Eight years ago, Yao Ming left Shanghai for the United States, a gangly 2.29 metre youngster with a nifty hook shot and a dream. Since then, he has blossomed into a global sporting icon: a seven-time NBA all-star centre for the Houston Rockets who is widely respected for his charitable work and commitment to China's national team and admired for his engaging off-court personality.
Brand Yao has proved lucrative. He is in the penultimate year of his US$75 million contract with the Rockets, and the Forbes 2008 China Celebrity Rich List put his total annual earnings at US$52.3 million.
Underlining just how far he has come, late last year Yao stepped in to rescue the financially struggling Shanghai Sharks, the China Basketball Association team where he played from 1997 until he was selected as the number one pick in the 2002 NBA draft.
It all started so well when a sell-out crowd of more than 5,000 joined Yao for the season-opening CBA clash against Zhejiang Cyclones at Yuanshen Stadium, a game the Sharks won. Yao promised to invest 100 million yuan (HK$113 million) in the team over the next five years and transform it from laughing stock - it finished 17th out of 18 teams last year and has made the play-offs just once in the past seven seasons - into a title contender.
It didn't take long, however, for Yao to learn the reality of life in sports ownership.
A dispute with national teammate Liu Wei, a close friend with whom Yao clinched the 2002 CBA title, showed what he was up against. Liu demanded a lucrative new contract, but the team management Yao hired rejected his request, saying it was way above the market rate.