- A still shot picture of him laughing, captured from a post-game press conference in May 2009, resulted in a famous Internet meme.
- His father, Yao Zhiyuan, is 6' 7"; his mother, Fengdi Fang, is 6' 3" and was captain of the Chinese national women's basketball team.
- In Chinese culture, the surname is the first name and the given name is the second. Therefore, Yao has his last name on his jersey, like every other player in the NBA. However, he is addressed as Yao or Yao Ming, never just Ming.
- According to the Houston Rockets strength and conditioning coach, Anthony Falsone, he is still growing. Falsone says Yao was 7' 5" tall without shoes on (7' 6 1/2" with shoes) in October of 2002, but that by September of 2004, he had grown to 7' 5 3/4" in height barefoot, and to 7' 7 1/4" in height with shoes on.
- According to a May 2003 draft of Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed written by James Gunn, Scooby-Doo was originally going to transform into Yao Ming before Gunn rewrote it to have Scooby-Doo turn into the Tasmanian Devil from Looney Tunes.
- At a height of 7' 6", he is tied with Shawn Bradley, for the distinction of being the tallest player in the NBA.
- Center for Houston Rockets (2002-2011).
- Hosted a telethon in Shanghai to raise money for SARS research.
- Signed a global marketing deal with McDonalds. The fast food chain decided not to renew their deal with Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant, who was accused of sexual assault in July 2003. (12 February 2004)
- Drafted #1 overall in the 2002 NBA draft as an international player out of the Chinese Basketball Association's Shanghai Sharks. In 2000, he was drafted in the 12th round by the Tampa Bay ThunderDawgs of the American Basketball Association.
- At the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, he was listed as having a 7' 5" wingspan, a 9' 8" standing reach, and a size 18 shoe US.
- His team media guide profile in China, stated that Yao had a 26 inch vertical leap, jumping from a standstill. However, Yao himself has said since then that two foot injuries he suffered since that time, lowered his vertical leap after this by about 4 to 6 inches.
- Yao suffered two major foot injuries while playing basketball in The Chinese Basketball Association. These injuries were similar to the two that Cleveland Cavaliers Center Zydrunas Ilgauskus suffered, and too injuries that former Portland Trailblazers Center Arvydas Sabonis suffered.
- Announced his engagement to long-time girlfriend, Ye Li, who is herself also a basketball player.
- Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016.
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