Nonetheless, Ming returned to Shanghai a more confident and more rounded player. He was still noodle-thin, however, and paid the price during the CBA season. Opponents battered Ming under the boards, regularly sending him sprawling to the floor. He took his licks all year long, as did the Sharks, who finished eighth out of the league’s 12 teams.

Ming finally began to fill out after his 18th birthday. Though his upper body remained weak, he gained strength in his legs, which were growing thick and muscular. He also developed a more varied arsenal of offensive moves. Ming put his A game on display during the Asian Basketball Confederation (ABC) Championship for Junior Men in Calcutta, India. With their seven-foot center leading the way, the Chinese captured the title, and Ming was named tournament MVP.

When the 1998-99 CBA campaign began, Ming was a different player. He was able to hold his own against older, more experienced opponents. Shanghai’s fortunes improved as Ming found his way in the league. He averaged 25 points and 15 rebounds, and the Sharks jumped to fourth place in the standings.

In 1999 Ming was added to the Chinese men’s national team. His first taste of international competition at this level came during the ABC Championship for Men in Fukuoka, Japan. Ming relished the challenge of going up against players more intense and talented than those he faced in the CBA. He, Zhi-Zhi and Bateer formed a terrifying trio, and China cruised to the title. Ming averaged 12 points and nearly seven rebounds, and regularly made his presence felt on defense.

Against stiffer competition in the FIBA Junior World Championship, however, the Chinese were overmatched. The US blew them out, 119-59, in their first game, and from there China mustered just one victory.

Ming learned a lot from his summer of international play. He demonstrated more maturity on the floor, and with a better idea of the skills he needed to work on, his all-around game improved. Though his scoring dipped a bit in the 1999-2000 CNBA season, he was more of a force in the paint, both on offense and defense. Ming led the Sharks to second place in standings, then keyed a run to the CBA final against the Bayi Rockets. But Shanghai was no competition for the Rockets and their veteran star, Zhi-Zhi, who claimed their sixth straight title in a three-game sweep.

For Ming, facing Zhi-Zhi for the championship was an accomplishment in and of itself. He viewed his counterpart as an older brother and took cues from him personally and professionally. At the time, Zhi-Zhi was being pursued by the Dallas Mavericks, who had used a first-round draft choice on him in June of 1999. While Ming had already begun to envision an NBA career of his own, he hoped his friend would be China’s first basketball ambassador to the U.S.

After the CBA final, Ming, Zhi-Zhi and the rest of China’s elite players began training for the 2000 Olympics. The only Asian entry in the basketball tournament, the Chinese were honored just to be suiting up for the Summer Games. Their goal in Australia was to show the world’s best players that they belonged on the same court with them.

Despite the presence of Ming, Zhi-Zhi and Bateer—collectively nicknamed “The Walking Great Wall”—China was not well regarded in the international hoops community. The level of play in the CBA was thought to be no better than that of Division II in the U.S. Even Chinese fans acknowledged their game had a ways to go.

China got the game it wanted right away, a battle against the Americans. Though drubbed 119-72, the Chinese left the floor with their heads held