(SYDNEY 2000 OLYMPIC GAMES)
The Olympics was a dream since I was a kid.
I think some people know that
my parents were basketball players.
Especially my mom, who played for the national team.
Very fortunate that I have had three times of opportunity,
not just one.
(ATHENS 2004 OLYMPIC GAMES)
Each one is a very precious memory for me.
(OLYMPIC GAMES)
(AFTER BEIJING 2008)
(LEGACY OF BEIJING 2008)
(CHINA TRANSFORMS)
(COMING OF AGE: CHINA AFTER BEIJING 2008)
(NO OTHER ATHLETE HAS HAD THE IMPACT UPON THEIR SPORT
(THAT YAO MING HAS HAD UPON BASKETBALL IN CHINA)
(BEFORE YAO MING JOINED THE NBA IN 2002
(AN ESTIMATED 37 MILLION CHINESE
(PLAYED OR WATCHED BASKETBALL)
(TODAY THAT NUMBER HAS RISEN TO 300 MILLION)
(YAO MING'S OLYMPIC STATS)
I think it was very important
that Yao didn't just participate in the NBA
but that he participated in the Olympic Games
and played so competitively for Team China.
He is the hardest-working player,
one of the most talented players
you'll ever see on the basketball court.
Yao Ming was the flag bearer in the Olympic Games.
(ATHENS 2004 OLYMPIC GAMES)
The meaning of this was to show
China's recognition
and support for basketball as a sport.
The People's Republic of China!
(BEIJING 2008 OLYMPIC GAMES)
When the moment came when
I've been announced as the flag bearer,
I'm very, very excited.
And I feel that stronger connection
between me and this nation.
(FLAG-BEARER YAO MING)
(BEING CHINA'S FIRST SUPERSTAR OLYMPIAN)
I think that helped solidify
his status as a national treasure,
that people realised that this was somebody who
had not just become a global icon,
not just become the greatest professional basketball player
from this country that we've ever seen,
but somebody who really meant something
to every little boy and girl who ever aspired to play sport
and ever aspired to be an Olympian.
When I was at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games,
I saw a photograph.
It was taken at the opening ceremony.
It was an overhead photo, taken from above the stadium.
The photo was taken
after all the athletes had entered the arena.
I spent almost 10 minutes looking for myself.
I thought, "OK, I'm a very tall guy.
"It should be pretty easy to find myself." But I didn't.
At that moment, I suddenly realised that
sometimes we should be like
the zoom button on a camera,
and "zoom out" to see how big the world really is.
No matter how outstanding you are,
no matter how tall you are,
when you see yourself as part of the world,
you realise you are just a tiny part of it.
At times like that,
it affects your heart and mind.
The perspective is different.
I believe this is what the Olympic Games bring to us.
This is the perspective the Olympic Games bring to us.
(BEIJING 2008 OLYMPIC GAMES)
I think I'm just a lucky guy.
I'm just a lucky guy that
appeared at the right time and the right moment.
If there's no me,
there's another guy that would pop out
and lead this wave.
Athletes have had an interesting ride since 2008.
And I'd say that the biggest change for them is
that they are now global figures.
(SINCE RETIRING IN 2011, YAO MING HAS BEEN
(A LEADING AMBASSADOR
(FOR SOCIAL CAUSES BEYOND BASKETBALL)
When the buying stops, the killing can too.
After his retirement from the NBA
we brought him to Africa twice.
We wanted him to see what's really going on in Africa,
especially for elephants and rhinos.
People ask a lot of questions.
Why do we protect those animals?
Elephants, rhinos, they are animals.
But why? We also eat meat too.
What's the difference?
The answer is this that
people eat for the physical need.
But ivory and rhino horn are definitely not.
You don't need that kind of reason to take away
wild animals' lives.
So I think that's the difference.
I couldn't have asked for a better ambassador
for the game of basketball than Yao Ming
to be the public face of the game.
And it's not just because of what he did on the court,
but it's really off the court
where he's left such an important mark
as a figurehead for the game of basketball.
Yao Ming is the symbol
for the development of basketball in China.
Because he represents the link
between basketball in China
and the rest of the world.
I believe that the effect of Yao Ming
has been to accelerate
the development of basketball in China.
What has he brought to China? First, Chinese basketball
has become internationally recognised.
Second, the level of Chinese basketball has improved.
Because of Yao Ming,
more people are playing basketball,
and many more young people play basketball.
The overall level of basketball has improved,
the popularity of basketball
has also increased.
The sports business has rapidly evolved
since Beijing hosted the 2008 Olympics.
There was this rapid development
of all of the leagues.
So we've seen it in soccer,
we've seen it in basketball
and we've seen it throughout sport,
where the quality of play has improved,
the quality of organisation has rapidly improved,
prize money has gone way up.
In China, for a sport to become popular and marketed,
winning an Olympic gold medal
can help a sport become popular.
But from a long-term point of view,
it's not always like this.
Many sports in China,
for example football,
had never won an Olympic gold medal.
But because it's a professional sport in China,
and we have recruited many international players
and foreign coaches,
football is very popular in China.
So I think, although the Olympic Games are helpful,
for any professional sport to be popular,
it must have world-class athletes and competitions.
Only this can attract more fans to become interested in it.
I'm very fortunate
living in a new era,
and to get this chance and play basketball,
not only professional basketball,
but also in the national team
to represent China.
We've been told since we were kids that
the Olympics was the most valuable
and the most glorious podium
any athlete can dream for.
And that is what I was looking for.
(COMING OF AGE: CHINA AFTER BEIJING 2008)