China hooked into NBA game

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BEIJING -- President Bush had barely found his seat when Yao Ming dropped in a three-pointer and commenced pumping his fist. Woo-hoo. Or however you say that in Mandarin. A three-pointer! From Yao Ming! In six NBA seasons, Yao had made exactly one three-pointer. Now he had made one to score the first points of this historic game. Was it an omen? Would it be the moment when China finally beat the United States? Um, no. The Yanks won, 101-70. "This is a treasure for my life," Yao said. A treasure for his life. When's the last time you heard that from a guy whose team just lost by 31? Of course, when's the last time you saw anything like Sunday's basketball game? "Nobody has ever been in a game like this," said United States coach Mike Kryzyewski. "This was the most-watched game of all time." The unofficial number was one billion. And that's just people who jammed into the stadium. They stood four deep behind the seated sections. They Chinese might have invented fireworks, but fire marshals, not so much. Both George Bushes were in attendance. The junior Bush gave the Americans a pre-game pep talk. "Mission accomplished!" he said. "Uh, Mr. President, we haven't started the tournament yet," said Kobe Bryant. OK, actually, neither guy said that. But Bush really was in the locker room before the game. And a billion people really may have watched on TV. Half a billion were Chinese. They love their basketball over here. In 1891, Dr. James Naismith invented basketball in an American YMCA. Four years later, Dr. Willard Lyon -- a missionary -- brought it to a Chinese YMCA. "China is a sleeping giant, but when she awakes the world will tremble," said Napoleon. Few people realize that Napoleon - Europe's Mike Fratello -- was actually talking about hoops. Sure enough, China is wakening, in large part because of Yao. The NBA opened a one-man office in China in 2002, the year Yao was drafted. Now the league has 110 employees in Beijing. NBA China recently sold 11 percent of its stock for $253 million, according to the Los Angeles Times. There are more committed basketball fans in China - 400 million - than there are Americans. Small wonder so many NBA superstars remembered what a privilege it is to play for their country before these Olympics. One point three billion Chinese have 2.6 billion feet. But so what if commerce is what brought Kobe, Lebron and the rest to Sunday's event? It was a remarkable night, just the same. Dwayne Wade said he hadn't felt the butterflies he felt Sunday since he was a little kid. Kobe said it was bigger than an NBA Finals game. "It's bigger than life itself," said Chris Paul. OK, the NBA guys were laying it on a little bit thick. So it was probably good when the game started, with the Chinese PA guy hollering out that traditional basketball opening, "Let's play ball!" Until midway through the second quarter, the Chinese hung with the Americans. The score was tied 29-29. And then, well, "our switches was not good enough," said Chinese coach Jonas Kazlauskas. Kazlauskas is Lithuanian. You probably guessed he wasn't from Shanghai. "Those guys are heroes to some of our players," Kazlauskas said. By halftime, the United States led by a dozen. Then it was sell-some-sneakers time."Do you think that the US was showing off too much?" a European reporter asked, afterward. "Were they showing numbers of circus just to impress the crowds?" The assumption is that "circus" meant "dunks." Krzyzewski was not amused. "There was no showing off," he said. "Don't confuse playing hard with showing off. " Which was true and not true. The Americans played hard. And they showed off. They were throwing no-look passes all over the place, and lining up alley-oop dunks. But what did anyone expect, exactly? Or, indeed, want? The Dream Team brought the NBA game to the Olympics in 1992. Sixteen years later, it's truly a world sport. Five countries picked basketball players to carry their flag into the Bird's Nest Friday night. None of them were from the United States. So, yes, Sunday was a party, and a celebration, and a look at what someday might be. The Chinese are not good enough yet. It could be another generation, maybe two. But will there someday be a game like this for a gold medal? Kazlauskas smiled. "That is a good dream," he said, "to see what you see." (Contact Geoff Calkins of The Commercial Appeal in Memphis, Tenn., at XX(at)xxx.com.)