According to Keith Brasher of the New York Times on Friday, former Houston Rockets superstar Yao Ming participated in the Olympic torch relay leading up to the start of the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing this past week. Ming was the face of the Rockets franchise during the first decade of the 21st century, as he was a NBA all-star for eight NBA seasons from 2002 to 2009, and again in 2010-11, after he missed a full year in 2009-10 due to a foot injury.
Ming averaged 19 points per game in 486 NBA games. He also averaged 9.2 rebounds per game, and had a career field goal percentage of .524, and a career free throw percentage of .833.
Currently the president of the Chinese Basketball Association, Ming has clearly been the face of Chinese basketball. In 2002, he became the third non-American to be selected first overall in the NBA Draft. Ming followed Hakeem Olajuwon of Lagos, Nigeria, who was selected first overall by the Rockets in the 1984 NBA Draft, and Michael Olowokandi of Lagos, Nigeria, who was selected first overall by the Los Angeles Clippers in the 1998 NBA Draft.
The 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing officially began on Friday with the Opening Ceremonies. The Australian flag bearers were figure skater Brendan Kerry of Sydney, and freestyle skier Laura Peel of Canberra. Peel is a two-time gold medalist in women’s aerials at the World Freestyle Skiing and Snowboarding Championships. The first title came in 2015 in Kreischberg, Austria, and the second title came in 2021 in Almaty, Kazakhstan. On Sunday, Tess Coady won Australia’s first medal of the 2022 Olympic Winter Games when she won the bronze medal in the women’s slopestyle snowboarding competition.
