Only two months later Ming was again in the spotlight as he led the Chinese national team into the Summer Games in Athens. Now in his second Olympics, a more experienced Ming hoped to improve on China’s ninth-place finish in Sydney.

As the Asian champions, the Chinese opened pool play against European runner-up Spain. The game was expected to be a showdown between Ming and Memphis Grizzlies star Pau Gasol, but quickly became a one-sided affair as the Spanish ran away with an 83-58 win. Ming played well in the loss, recording a double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds.

He had his most dominating performance two days later, scoring 39 points and grabbing 13 rebounds in a 69-62 victory over New Zealand. Unfortunately the Chinese then went into a tailspin. They dropped four of their final five games of the tournament and finished in eighth place. From a personal standpoint, Ming enjoyed a great showing. Named to the All-Olympics team, he ranked third overall in scoring at 20.7 ppg, and led all players in rebounding at 9.3 boards per contest.

Back in Houston, it took McGrady a while to come to grips with his new environs. In the early part of the 2004-05 season, he assumed it would be the T-Mac and Yao Show, but Van Gundy had a more complex plan in mind. He knew he needed a third scoring option, and tried to create some chemistry to make one emerge. Though this never happened, the team pulled together in the process and started to close out wins that used to slip through their grasp.

Guard Bob Sura got healthy and took control of the offense, early-season pickups David Wesley and Jon Barry contributed key minutes off the bench, and as soon as the usually controlling Van Gundy saw a natural rhythm develop, he just let his players play. The Rockets ignited prior to the All-Star Break and took off from there, finishing with 51 wins.

The difference was less Ming and more McGrady. The newcomer was clearly an elite NBA star. Ming was essentially the same player as the year before—a good center, but not as great one. Instead of rising to challenge Shaq as the league’s best pivot man, he sank further into the “next-best” category. Ming finished the year with good numbers (18.3 points per game, 8.4 rebounds and two blocks), but he rarely dominated. McGrady believed he had to get angry on the court, while scouts thought he needed to get a half-step quicker and a few pounds stronger. The Rockets just wanted him to take a summer off and rest up.

First, however, there was the small matter of the NBA playoffs. Ming raised his scoring average to 21.4 in a seven-game war with the Mavericks and Erick Dampier, who was now claiming he had no peers in the pivot in the west. The series started well for the Rockets but badly for Ming, who fouled out of Game 1 in 20 minutes. But Houston kept the Dallas offense under wraps and won 98-86.

Ming bounced back in Game 2, converting 13 of 14 shots for 33 points as the Rockets won again on the Mavs’ home court. But Dallas dug deep and seized control of the series, winning three straight. Van Gundy went ballistic when he saw the ways officials allowed the Mavs to mug Ming, and was fined $100,000 for accusing the league of conspiring against his center. The Rockets won Game 6 to stay alive, but Game 7 was a disaster, a 116-76 blowout that was the worst finale defeat in NBA history. The last gasp against the Mavs illustrated Houston’s problem completely. Ming scored 33, T-Mac added 27, and the rest of the guys bagged 16.

Retooling the Rockets promised to be a challenge, but it became a near impossibility the following season when Ming was diagnosed with osteomyelitis in his left big toe. This was the same painful disease that