As you know I am from China, and my journey began there.

My parents were basketball players back in the 1970s. I heard so many great stories about them, about how they played and how good they were. More importantly, so many people know how good they are as people. I am very fortunate to be your son. The gift I had from you was not only height. It was much more. You taught me how to think, how to make decisions. And of course, my soft touch on the free throw line. Which is why I am happy to say I am entering the hall with a career 83% free throw percentage — just a little better than Shaq’s.

My wife Li. We met when we were high school age. You know how much you mean to me. Thank you for being my life partner. Our lovely daughter Amy is a treasure to both of us. We wish she could be here, but she is in her first week of school. And she has to live with the consequences of choosing soccer over basketball.

My basketball journey began on the back of coach Li Zhangmin’s bicycle when he gave me a ride to my very first practice on the basketball court. I would like to congratulate you on a great career as you retire this year. So many kids have benefited from you and your work.

Coach Li Qiuping you were my coach at the Shanghai Sharks. You led us to the CBA championship, and never gave up on us, even when you lost your wife to cancer that year. Thank you for your dedication and your sacrifices to us.

I want to thank the city of Shanghai, the Shanghai Sharks and the CBA league for doing everything they could to prepare me. They raised me, trained me and helped me to be ready for the next challenges in my life.

There is old saying in China that if the mirror is made of bronze, one can dress properly. If the mirror is history, one can predict ups and downs. If the mirror is people, one can reflect on one’s own weakness and strength. And now, I would like to mention a few mirrors in my life.

I want to mention Mr. Mu Zuoyun. He was a basketball legend. Over 80 years ago, Mr. Mu came here to Springfield to study basketball. He went back to China and dedicated his life to Chinese basketball. Today, the CBA Championship Cup is named after him. This cup is the life goal that every CBA player can dream of.

I am not the first Chinese man to play in the NBA. That honor belongs Wang Zhi Zhi. He was a pioneer for all future Chinese players who dream of coming to the NBA. He cleared the road for us and made so many sacrifices. I learned so much from him. Although he cannot be here today, I want to thank him.

Many people know the story that began when the Rockets drafted me in 2002. Not many people know how much effort the Rockets put in before I arrived and throughout my career. Thank you to Les Alexander, Michael Goldberg, Carroll Dawson, Tad Brown, Daryl Morey and Keith Jones for making me feel at home in Houston.

When I arrived in Houston on my first day, Steve Francis gave me a strong high five and a big hug to welcome me. Steve has been the perfect big brother to me ever since that day. Cuttino Mobley invited me to his home for something called “soul food.” I thought he meant salty food. Thank you to Steve, Cuttino and everyone on my early Rockets teams for making me feel so welcome.

Rudy T. is famous for saying, “Never underestimate the heart of a champion.” Rudy has demonstrated this not only on the court, but off the court too, especially in his battle with cancer. Rudy, you have always inspired me to be the best that I can be.

When Jeff Van Gundy arrived with Patrick Ewing and Tom Thibodeau, that coaching staff turned us into a tough defensive team, like he always does.With T-Mac, Shane Battier, Rafer Alston, we became a talented young team, especially with Dikembe. That team was not only competitive, but a team with a brotherhood.

I always remember Coach Van Gundy said once that, “The best chance also could be your last.” That is true in basketball and in life.

My last NBA coach was Rick Adelman. He helped us develop so many talented players like Carl Landry, Luis Scola and Aaron Brooks. We had a great run in 2008-2009, but unfortunately my injury cut things short and ended my time with the Rockets too soon. I will always remember my time spent with the Houston Rockets as some of the best times in my life.

As a basketball player, I was one of the most blessed players on the planet. I played against some of the best athletes in the world.

A great athlete not only has great teammates, but great opponents. Great opponents push us forward. Opponents like Shaquille O’Neal. Shaq: Every game we played reminded me of the old saying, “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” Thank you for that.

I consider Houston my second home, so I want to say something to the people of Houston. You stood by me in good and bad times. You gave me strength to move forward. I will always consider you my family. I am a Texan and a Houston Rocket for life.

All of this would not be possible without the vision of David Stern and the NBA. Thank you to David Stern, Adam Silver, Kim Bohuny and everyone at the NBA for your kindness and support.

Finally, to Team Yao. We all look older and fatter than when we first met.

Ladies and gentlemen, I like to pay my respect to Dr. Naismith, to the 361 members of the Hall of Fame, and to everyone who has contributed to the game of basketball all over the world in last 125 years.All of these individuals are stars and together they form the galaxy in the universe of basketball. The game has inspired billions of people around the world. As one of them, I will do my part to continue to help grow the great game of basketball, and we all look forward to watching the stars of tomorrow emerge and shine.Thank you for this great honor.

