Nearly four decades ago, the NBA took its first steps on Chinese soil with a visit from the Washington Bullets. The team played exhibition games in Beijing and Shanghai in 1979, and, as it turned out, offered a glimpse of the future of basketball in China.
One of the players on the Shanghai team that opposed the Bullets was a center named Yao Zhiyuan, whose son provided a tipping point for explosive NBA growth in China when he was drafted No. 1 overall in 2002 by the Houston Rockets. Yao Ming would become one of the most influential players in the game's history, ultimately earning eight All-Star selections and membership in the Basketball Hall of Fame.