The CBA's social media account quoted Yao as saying at a ceremony on Thursday that he hoped to reform the domestic league's draft system and push more Chinese players into the international arena.

Yao's appointment is considered as a reform step for an association which until now has typically been led by government sports officials.

Yao, 36, was one of the first Chinese athletes to become an international household name when the Houston Rockets drafted him with the first pick in 2002. The 2.29-meter (7-foot-6) center played for eight seasons before retiring in 2011, citing chronic injuries.

The Shanghai-born Yao was elected to the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame in 2016.