Drafted in the second round one year ago by Don Nelson's Mavericks, Wang made his first visit to Dallas about a week ago. Picked up in Nelson's fancy car (which awed Wang), and taken to the gym to play a few games against a German national team, Wang has finally had his introduction to a life in the NBA.

Wang's first half was horrible. He played like a poor man's Shawn Bradley. Wang hit a finger roll (a cool shot that looks even cooler when a skinny 7-foot kid is performing it), and a fadeaway, mid-range jump shot, and then sat down, apparently overwhelmed by the pressure of even being there.

Wang sat out most of the second half, too, but when he did finally enter the game, good things happened. A dribble to open things up for a jump shot. An offensive rebound of his own miss, and a put-back. Then, a three pointer.

Yeah, you read correctly. A three.

The game goes into overtime. Wang hits another 3, and one play later takes good defensive position and draws an impressive charge.

Wang finished with 26 points. 26 nicely distributed points, from all over the court.

We've heard that a good way to describe Zhizhi is "A taller, more raw Toni Kukoc."

That's not bad at all.

While he does have a long way to go, Wang definitely could become a successful NBA player. But, there's one major problem: He's a part of the Chinese army. It's up to China whether or not to let Zhizhi leave his country and become a Dallas Maverick. Wang was quoted as saying (in Chinese) that the fans of China all want Wang in the NBA, doing Chinese basketball fans proud.

If this works out, the Mavericks will have a German/Chinese frontcourt, and a Canadian point guard. That's as close to a United Nations meeting as NBA rosters get.

Mavericks fans, native Chinese fans, as well as the NBA community can only wait and see if this kid ever gets his chance to try that finger roll against the best players in the world.

8/14/2000
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