Yi Jianlian's domestic basketball career ended in the disappointment of a playoff finals defeat, but China's hottest sporting talent is ready to put the past behind him and begin his NBA career.

Yi Jianlian goes for the ball against player of JIlin NBA Jilin during the CBA off-season match on Feb 4, 2007. [Xinhua]

The 19-year-old sensation, who won three champions rings in China, will leave for the United States tonight to attend a pre-Draft training camp in Los Angeles. With a high draft position all but certain he appears set to follow in the giant footsteps of Houston Rockets' All-star Center Yao Ming. "I want to walk my own road," said Yi, a 19-year-old, 2.13 meter power forward who idolized Michael Jordan as a child. "The NBA is my dream place, so this is obviously the biggest challenge of my life. But I am not going to be the next Yao Ming or Wang Zhizhi. I want to do it my way."

His size attracted the attention of scouts at a training camp in the US in 2002, and since then he has impressed with his dunking ability and shooting touch.

Eight NBA general managers and executives came to China to watch Yi's Guangdong Tigers take on Bayi Rockets in last month's CBA finals, and the NBA TV provided live coverage.

Winning the league title has become an auspicious way to say goodbye to the domestic league, so the 4-1 playoff loss was a blow for Yi.

In 2001, Wang held off a strong challenge from the Yao Ming-led Shanghai Sharks to give Bayi their sixth trophy, before joining the Dallas Mavericks as the first Chinese player in the NBA. The following year a rising Yao dominated the playoffs, elevating himself to the first international top pick in the 2002 Draft.

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