By China News Service, Beijing, October 31st — The Executive Committee of the 10th Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) Member Representative Conference held a meeting in Beijing on October 31st, reviewing and approving Yao Ming’s resignation as Chairman of the CBA, and electing Guo Zhenming as the new Chairman.
Yao Ming, born in 1980, achieved remarkable success during his playing career in both the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) and the National Basketball Association (NBA). He also represented the Chinese national basketball team in major events such as the Olympics. After retiring in 2011, Yao Ming remained active in sports and philanthropy, and in February 2017, he was elected Chairman of the CBA. In July of the same year, he also became Chairman of the CBA Company.
The Party Committee of the General Administration of Sport of China (GASC) highly evaluated Yao Ming’s work during his tenure as CBA Chairman and expressed sincere gratitude. They believed that Yao Ming had made significant contributions in enhancing the popularity of basketball, building a professional league system, improving the national team’s performance, promoting the integration of sports and education, and driving the development of the basketball industry and culture. The talent, institutional, and social resources accumulated during his tenure laid a solid foundation for further deepening structural reforms and promoting high-quality development of basketball. They hoped that Yao Ming would continue to actively contribute to the development of basketball by leveraging his social popularity and international influence.
Yao Ming stated that this decision was made after careful consideration, based on the development of Chinese basketball and his personal plans. According to the CBA constitution, Yao Ming’s second term would have lasted for about two more years, but he hoped to leave a complete Olympic cycle for the new leadership team to better carry out their work.
Yao Ming thanked the GASC and the CBA Executive Committee for their trust, as well as the basketball community for their support. “Basketball has always been my passion, both in the past, present, and future. I hope everyone will continue to support Chinese basketball with me,” Yao Ming said.
Replacing Yao Ming as CBA Chairman is Guo Zhenming, the Joint Party Secretary of the GASC Basketball Sports Management Center and Vice Chairman of the CBA. He joined the CBA in early 2022 and worked closely with Yao Ming.
Guo Zhenming expressed that the CBA chairmanship is both a heavy responsibility and a glorious mission. “Under the guidance of the GASC, we will work together with all basketball professionals to continue deepening basketball reforms and strive to contribute to the revitalization of the ‘Big Three Balls’ and the construction of a powerful sports nation,” he said.