15 Pictures of Yao Ming Making Tall People Look Short

The sky is blue. The ocean is deep. Yao Ming is tall.

None of this should be news to anyone.

But every once in a while you see something that stops you in your tracks and gives you a whole new appreciation for these facts.

Sometimes you walk outside and holy mother—the sky is bigger and bluer than you think you’ve ever seen it. Every once in a while you turn on National Geographic and get blinded with science, giant squids and shots of the Mariana Trench that remind you just how little we know about the ocean. 

And sometimes you log onto the Internet and see a picture that makes you think Great Greasy Gottliebs! Yao Ming is huge! 

So in the name of reminding us all of this easily forgettable, but elemental truth, we’ve put together a slideshow of 7'6" Yao Ming making tall people look like children.

Kobe Bryant

Yao posting up on Kobe Bryant, who appears to measure a very stunted, 6’6” in this image.

Height Differential: 12 inches.

LeBron James

6’8” isn’t enough to keep LeBron James from looking like a short stack next to the mighty Tower of Yao.

Height Differential: 10 inches.

Dikembe Mutombo

They just don’t make people taller than Dikembe Mutombo. 

The retired Congolese baller stands a lofty 7’2”—that’s an inch taller than Shaquille O’Neal.

Regardless, Mutombo still had to look up to his former Houston Rocket teammate Yao Ming to have a conversation. Speaking of which, I would pay a king’s ransom just to hear these two have a heated argument.

Height Differential: Four inches.

Hakeem Olajuwon

Hakeem “The Dream” Olajuwon was a legend in his own right in the NBA.

But at 6’10”, he needs to get that weak stuff out of Yao’s face before he gets himself stepped on.

Height Differential: Eight inches.

Pau Gasol

Yao trumps Pau in the battle of the tallest trees.

The 7'1" Spaniard just can't measure up to the Shanghai Skyscraper. 

Height Differential: Five inches.

Dirk Nowitzki and Tim Duncan

Dirk Nowitzki is a solid 7'0" and Tim Duncan clocks in at a slightly less rangy 6’11”.

Yao wins. Babality. Flawless Victory.

Height Differential: Six and seven inches.

Joakim Noah

Uglier than Yao. Shorter than Yao.

There's not much that 6'11" Joakim Noah has on Yao Ming.

Height Differential: Seven inches.

Dwight Howard

You know the worst thing about being Dwight Howard right now?

Is it the suffocating media coverage of his nagging shoulder injury? The pressure his teammates are putting on him to play through the pain? The thought of not living up to his billing with the Lakers?

No. 

The worst thing about being Dwight Howard right now is obviously being 6’11”, and therefore shorter than Yao Ming.

Height Differential: Seven inches.

Vince Carter

An entire generation of boys became men the day that 6'6" Vince Carter dunked over a seven-footer at the 2000 Olympics. 

But could he get over a 7'6" Yao Ming? 

Not today he couldn't. Bow to the Yao, baby.

Height Differential: 12 inches.

Shaquille O'Neal

They’re both unforgettable big men of the NBA, and Shaq is beating Yao in, uh, everything in terms of basketball statistics and awards.

But Yao still has the 7’1” Big Aristotle beat in terms of height.

Height Differential: Five inches.

The 2008 Houston Rockets

After Yao, the next tallest person in this shot is Shane Battier, who stands at 6’8”.

Height Differential: 10-18 inches.

Yi Jianlin

Yi Jianlin is another tall former NBA player from China who was drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks in 2007 and kicked around the league for a few years before heading back to China. 

Jianlin is 6’11”, which is one of those lofty heights few people on earth ever reach, but Yao Ming makes Yi look like a child.

Height Differential: Seven inches.

J.J. Watt

Yao meet JJ, the Houston Texans’ monstrous 6’5”, 295 pound defensive end. 

Now reach down there and shake hands with the man. 

Height Differential: 13 inches.

Jeremy Lin

Jeremy Lin is not a redwood tree, but 6’3” is tall enough to prompt every girl you ever will ever meet to ask about your height.

Height Differential: 15 inches.

Michael Jordan

The greatest player to ever play the game was a healthy 6’6”, and Yao Ming dwarfed Jordan in this amazingly goofy All-Star photo.

Height Differential: 12 inches.