约翰·多里瓦先生，名人堂执行委员会，女士们先生们，大家晚上好:

当我得知今晚我是第一个发言者的时候，我认为一定是有人搞错了，第一个讲话的应该是伟大的阿伦·艾弗森。因为我比他需要更多的练习。

首先，我要感谢所有人给我这项伟大的荣誉。你们的认可让今晚成为我一生珍藏的记忆。尽管我的职业生涯可能太过短暂了，但是对我而言，每一个瞬间我都视为珍宝。我对于自己在赛场征战的时间，以及对各位的认可都心怀感激。

我要先感谢我的介绍人。

比尔·拉塞尔。我永远也不会忘记当我还是一名新秀的时候，你邀请我到你位于西雅图的家中共进晚餐。那一晚你给我提供了很多宝贵意见，让我增强了信心并在这个全新的国度里感觉更加舒适。

比尔·沃顿。你在各个方面都支持我。谢谢你的建议和鼓励。当我完成脚部手术醒来的时候，你是第一个打电话给我的人。你告诉我要保持积极的心态。这让我永生难忘。

迪肯贝·穆托姆博。我把你放在最后是因为你是三个人里看上去最老的。我们在一起并肩作战了五年，拥有无数场上和场下的美好回忆。没有什么能够破坏我们的关系——即便是那些训练中你给我的肘击也不会。

你们都知道我来自中国，那是我的旅程开始的地方。

我的父母都1970年代的篮球运动员。我听过很多关于他们的伟大故事，关于他们是怎么打球又是多么优秀的故事。更重要的是，大家都知道他们的为人是多么出色。很幸运我能成为你们的儿子。你们赐予我的礼物不仅仅是身高，还有更多更多。你们教会我如何思考，如何做决定。当然了，还有我在罚球线上的柔和手感。这让我能高兴地说我是带着83%的罚球命中率进入名人堂的——只比沙克强那么一点。

我的妻子叶莉。我们在高中就相识了。你知道你对我而言是多么重要。谢谢你成为我的人生伴侣。可爱的女儿艾米是我们共同的珍宝。我多希望她今天也能出现在现场，但是她的学校已经开学一周了。而且她已经选择了足球作为自己的最爱而不是篮球。

我的篮球之旅是从李章明教练的自行车后座开始的，那时候他骑着车载我来到篮球场开始了我人生中的第一次训练。今年你退休了，我要祝贺你拥有一个如此伟大的职业生涯。无数的孩子在你的指导下获益匪浅。

李秋平教练是我在上海大鲨鱼队时的主教练。你带领我们获得了CBA总冠军，你从来没有放弃过我们，即便是在你的妻子因癌症去世的那一年。感谢你这些年来的指导和牺牲。

我还要感谢上海这座城市，上海大鲨鱼队以及整个CBA联赛为我做出的一切。他们哺育我，训练我并且帮助我为之后的人生挑战做好了准备。

中国有句老话叫做“以铜为镜，可以正衣冠;以史为镜，可以知兴替;以人为镜，可以明得失。”现在，我想谈谈在我生命里的几面镜子。

我要提到牟作云先生。他是一位传奇篮球手。80多年前，牟老来到斯普林菲尔德，之后他回到了中国并一生都贡献在中国篮球事业上。如今CBA冠军奖杯的名字就是以他命名的。这座奖杯是所有CBA球员一生的梦想。

我不是第一个来到NBA的中国人，那个荣誉属于王治郅。他是所有梦想来到NBA赛场的中国人的先锋。他做出了巨大的牺牲并帮助我们扫清了障碍。我从他的身上学到了太多。经管他今天不能到场，我还是希望向他说一声谢谢。

很多人都知道我在2002年被火箭队选中之后的故事。但很少有人知道在选秀之前以及贯穿我整个职业生涯过程中火箭队所付出的努力。谢谢你莱斯·亚历山大，迈克尔·古德伯格，卡罗尔·道森，塔德·布朗，达瑞尔·莫雷和基斯·琼斯，你们让我在休斯敦感受到了家一般的温暖。

当我来到休斯敦的第一天，史蒂夫·弗朗西斯跟我击掌并给了我一个大大的拥抱。从那天起他就成为了我的大哥哥一般。卡蒂诺·莫布里邀请我去他家吃一种叫做“灵魂食物”(soul food)的东西。后来我想他说的应该是咸的食物(salty food)。谢谢你们，史蒂夫、莫布里还有最早的那些火箭队友们，你们让我感受到欢迎和接纳。

鲁迪·汤姆贾诺维奇因为那句“永远不要低估一颗总冠军的心。”而为人熟知。不仅在场上，场下的鲁迪也在践行着这句话，特别是当他和癌症抗争的时候。鲁迪，你一直激励着我成为最好的自己。

