2002 and was the first overall pick in the 2002 NBA Draft, where he went on to play for the Houston Rockets from 2002 to 2011. Yao is not only one of the most influential figures in China, but he is one of the most well-known Chinese athletes in the world. The eight-time NBA All-Star was listed as one of the "100 most influential people in the world" by TIME Magazine; he also got the Medal of Honor and Outstanding Contribution Award from the General Administration of Sports in China.

Yao Ming founded the "Yao Foundation" in 2008, which aims to help unprivileged children in China. In 2007, Yao conducted a charity game together with NBA guard Steve Nash and since then the Yao Foundation has held two charity basketball games in 2010 and 2013. With the Philosophy of educating children through sports, the "Yao Foundation Hope Primary School Basketball Season" was launched in 2012 and helps unprivileged children get involved in sports to be healthy, optimistic and confident. To date, 79 Hope Primary Schools and nearly 60,000 children have participated.

About NBA China

The NBA's entity that conducts all of the league's businesses in greater China was formed in January 2008 after its first office opened in Hong Kong in 1992. The NBA has interacted with Chinese basketball for decades, including first hosting the Chinese National team in 1985. The NBA currently has relationships with a strong network of television and digital media outlets in China, including a partnership of 27 years with national broadcaster CCTV. The league hosts hundreds of touring basketball events for fans, conducts community enrichment programs, and maintains marketing partnerships with a combination of world-class Chinese based corporations and US-based multinationals.

Headquartered in Beijing, NBA China currently employs more than 100 people in four offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Taipei. NBA products such as apparel and footwear are available through various retail networks and on tmall.nba.com. In 2004, the NBA became the first American professional sports league to play games in China, with two games between the Houston Rockets and the Sacramento Kings in Shanghai and Beijing. Following NBA Global Games 2013, the league will have played 15 games in China since 2004.