I have read the post written by Jiayao Guo (https://blogs.ubc.ca/guojiayao/) about “Yao Ming and NBA”. This post touches me because I like Houston Rocket, and I have been watching NBA games since Yao Ming joined Rocket. From my perspective, NBA’s marketing growth rate in China will slow down in a short run. After he retired, many fans felt disappointed. However, not only do they like Yao, but also they like Rocket and other NBA teams. They will go on supporting the teams they like as long as the teams can play wonderful games for them.
Take Italian Series A as an example. Twenty years ago, AC Milan was the best soccer team in the world, and they had many superstars, such as Maldini and Van Basten. Its competitors, such as Inter, Napoli and Juventus, also have excellent players. Many people watched Italian series A because their favorite players were playing in this league. On Aug 6th, 2011, AC Milan and Inter Milan played a match in Beijing for Italian Super Cup. At least 80,000 fans watched this match in the stadium. Although Italian series A is still popular, Italian clubs are not as strong as they are 20 years ago because many excellent players have transferred to Spain and England since the scandal in 2006. Fans, who have been watching soccer games for many years, still watch Italian Series A. In contrast, people who just start to watch soccer games are attracted by Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester United, or Chelsea because of the super stars, and Italian Series A has little attractiveness for them.
Superstar KAKA who played for AC Milan from 2003 to 2009. He transferred to the Spanish club Real Madrid in summer 2009. 
People usually develop their likings towards players before they fall for the teams. Later, they usually become loyal fans (customers) for the teams where the super stars play. NBA does not need to worry about Yao’s retirement if it still has attractiveness for new audiences (customers).