Crowd sees funny side as giants of industry Tsai and Li dwarfed by basketball giant Yao
Alibaba Group boss Joe Tsai and Olympic champion gymnast Li Ning have to stand on chairs for picture with former NBA star Yao Ming
He might be a big figure in basketball, but Brooklyn Nets owner Joe Tsai is still dwarfed by the Chinese powerhouse that is Yao Ming – even when the Alibaba Group chairman is standing on a chair.
Tsai, whose Alibaba Group owns the South China Morning Post, was accompanied by Yao and Olympic champion gymnast and entrepreneur Li Ning at the recent 2024 Education Seminar on Using Physical Education to Cultivate People, which was organised by the Joe Tsai Foundation in Huzhou.
And a group photo drew laughter from the crowd as Li and Tsai had to mount a chair to even come close to Yao’s staggering 2.29 metres (7 feet and six inches) in height.
Days later, Tsai was in Hangzhou with Yao and the new head of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA), Guo Zhenming, at the closing ceremony of the 2025 Joe Tsai Basketball Scholarship Camp.
The trio were dubbed the three most powerful people in Chinese basketball on social media and news platforms in the country.
“I’m deeply grateful to the parents who support their children in pursuing their dreams,” Tsai said, as reported in Chinese state media. “I understand how difficult it is to leave home – I felt the same way when I went abroad to study as a child.
