She walks around with a harmless look that all tall people seem to wear, as if to compensate for their seemingly unstoppable vertical growth. On court, Chen Nan transforms into an uncharacteristically nimble athlete at 6’5”, driving in effortlessly to block and rebound, morphing into a hoopster who can shoot fluidly and aggressively with her left-hand, providing the visual rarity of a southpaw on basketball courts.

Her 26-game run with Women’s National Basketball Association’s (WNBA) Chicago Sky this summer had people talking about the potential for a ‘Girl-Yao Ming’ phenomenon — despite the early stutter which forced the 26-year old to be waived from the Sky roster after a back injury.

As one of the most versatile players to come out of the basketball behemoth in Asia, and arguably the continent’s best centre, the Chinese captain was expected to do for Chicago what Yao Ming did for Houston. Yao Ming’s move to the NBA went beyond his impact on the sporting court, as the world warmed up to the nation through his adoring persona ahead of the Olympics at Beijing. In her rookie season, Nan averaged only 12.3 minutes, 3.7 points and 2.1 rebounds per game at Chicago before returning to national duty. And while she hasn’t yet managed to become a global phenomenon like Ming, back home in China she is definitely a star.

Olympic star

“She’s known more for helping China with her exploits at the Olympics, where she led the team to a fourth place finish and at the last world championships,” says Pengchong He, a reporter with the sports channel tom.com.

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