Kobe Bryant and Yao Ming were on the same team in the 2005 All-Star Game. Kobe praised Yao Ming's performance and invited him to join the Lakers. This incident was reported by many media and confirmed by Yao Ming himself. However, Yao Ming finally refused the invitation, saying that he was very satisfied with playing for the Houston Rockets. So it's true that Kobe invited Yao Ming to the Lakers.