high. No one appeared the least bit intimidated by the mighty Dream Team, and twice in the first half the Chinese actually held the lead, 13-7 and 17-16. Most impressive was Ming’s performance. In the early minutes of the contest he rejected a shot by Vince Carter, then later swatted away a floater by Gary Payton. While his final numbers were modest (five points and three rebounds in 16 minutes), the media and fans back in China were inspired by his fearless play. Ming was quickly developing into a national idol.

The Chinese responded to their rout at the hands of the Dream Team by manhandling New Zealand, 75-60, in their next game. But a pair of lopsided defeats to France and Lithuania ended all hopes of a medal run. Ming and his teammates gained a measure of redemption with an 85-76 victory over Italy, then lost to Spain to conclude the tournament. All in all, their ninth-place finish was perfectly respectable.
MAKING HIS MARK

Yao Ming opened a lot of eyes with his play during the Olympics. For the tournament, he finished sixth in rebounding and second in blocked shots. While he also turned the ball over 15 times in six games, NBA evaluators noted his tremendous athleticism and his desire to mix it up in the lane.

Within months, speculation started as to whether Ming would enter the 2001 NBA draft. A pair of highly touted high schoolers, Eddy Curry and Tyson Chandler, were already leaning toward going pro. If Ming followed their lead, it was possible that a collegiate player would not be among the first three players taken in the draft, something that had never before happened in the NBA’s 55-year history.

But as the months passed, it seemed less and less likely that Ming would come to America. The two stumbling blocks were the Sharks and the Chinese government. The Shanghai club would certainly place a sizable price tag on the head of its star, while public officials in China would have a laundry list of requirements and conditions to be met before approving his departure. NBA teams, however, took heart in the fact that the Chinese were in the running to host the 2008 Summer Olympics. Granting Ming the freedom to play in the US would bolster China’s bid. Therefore, it was a safe bet that at some point down the road he would be wearing an NBA uniform.

Ming, meanwhile, was back on the court with the Sharks, again gunning for a CBA championship. He enjoyed another spectacular season, averaging 27 points, topping the league in rebounding (19.4) and blocked shots (5.5), and appeared in his first All-Star game. He also led the CBA in dunks, a sign that he was embracing an American style of play. In Communist China, jamming is frowned upon because it focuses too much attention on the individual.

For the second year in a row, Shanghai advanced to the CBA final. Again their opponent was Bayi, and again the Sharks were steamrolled, losing the series three games to one. Ming’s consolation was being named to the All-Playoff team. He was also voted the league MVP.

When the 2000-01 campaign ended, a new controversy ignited. For the past two years, a U.S. agent named Frank Duffy had been forging a relationship with Ming and his family. But with the youngster’s stock rising, more and more people were vying for the right to represent him. Super agent David Falk of the SFX Sports Group began courting the Sharks, and soon word spread that he had the inside track to Ming. Michael Coyne, a Cleveland-based agent, also had his hat in the ring. In 1999 he had struck a deal with Shanghai that secured him up to 40 percent of Ming’s NBA earnings through June of 2002.

Feeling he was being squeezed out, Duffy advised Ming to send a letter to NBA commissioner David Stern and Billy Hunter, executive director of