当杰夫·范甘迪和帕特里克·尤因、汤姆·锡伯杜的教练团队到来时，他们把我们变成了一支防守强硬的队伍，就像他一直做得那样。

麦迪、肖恩·巴蒂尔、雷佛·阿尔斯塔，我们一起组成了一支充满天赋的年轻球队，特别是还有迪肯贝。这支球队不仅拥有竞争力，还有兄弟情。

我一直记得范甘迪教练曾经说过，“最好的机会也可能是你最后的机会。”这在球场上和人生中都是一条真理。

最后一位执教我的NBA教练是里克·阿德尔曼。他帮助我们发掘了很多有天赋的球员，像卡尔·兰德里，路易斯·斯科拉和阿隆·布鲁克斯。我们在2008-2009赛季的表现很出色，但不幸的是伤病阻碍了我的职业生涯，他让我在火箭队的时间戛然而止。我一直记得自己在休斯敦火箭队的那段时光，那是我一生中最美好的时光。

作为一名篮球运动员，我是这个星球上最幸运的。我能和这个世界上最顶尖的球员们同场竞技。

一名伟大的运动员不仅拥有伟大的队友，还有伟大的对手。像奥尼尔这样好的对手推动我们不断前行。沙克曾说：每一次我们对位后他都会想到那句老话，“那些没能杀死你的都会让你变得更强大。”谢谢你能这么说。

我把休斯敦当作我的第二故乡，因此我要对休斯敦的人们说些什么。无论我处在巅峰还是低谷，你们始终都支持着我。你们给了我前进的力量。我会一直把你们当成家人看待。这一生我都是一名德州人，一名休斯敦火箭人。

如果没有大卫·斯特恩和NBA，所有的这一切都不会实现。谢谢你们，大卫·斯特恩，亚当·萧华，吉姆·博胡尼以及所有NBA工作人员的奉献和支持。

最后，感谢姚之队。我们看上去都比初次见面时胖了而且老了。

女士们先生们，我要向奈史密斯博士，向361位名人堂成员，向过去125年里所有为篮球这项运动做出贡献的人们致以最崇高的敬意。

所有的这些个体都是闪耀的明星，他们组成了整个篮球宇宙里的点点星辰。这项运动鼓舞着整个世界数十亿的人们。作为其中的一员，我会尽全力继续为篮球运动做出奉献，我们都希望看到未来在这片宇宙中有更多、更闪耀的明星出现。

谢谢你们给予我这项伟大的荣誉。

NBA.com发推文评价姚明的演讲：

“可亲 、优雅、有趣——姚明的名人堂演讲得体又精彩。 ”

姚明在这次演讲中再次向我们展现了姚氏幽默，场下观众笑声不断，就连AI也被他逗得大笑。那么，姚明抖了这么多包袱，你真正听懂了几个？哈哈，来看看吧，到底姚明有什么魔力逗得美国人民如此开心。

❶ W hen I heard that I would be the first speaker tonight, I think maybe somebody made a mistake.

当我听到我是今晚第一个演讲时，我在想是不是有人搞错了。

别小看这简单的一句，从侧面也看出了姚明的谦虚和“自黑“的高情商。

❷ Because I think this spot belonged to great Allen Iverson. Because I need more practice than him.

我认为这是属于艾佛森的，因为我需要更多训练。

前一秒把艾佛森捧上了天（ 艾佛森在场下也做出了捶胸的动作，表示心意领了），后一秒就拿他开涮。不得不说，“ practice”这个梗抖得太好了。 “Practice”在此处一语双关，表面是指演讲前的“ 练习”，其实也有篮球训练的意思。要知道艾佛森不喜欢训练、常常迟到可是出了名了，这么多年来也一直因为这个招黑。姚明巧妙地说出这个梗，连艾佛森自己都笑得控制不了。

❸ You look like the oldest in the three.

你们三个当中你看起来最老。

这算是老梗了，大姚经常拿穆托姆博的年龄来开涮。穆托姆博的年龄梗据说来自一个小故事，穆托姆博出生在刚果的一个部落，那个部落有风俗就是孩子长大一岁就在院子种一颗树，但随着穆托姆博长大，院里的树种乱了， 穆托姆博的年龄也就成了一个迷。实际上穆托姆博是66年生人。

❹ That's why I have about ten thousand free-throw less than Shaquille O'Neal.

这就是为什么我比奥尼尔少练一万个罚球的原因。

奥尼尔罚球差在NBA早已不是什么什么新闻了，公开拿他开涮奥尼尔也只能自己跟着乐了。

史蒂夫-弗朗西斯（Steve Francis）是姚明进NBA时，火箭队的老大，当年的弗老大是姚明的NBA引路人。

他专门写了一篇文章，“ My Brother Yao” ，并发推说：“大多数人都知道姚明是鱼缸中的孩子，我很幸运能与他做兄弟。这篇文章送给你，姚明。”

注：fishbowl是NBA的比喻，entered the fishbowl就是指进入NBA。

↑姚明肩负这两种文化的重担，而他展现的优雅，是我一直都很尊敬和欣赏的。

林书豪也晒了合照恭喜姚明。

“恭喜姚明入选名人堂”

穆大叔转了弗老大的帖子：

杰罗姆·威廉姆斯的推文：

“恭喜姚明，我兄弟的队友。”返回搜狐，查看更多