NBA官網:姚明已決定退役 9年生涯就此終結

Yao Ming, the first major Chinese star to break into the NBA, has decided to retire after nine star-crossed seasons with the Rockets, according to league sources.
姚明是第一個闖入NBA成爲主力的中國籃球球星，據NBA聯盟消息稱，在休斯頓火箭隊度過了九個黴運纏身的賽季後，姚明已經決定退役。

The 30-year-old center played just five games over the past two seasons and has determined that he is unable to make a complete recovery from stress fracture in his left ankle and tendon strain.
這位30歲的中鋒在過去的兩個賽季中只打了5場比賽，姚明認爲自己已經無法從左踝應力性骨折和跟腱扭傷的傷勢中完全恢復。

At 7-foot-6, Yao entered the league as the No. 1 pick in the 2002 draft and became literally and figuratively the largest symbol of the NBA's growing expansion around the world and particularly in Asia.
憑藉其7.6英尺的身高，姚明在2002年的NBA新人中拔得第一高度，而且無論從哪種角度來看，他都成爲了NBA在全球（尤其是在亞洲）不斷擴大市場上的一個標誌性人物。

Yao was an eight-time NBA All-Star and in five seasons he was voted onto the league's second or third All-NBA team. He averaged 19.1 points and 9.3 rebounds and 1.9 blocked shots in his career.
姚明8次入選NBA全明星陣容，5個賽季入選NBA最佳第二或第三陣容。職業生涯中獲得了場均19.1的得分，9.3個籃板球，和1.9次封蓋。

He arrived in Houston in 2002 as towering and iconic as the durable Great Wall of China, yet over the course of his NBA career Yao's image became increasingly fragile. After missing just two games due to injury in his first three years in the league, he was sidelined for 250 over the past six seasons.
2002年姚明來到休斯頓，高大形象猶如堅實的中國長城；然後隨着他在職業道路上的推進，姚明給人的感覺卻是越來越脆弱。在聯盟的最初3年，他因爲傷病而錯過比賽的場次僅有2場，而在過去的6個賽季裏他竟有250場比賽坐在板凳上。

Yao would have become a free agent at end of the current lockout and had spent months trying to rehabilitate his ankle for one more chance at playing. He has said his desire was to remain in Houston to play for the Rockets.
在最近的NBA停擺事件後，姚明成爲了自由球員。此前數月他都在努力恢復腳踝傷勢，希望能再次有機會上場比賽。他說過自己的願望是留在休斯頓爲火箭隊征戰。

However, he did not want to jeopardize his health for life after playing. Yao's parents were concerned enough about his welfare that they did not want him to attempt a return to the NBA after the broken bone in his foot that was suffered in the playoffs of May 2009.
然而，姚明不想因爲比賽而危及自己一生的健康。2009年5月，當姚明在季後賽裏骨裂後，其父母非常擔心兒子的狀況，不願他嘗試再次回到NBA賽場。

Following the birth of his daughter, Yao said: "I can only try so many times. I want to be able to run around and play with my child, not always wear a cast and use these crutches."
在女兒的出生，姚明曾說：“我只能嘗試這麼多次。我還想和孩子一起跑步，而不是綁着石膏、拄着柺杖。”