I saw Yao Ming up close in person one time, at the NBA All-Star Game in Las Vegas a few years back. And even among the NBA's best players, Shaq and Dwight Howard included, Yao was the only one who was so big you couldn't help but stop and stare as he walked by. He looks like he's riding on someone else's shoulders. It was amazing to see.
And if you want proof that Yao is not in proportion with a normal human being, he made the NFL's defensive player of the year look like he was a little kid bothering the former Houston Rockets star for an autograph in a restaurant.
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If you saw J.J. Watt on the street, you'd probably do a double take even if you didn't immediately recognize him, just because he's such a large human being. He's 6-foot-5 and 295 pounds. By any reasonable standard, that's enormous.
Next to Yao, in a cool picture of two Houston sports icons, just look at how small a 6-5, 295-pound man looks.
[Also: Matt Barkley, Geno Smith and Ryan Nassib will throw at combine]
Yao, who is listed at 7-6, 310 pounds on his NBA.com profile page, is a full head taller than Watt (and what a head that is on Yao). Watt was already thinking of what Ya
Even if you don’t like basketball, it’s very possible you have heard of a man named Yao Ming. He is a Chinese born professional basketball player who played for the Houston Rockets. While that may not sound all that impressive, the thing that really sets him apart is the fact that he is 7 feet 6 inches (228.6cm) tall!
When it comes to legends of the basketball court, few figures stand as literally and figuratively tall as Yao Ming. He transforms ordinary scenes into extraordinary ones simply by standing in them.
That’s not a typo. He is really that tall! The great thing is that when Yao Ming is out on the basketball court, he is surrounded by other really tall basketball players. Granted they aren’t as tall as him, but they come within at least a foot of his height. When he’s out and about in the real world though, that’s when you notice a big difference.
Here are 46 pictures that show Yao Ming making everyone around him look as small as an ant!
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Yao Ming and a baby elephant.
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Yao Ming next to his trainer, kneeling. Look at the height difference.
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Yao Ming and Luther Head. Luther Head is 6 feet 3 inches tall.
19 jaw-dropping photos of Yao Ming that put his size into proper perspective
People love posing with Ming.
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Since retiring, Ming has served as a delegate for the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference where he looms large.
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In a sea of reporters and photographers, Ming looks like a mountain peaking up through the clouds.
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Here is Yao Ming with Hong Kong actor Eric Tsang.
AP
But it is most jarring when Ming stands next to other athletes, like JJ Watt, who is 6-foot-5 and weighs 290 pounds. Watt looks like a high school football player next to Ming.
@JJWatt
Ricky Rubio is only an inch shorter than Watt, but looks like a child next to Ming.
@ruuufio
Shaquille O'Neal is 7-foot-1 and weighs over 300 pounds!
Even when he is sitting down at a press conference Ming can make other people look tiny.
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Michael Jordan has never looked so small.
These four golfers never looked so small.
Andrew Redington/Getty Images
This photo of golf legend Gary Player looks like it should be an optical illusion.
Mission Hills/Action Images via Reuters Livepic
Here
A photo from this weekend’s All-Star Game reiterated that it’s absolutely stunning to see Yao Ming standing next to average (or even large) people.
Over the weekend was the NBA All-Star Game and surrounding events. I didn’t pay a ton of attention, but one photo really caught my eye.
The photo was of Yao Ming, who retired due to several “being a giant”-related injuries a few years endorse. He’s still involved with the NBA as an ambassador for the game and was at All-Star Weekend. And he was there, apparently, to tower over his agent. (The photo is the first item in the list below.)
There’s something stunning about seeing Yao Ming next to an average-sized person. He’s not just taller (at 7’6) — he’s also just bigger in every way. He’s well over 300 pounds but doesn’t observe even a tiny bit chubby. His head makes the kid from So I Married an Axe Murderer look reasonable-headed. He’s just a whole lotta man.
Here are 11 incredible photos of Yao Ming next to other people that only sort-of start to give you a instinct of just how big he really is.
1 | The 2014 NBA All-Star Game
This photo was taken me
13 Photos Of Yao Ming Making Normal People Look Tiny
JJ Watt, who is 6-foot-5 and weighs 290 pounds, looks like a high school football player next to Ming.
@JJWatt
Ricky Rubio is only an inch shorter than Watt, but looks like a child next to Ming.
@ruuufio
People love posing with Ming.
Getty Images
Since retiring, Ming has served as a delegate for the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference where he looms large.
Getty Images
In a sea of reporters and photographers, Ming looks like a mountain peaking up through the clouds.
Getty Images
Even when he is sitting down at a press conference Ming can make other people look tiny.
Getty Images
Here is Yao Ming with Hong Kong actor Eric Tsang.
AP
These four golfers never looked so small.
Andrew Redington/Getty Images
OK, that is actually a child.
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Yao has always been tall. But when he played he was much thinner so the juxtaposition was not as jarring.
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One person Yao doesn't make look tiny is his wife, Ye Li, who is 6-foot-3 and also a former basketball player.