The 2008–09 Houston Rockets season was the 42nd season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
 Despite a season-ending knee injury to Tracy McGrady, the Rockets breezed past the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round, but could not defeat the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round.
 Dikembe Mutombo, who entered his 18th and final season, was injured in Game 2 of the first round and announced his retirement, ending his 18-year NBA career.
 Besides losing Mutombo, Yao Ming missed most of the second round due to a foot injury that required off-season surgery.
 Before the season, the team acquired Ron Artest (now Metta World Peace), who was known for his violent temper.
 Following the season, Artest signed as a free agent with the Lakers.
 The Rockets would not return to the postseason until 2013.
The 2011–12 Houston Rockets season was the 45th season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA), and the 41st based in Houston.
 The off-season saw team draft a pair of first round picks, forward Marcus Morris from Kansas was drafted 14th overall and Madrid sensation Nikola Mirotić was drafted 23rd overall.
 Forward and 3-point specialist Chandler Parsons from Florida was taken with the 38th pick in the second round.
 The season is most memorable when ex-Celtic Kevin McHale was hired to be their new head coach for the upcoming season.
 The Rockets finished with a mediocre 34–32 record without the playoffs.
The 2006–07 Houston Rockets season was the 40th season of the Houston Rockets franchise in the NBA.
 The team ended the regular season with a 52–30 record and a 3rd-place finish in the Southwest.
 The Rockets faced the Utah Jazz in the playoffs, losing the series in seven games.
The 2009–10 Houston Rockets season was the 43rd season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
 The news broke in the off-season when center Yao Ming would miss the upcoming season due to foot surgery.
 This injury would soon to be considered career-threatening.
 Mid-season, All-Star Tracy McGrady, who was working his way back from knee surgery that kept him out of last season, was traded to the New York Knicks.
 Despite losing two All-Stars, the Rockets finished 42–40, but did not clinch a playoff spot.
Yao Ming (; born September 12, 1980) is a retired Chinese professional basketball player who played for the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) and the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
 He was selected to start for the Western Conference in the NBA All-Star Game eight times, and was named to the All-NBA Team five times.
 At the time of his final season, he was the tallest active player in the NBA, at 2.29 m .
 He is the only player outside of the United States to lead the NBA in All-Star voting.
The 2014–15 Houston Rockets season was the 48th season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA), and the 44th in the Houston area.
 The Rockets finished the regular season with a 56–26 record, the third best in franchise history.
 They also won their first ever Southwest Division title and first Division crown since 1994.
 The Rockets beat the Dallas Mavericks 4–1 in the first round, advancing to the Western Conference Semifinals for the first time since 2009.
 They beat the Los Angeles Clippers in seven games after trailing the series 1–3, advancing to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 1997.
 They became just the ninth team in NBA history to come back from such a deficit – and currently the only franchise to do so twice.
 The Rockets' season ended with a 1–4 loss in the Western Conference Finals to the Golden State Warriors.
The 2007–08 Houston Rockets season was their 41st season in the National Basketball Association and 37th in Houston.
 The Rockets won at least 50 games for the second straight season and made the playoffs also on the back of a 22-game winning streak, the fourth longest in the history of the NBA.
 The Houston Rockets came into the 2007–2008 playoffs without Yao Ming, who was still injured.
 This injury contributed to the Rockets' elimination by the Utah Jazz in the first round (2–4).
 The team brought back Steve Francis, but his return was short-lived as he was active for only 10 games, starting 3 of them.
 It would likely be his last season in the NBA.
The 2001–02 NBA season was the Rockets' 35th season in the National Basketball Association, 31st season in the city of Houston, and their 27th and penultimate season at Compaq Center.
 During the offseason, the Rockets acquired All-Star forward Glen Rice from the New York Knicks, and re-acquired Kevin Willis from the Milwaukee Bucks.
 However, Rice only played just 20 games due to a foot injury.
 In their first season without All-Star center Hakeem Olajuwon, the Rockets got off to a 7–5 start, but then suffered a dreadful 15-game losing streak.
 The season saw team captain Steve Francis make his first All-Star appearance, but he only played 57 games, and starting 56 of them due to recurring foot injuries and migraines.
 He also participated in the Dunk Contest.
 Due to injuries that hindered their roster for parts of the year, the Rockets played mediocre basketball all season, finishing fifth in the Midwest Division with a disappointing 28–54 record.
 Following the season, Walt Williams signed as a free agent with the Dallas Mavericks, and Willis signed with the San Antonio Spurs.
The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston, Texas.
 The team plays in the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in National Basketball Association (NBA).
 The team was established in 1967, and played in San Diego, California for four years before being moved to Houston.
 In the Rockets debut season, they won only 15 games.
 However, after drafting Elvin Hayes first overall in the 1969 NBA Draft, they made their first appearance in the playoffs in 1969.
 After Hayes was traded, Moses Malone was acquired to replace him.
 Malone won two MVPs during his time in Houston, and he led the Rockets to the conference finals in his first year with the team.
 He also took the Rockets to the NBA Finals in 1981, but they were defeated in six games by the Boston Celtics.
 In 1984, the Rockets drafted Hakeem Olajuwon, who led them to the 1986 Finals in his second year, where they lost again to Boston.
 In the next seven seasons, they lost in the first round of the playoffs five times.
 They won their first NBA championship in 1994, led by Olajuwon, who won Finals MVP.
 They repeated as champions the next year, and Olajuwon won Finals MVP once again.
 To date, the Rockets have not advanced to the finals again.
 The Rockets missed the playoffs from 1999–2003, and did not make the playoffs again until after they drafted Yao Ming in 2002.
 Since then, the Rockets have had a winning season in all but two of the next 14 seasons and, led by James Harden, advanced to the conference finals in 2015.
The 2002–03 NBA season was the Raptors' 8th season in the National Basketball Association.
 During the offseason, the Raptors acquired Lamond Murray from the Cleveland Cavaliers, but missed the entire season with a foot injury.
 Things looked bleak for the Raptors early in the season as Hakeem Olajuwon announced his retirement due to a back injury.
 The Raptors played around .500 with a 4–4 start to the season, but then lost six straight afterwards.
 The team then suffered a 12-game losing streak between December and January.
 In addition, Vince Carter continued to feel the lingering effect of his knee injury as he missed most of the first half of the season.
 Despite playing only 43 games, he was still voted to play in his fourth straight All-Star Game.
 However, Carter ended up giving the starting position to a retiring Michael Jordan.
 Despite this, the Raptors lost their final eight games of the season finishing seventh in the Central Division with a dismal 24–58 record.
 Following the season, Lenny Wilkens was let go as head coach of the Raptors, and was replaced with Kevin O'Neill.

Question: In the 2008-09 Houston Rockets season, which 2.29 meter player missed most of the second round due to a foot injury?
Answer: Yao Ming