BEIJING: Basketball Hall of Famer, business magnate, cultural ambassador — no Chinese athlete carries a richer legacy than Yao Ming, whose towering 7ft 6in frame (2.29 meter) stormed into the NBA 20 years ago.

The center was drafted by the Houston Rockets on June 26, 2002, kickstarting a glittering career that won him a succession of personal accolades and transformed the Shanghai-born Yao into a household name in both China and the United States.

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