The son of two former basketball players, Wang Zhizhi started playing basketball at the age of 8, and when he was 14 his parents signed him up for the People\'s Liberation Army, considering the PLA to have the best coaching and facilities in China. He grew up watching weekly NBA game broadcasts on television in Beijing, idolizing Hakeem Olajuwon and Charles Barkley. Although Wang was born in 1977, when processing his travel documents, authorities instead represented his birth year as 1979 so that he could participate longer in youth athletics competitions.\n', '

Wang signed his first professional contract with the Bayi Rockets in 1994. When the Chinese Basketball Association staged its first season in 1995–96, Wang was one of the youngest players in the league, but he soon became a starter and key member on the star-studded squad.\n', '

From 1995–96 until his departure for the National Basketball Association after the 2000–01 season, he and the import-less Bayi Rockets won the first six CBA championships, but the team\'s dynasty was upended by Yao Ming and the Shanghai Sharks as soon as Wang left for the NBA.\n', '

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