Two of the most famous NBA players of Asian descent met up for a viral photo over the weekend.
Former NBA guard Jeremy Lin took to Instagram on Thursday to post a photo of himself with Basketball Hall of Fame big man Yao Ming. The two were both in attendance at NBA All-Star Weekend in San Francisco, Calif. and took time to pose for a picture together.
Here is the photo (where you can see Yao towering way over Lin).
“He paved the way, carried the weight of being the Asian player in the league,” wrote Lin of Yao in his caption. “Because of him, the door cracked open even more for me to step through … Much respect to Yao. Thank you for everything you’ve done for the game, for me, for us.”
Yao, still only 44, played in the NBA from 2002-11, making eight All-Star teams and five All-NBA teams before having to retire due to foot and ankle injuries. He was elected into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016 for his contributions in both the NBA and in his native China.
Lin, who is of Taiwanese descent, then followed suit in the league. He played from 2010-19, including for Yao’s former team, the Houston Rockets. Now 36 years old, Lin has played professionally in both China and Taiwan ever since exiting the NBA.
Listed at a height of 7-foot-6 during his playing career, Yao unsurprisingly made the 6-foot-3 Lin look extremely tiny in that photo. You may recall too that Yao once made another former NBA guard look puny in comparison.
