在这场全美电视直播的隆重仪式上，休斯顿火箭队的老板莱斯利?亚历山大称当晚“能够授予如此一位重量级人物荣誉，是火箭队历史上的一个伟大时刻”，并形容姚明是“一位很伟大的篮球球员。”
"Yao was a really, really great player. I wanted him to be viewed as more than that, as an ambassador to the world and especially into China, and what a great person and humanitarian he is," said Alexander, who donated 100,000 U.S. dollars to the Yao Ming Foundation.
“姚明的的确确是一位伟大的球员。我希望人们所看到的绝不仅此而已。他是走向世界，特别是（NBA进入）中国的一位友好大使，他是一个了不起的人，一位人道主义者。”曾为姚明基金会捐赠10万美金的亚历山大这样说。
The 36-year-old Yao Ming said, "When I first came to town, Houston was no different than any other city in the United States. But as time passed by, all the faces came into memory. Remember this, that Houston for me from now on is not just a word. Every time they mention it, your faces are in my memory, in my brain."
今年36岁的姚明表示，“我第一次来到休斯顿时，这里和美国其他城市并无区别。但随着时光流逝，每个人的音容笑貌都印入了我的记忆中。请记住，从此刻开始，休斯顿于我而言并不仅仅是个词。每当别人提起它时，你们的面庞都会出现在我的记忆中，我的脑海里。”
"I hope people see the jersey there and remember the story, not only
“我希望人们看到挂在那里的球衣并记住其中的故事，不光是我的故事，也是我的队友和对手们的故事。我们共同谱写了这些故事，就像其他球衣为我们谱写了故事那样，”姚明说道。
Fans gave Yao several waves of applaud and a lot of fans shouted to Yao "we love you".
粉丝们为姚明送上一轮又一轮热烈的掌声，还有许多粉丝对姚明大喊“我们爱你”。
Yao was selected as the first overall pick by the Rockets in 2002 draft and spent nine years - his entire career - with the franchise.
姚明在2002年的选秀中第一个被火箭队选中，在9年的职业生涯中，他始终为火箭队效力。
Yao averaged 19.0 points, 9.2 rebounds and 1.9 blocks while shooting 52 percent from the floor across 486 career games.
在486场职业生涯的比赛中，姚明场均得到19分、9.2个篮板和1.9次盖帽，投篮命中率为52。
He was selected to start for the Western Conference in the NBA All-Star Game eight times, and was named to the All-NBA Second Team twice. He also became the only player outside of the United States to lead the NBA in All-Star voting.
他曾八次当选西部联盟全明星赛的首发，两次提名NBA最佳阵容二阵。他也是唯一一位成为NBA全明星票王的非美国本土球员。
Persistent injuries forced Yao Ming to hang up his No. 11 jersey in 2011. Last September, the eight-time All-Star entered the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
长期的伤病令姚明于2011年褪下了他的11号战袍。去年九月，这位八次入选全明星赛的球星进入奈史密斯篮球名人纪念堂。
Yao has become the sixth Rocket player to have his number retired, joining Clyde Drexler (22), Calvin Murphy (23), Moses Malone (24), Hakeem Olajuwon (34), and Rudy Tomjanovich(45).
姚明成为第六位享受球衣退役荣誉的火箭队球员，之前五人分别是克莱德-德雷克斯勒（22号）、凯尔文?墨菲（23号）、摩西?马龙（24号）、哈基姆?奥拉朱旺（34号），以及鲁迪?汤姆贾诺维奇（45号）。
