Yao Ming Height — How Tall Is He Really?

Instant Answer

Yao Ming is 7′6″ (229 cm) — that’s his official, consistently reported height across authoritative sources.

Official Listing: 7′6″ (229 cm)

Three gold-standard sources align on Yao’s height:

• NBA.com: 7′6″ (2.29 m), 310 lb (141 kg). This is the league’s own player record.

• Basketball-Reference: 7′6″ (229 cm), 310 lb (listed playing weight).

• Encyclopaedia Britannica: “The 7-foot 6-inch (2.29-metre) Yao…,” confirming the same measurement.

Do any variations exist?

In Yao’s case, the listed height is remarkably consistent. When small discrepancies show up for athletes generally, they’re usually due to:

• Shoes vs. barefoot measurements (some databases note one, others the other).

• Rounding (e.g., 2.29 m shown as 229 cm or 2.29 m).

• Media guides vs. combine numbers that get copied year to year.

With Yao, the NBA, Basketball-Reference, and Britannica all agree at 7′6″ / 229 cm, which is unusually tidy.

Physical Profile: Weight, Build & Height Impact

• Official playing weight: 310 lb (141 kg).

• Position: Center, Houston Rockets (2002–2011). His size gave him elite paint presence, easy finishing angles, and high-percentage looks without leaving the restricted area.

How his size shaped his game:
At 7′6″ with a massive reach, Yao could shoot over most defenders, seal deep post position, and contest shots without leaving his feet. The trade-off was biomechanical stress on feet and legs; his career was shortened by lower-extremity injuries (particularly foot issues), a pattern not uncommon among ultra-tall centers. (Injury specifics are widely documented in his career summaries.)

Yao Ming vs Other NBA Giants: A Height Comparison

Yao wasn’t the tallest ever, but he’s among the most famous ultra-tall stars. Gheorghe Mureșan and Manute Bol share the “tallest” distinction at 7′7″ (231 cm), with Yao at 7′6″ just a step below.

Side-by-side (heights in feet/inches and cm)

Visualizing 7′6″:

• Yao stands 18 inches taller than Shaq (7′1″) — that’s the height of a standard laptop screen… sitting on top of Shaq’s head.

• He’s a full 1½ feet taller than the rim is from 8′6″ — put another way, he needs far less vertical to reach 10 feet compared to most players.

• Compared with Anthony Edwards (6′4″), Yao is 14 inches taller — roughly the length of an NBA ball and a half.

How Height Shaped His Career – Advantages & Challenges

Advantages

• Shooting window & touch: At 7′6″, Yao could turn and score with a soft touch even against elite rim protectors; defenders simply couldn’t contest at his release point.

• Paint deterrence: His sheer size shrank driving lanes and elevated the Rockets’ rim defense when he was on the floor.

Challenges

• Injury load: Ultra-tall players face disproportionate stress on feet/ankles. Yao’s lower-extremity injuries truncated what might have been an even longer prime.

Global impact:
Yao’s stature — literal and figurative — made him a bridge between the NBA and China, spiking global interest and commercial growth. His Hall of Fame profile and historical writeups underscore how his presence helped globalize the game.

Myths, Perception & Why Some Think He’s Taller/Shorter

Even with consistent listings, fans sometimes perceive different heights because of:

• Camera angles & lens distortion (baseline TV cams elongate or compress heights).

• Posture (slouching vs. standing tall in photos).

• Footwear (thick-soled game shoes vs. flat sandals add/subtract apparent height).

• Standing next to unusually tall or short people (context skews perception).
  With Yao, the consensus is clear: 7′6″ (229 cm) across major references.

Quick Facts Table

Height Compared to Today’s Stars (and the Hoop)

• Versus Shaq (7′1″/216 cm): Yao +5 inches — enough to turn many of Shaq’s contested hooks into Yao’s uncontested drop steps.

• Versus Anthony Edwards (6′4″/193 cm): Yao +14 inches — imagine Edwards on a curb and Yao still towering above.

• Versus Cooper Flagg: Reported at 6′9″ during his breakout college season (USA Basketball had him at 6′8″ earlier). Yao is +9–10 inches.

• Versus Caitlin Clark (6′0″/183 cm): Yao +18 inches — the difference between the top of Clark’s head and the bottom of Yao’s chin area.

• Versus the rim: Standard hoop is 10 feet (3.05 m) to the top of the rim — Yao’s standing reach plus a short hop put him at rim level with ease.

Frequently Asked Questions

How tall was Yao Ming in cm?

229 cm. That’s 7′6″ converted to centimeters. Sources (NBA, Basketball-Reference, Britannica) all match.

Was Yao Ming the tallest NBA player ever?

No. The tallest in NBA history are Gheorghe Mureșan and Manute Bol at 7′7″ (231 cm). Yao is just below them at 7′6″ (229 cm).

What height did Yao Ming list in the NBA?

He was officially listed at 7′6″ (2.29 m) on NBA.com and Basketball-Reference throughout his career.

How did Yao Ming’s height affect his career and health?

His extraordinary size created built-in advantages (paint scoring, rim deterrence), but it also increased stress on feet and ankles, contributing to injuries that shortened his career.

How does Yao compare to Cooper Flagg, Anthony Edwards, Caitlin Clark, and Shaq?

• Flagg: 6′9″ reports during 2024–25; Yao +9–10 inches. (USA Basketball previously 6′8″.)

• Edwards: 6′4″; Yao +14 inches.

• Clark: 6′0″; Yao +18 inches.

• Shaq: 7′1″; Yao +5 inches.

How tall is a basketball hoop?

10 feet (3.05 m) to the top edge of the rim, per the NBA Rulebook.

Final Takeaway – Size Isn’t Everything, But This Size Was Legendary

How tall is Yao Ming? 7′6″ (229 cm) — a measurement backed by the NBA, Basketball-Reference, and Britannica. That height made him an immediate mismatch, a global ambassador for the sport, and a Hall of Fame-level force whose presence echoed far beyond the paint. Understanding Yao’s true height (and how it stacks up to stars like Shaq, Anthony Edwards, Cooper Flagg and Caitlin Clark — and even to the 10-foot rim) gives you the right context for just how rare and influential his physical profile was in basketball