Wang Zhizhi - First NBA Player From China

First NBA Player From China

In the summer of 1999, to the surprise of almost all basketball officials and reporters in China, the Dallas Mavericks selected Wang with the 36th pick in the second round of the NBA draft. The Mavericks were the only NBA team getting hold of Wang's official documents with an authentic date of birth, thanks to his agent Xia Song who was in Dallas on draft night. Unprepared and confused, the army refused to allow their only center to leave for the United States, at least immediately.

After long periods of negotiations, Wang Zhizhi was finally let go by his Army club and the Chinese basketball officials to pursue his NBA dream, two years after he was drafted. Wang arrived in Dallas after winning his last CBA title, when there were less than 10 games left in the NBA regular season. Despite some adjustment difficulties Wang managed well, averaging 4.8 points and 1.4 rebounds in 7.6 minutes per game. He also made the playoff roster.

Two days after the Mavericks were eliminated from the playoffs, Wang hurried back to China to play in the East Asian Games, according to an agreement formed between the Chinese authorities and the Dallas Mavericks. In the same summer, Wang was tremendous in two more tournaments in China: winning the Asia Championship, and placing a historic second in the Universiade.

However, Wang still had one obligation to fulfill before being allowed to return to the United States. His army club requested that he stay in China to play in the National Games in November. Wang arrived after barely defeating Yao Ming's Shanghai team by 1 point in the Final, but found that he had a lot of catch-ups to do as other players already had two months to familiarize with the NBA team's system. Wang again made the playoff roster in 2002.