Chinese men’s basketball has not had the best of times over the past few years, while the lack of a true superstar capable of dominating on the global stage in the mould of NBA Hall of Famer Yao Ming has also seen the team fall behind regionally and internationally. A failure to reach the Olympics in either Tokyo in 2021 or Paris means these were not random fluctuations in performance, but the inevitable result of the long-term accumulation of systemic problems in the Chinese Basketball Association, and the country’s domestic leagues. The dependency on imports has reduced local players to mere tools, who just defend, box out, grab a rebound and hand it off. They are not required to dribble past opponents or orchestrate plays, let alone shoulder pressure at crucial moments. Yao Ming made a huge impact playing in the NBA with the Houston Rockets from 2002 to 2011.