Former Houston Rockets center Yao Ming has been nominated for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, which could lead to him being the first Chinese player to be enshrined in the hall.

The NBA's Rockets, with whom Yao played from 2002 to 2011, filed the nomination. The hall in Springfield, Massachusetts, recently reduced the induction-eligibility requirement from five seasons after retirement to four.

The rule change opens the door for Yao, as well as other NBA legends, notably Shaquille O'Neal and Allen Iverson, all of whom could be inducted in 2016. The hall announced the 160-plus nominations on Monday, the 124th anniversary of the birth of basketball.

Yao said he was "pretty excited and nervous" about the nomination in a telephone interview with Fox.

Since being drafted by the Rockets in 2002, the 7-foot-6 Yao went on to become the most recognized Chinese player in the National Basketball Association, where he was a five-time All-Star.

Yao retired in July 2011, citing injuries to his foot and ankle. His retirement elicited more than 1.2 million comments on Sina Weibo, according to wikipedia.com.

NBA Commissioner David Stern called Yao a "bridge between Chinese and American fans", saying he had "a wonderful mixture of talent, dedication, humanitarian aspirations and a sense of humor".

Before the NBA, Yao played on a team that won the Chinese Basketball Association championship and made quarterfinal appearances with the Chinese national team during the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics.

Basketball-Reference.com's index puts Yao's chances of making the hall at 52.59 percent.

Yao could have been nominated years ago as a contributor but decided to hold out for induction as a player. His possible inclusion as a contributor would have been for his role in the NBA's rise in China. Yao also will be considered a hall candidate as an international player, rather than a North American one, which should help his chances.

Yao has stayed in the spotlight off the court. The WildAid ambassador has appeared in videos calling for wildlife protection. Yao also has been a national political adviser since 2013, representing his native Shanghai.

Yao comes from good basketball stock. He is the only child of Yao Zhiyuan (6-foot-7; (2.01 m) and Fang Fengdi (6-foot-3; 1.90 m), both of whom were former professional basketball players.

The hall finalists will be announced on Feb 12 during the NBA All-Star weekend. The inductees will be revealed on April 4 before the NCAA men's college basketball national championship game in Houston.

(China Daily USA 12/22/2015 page1)