Yao Ming has retired, according to Yahoo! Sports. He ended his 8 seasons in the NBA with averages of 19 points per game, 9 rebounds per game, and almost 2 blocks per game. He was drafted 1st overall in 2002 by the Houston Rockets, played there his entire career, and made 8 NBA All-Star selections.

At his peak, he averaged 25 points per game, was considered the best offensive center at the time, and was the Rocket's go-to player for crunch shots.

Yao, however, was persistently plagued by his brittle left foot. Before his retirement, he missed 159 of his last 164 regular season games, according to NBA.com.

Below are select highlights from his career.

2002 - Set an NBA record for shooting percentage in a six-game stretch by going 31 for 35, including a game of shooting 9-9 against the Lakers

2004 - Scored a career-high 41 points against the Atlanta Hawks in triple-overtime

2005 - Grabbed a career-high 22 rebounds against Phoenix

2005 - Averaged 21 points in a losing effort in the first round of playoffs against Dallas

2007-8 - Participated in the first half of the Houston Rockets' 22-game winning streak, the second longest in NBA history

2009 - Led the Houston Rockets Past the Portland TrailBlazers in the first-round playoffs.

Additional Highlights:

NBA Yahoo