 Nyora kupfuurira kweiyi ndima - Musi waNovember 9, 2007, Yao akatamba achipesana nevamwe vake veChinese NBA uye Milwaukee Bucks mutambi Yi Jianlian kekutanga. Mutambo, uyo Rockets akakunda 10488, yakaparadzirwa pamatanho e19 muChina, uye yakatariswa nevanhu vanopfuura mamiriyoni e200 muChina chete, ichiita kuti ive imwe yemitambo yeNBA yakatariswa zvikuru munhoroondo. Muna 2008 NBA All-Star Game, Yao akasarudzwazve kuti atange ari pakati peWestern Conference. Pamberi peAll-Star vhiki yevhiki, maRocket akanga akunda mitambo misere yakatevedzana, uye pashure pokuzorora, vakatora kukunda kwavo kwakatevedzana kumitambo 12. Musi waFebruary 26, 2008, zvisinei, zvakataurwa kuti Yao aizopotsa nguva yasara yemwaka nekushungurudzika kwakaputsika mutsoka yake yekuruboshwe. Akarasikirwa ne2008 NBA playoffs, asi haana kurasikirwa ne2008 Summer Olympics muBeijing, China munaAugust. Mushure mekukuvara kwaYao, maRocket akawedzera kukunda kwavo kusvika pamitambo makumi maviri nemaviri, panguva iyoyo yechipiri-refu kwazvo mumutambo weNBA. Yao akaitwa oparesheni yakabudirira musi waMarch 3, iyo yakaisa zvigunwe mutsoka yake kusimbisa pfupa, uye nguva yokurapwa yakafungidzirwa kuva mwedzi mina. Avhareji yekupedzisira yaYao mumitambo 55 yaive 22.0 mapoinzi, 10.8 rebounds, uye 2.0 mabhuroko pamutambo. 