Houston Rockets retire Yao Ming's No. 11 jersey
"Looking back, I didn't expect it to be where I am today. I simply wanted to play basketball," he added.
Fans gave Yao several waves of applaud and a lot of fans shouted to Yao "we love you".
Yao was selected as the first overall pick by the Rockets in 2002 draft and spent nine years - his entire career - with the franchise.