Chinese basketball great Yao graduates from university

China's most famous basketball player Yao Ming may have retired from the sport, but he has continued to inspire young people with his perseverance once more, this time in the classroom instead.

The 38-year-old graduated with an economics degree from the Antai College of Economics and Management at Shanghai Jiao Tong University on July 8. He first enrolled in 2011, the year he was forced to retire due to his injuries.

"Studying opens up my horizons. Here in college, we come with our own thoughts, meet other minds, and sparkle with new ideas as we communicate," Yao said to the media.

During the commencement ceremony, the Shanghai-born basketball star thanked his parents for urging him to get the degree and encouraged the fellow members of his cohort to contribute to society after graduation.

Yao was born into a family of basketballers — his mother Fang Fengdi once played for her country at 1974 Asian Games in Tehran when the Chinese women's basketball team won the bronze medal. His father, Yao Zhiyuan, played for the Shanghai basketball team in the 1970s and helped win the final on the day his son was born.

But despite their sporting backgrounds, the parents were nonetheless insistent that Yao should pursue higher education after his professional basketball career which included eight seasons in the NBA. Yao is the only Chinese basketball player to be inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame.

Dressed in a black gown, Yao took photos with his parents at the graduation ceremony.

"The bachelor gown is not only a symbol for knowledge, it also requires us to act with high standards as we look for our role in the society," he said.

Yao said that he had always made time for his studies despite his busy schedule as the owner of the Shanghai Sharks, the first team he played for in 1998, and the chairman of the Chinese Basketball Association.

His first day at college was a major affair, with hundreds of students waiting outside his classroom requesting photos and signatures. To avoid being too conspicuous in class, he always sat at the last row. While many students lived in the university's dormitories, Yao couldn't — there was no bed that could fit the 2.29-meter-tall giant.

In a short video celebrating the 120th anniversary of the university in 2016, Yao joked about his weakness in math. In his commencement speech, Yao said: "If not for that promise to my parents, I might have quit several times, especially since I had to take advanced mathematics.

"But over time, I came to believe that the process of learning is more important than the result."

Yao also told his fellow graduates to think about what society needs while planning their next steps in life.

"Try to plan your future in line with society's development, because only by doing so will you get more room to explore," he said.

"Congratulations to all graduates, young and not so young. The future is yours."

Besides his involvement in the sport at a management level, he is also the owner of a winery in Napa Valley, a Wild Aid ambassador, a philanthropist with a foundation that provides sports equipment and courses for children in remote areas, as well as a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, helping to push for reforms and shape policy in the country's physical education system.