Yao Ming, the 7ft 6in Chinese star of the Houston Rockets in the National Basketball Association (NBA), was a giant at ease for perhaps the first time. Surrounded by the game’s best players (Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan) at the annual All-Star game in New Orleans and by the Chinese media pack, an almost ever-present part of his life, he felt comfortable in the spotlight. But for most of the six years since he became the NBA’s No 1 draft pick in 2002, he has not been so sure.

This summer the 27-year-old, who is averaging 22.2 points and 10.8 rebounds per game through the first four months of the NBA season, will be the smiling public face of the Beijing Olympic Games. Idolised by his countrymen, he is watched by a TV audience of close to 200m in China whenever he plays. Last summer he returned home to take part in the Yao-(Steve) Nash charity game, which raised $2.5m for Project Hope schools and mentally handicapped children and orphans in some of China’s poorer regions. He also took time out during the All-Star Weekend to help, with other NBA players, on a project to rebuild the slums of New Orleans following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.

But he is a reluctant icon. Yao earned £13m last year with the Rockets, though he has often doubted his right to be considered among the NBA’s elite. “He was always consistent but this season his confidence level has risen,” Duncan said during All-Star weekend. “He’s always been steady and now he’s stronger. With the Rockets’ offense changed a little bit, it’s more predicated around him so he’s touching the ball more and that makes him more effective.”

Yao’s reticence has cultural roots. Not long after coming to America he reflected on the way the approach to the game differed from that with which he grew up. “The American style is more aggressive and individualistic. You are pushed to go to the basket and try to dunk over your opponent,” he said. “The Chinese approach to basketball does not allow for anyone to be the main scorer. The emphasis is more on teamwork.”

Tensions surfaced between Yao and his teammates at the last Olympics when China lost to Spain in the first round. His criticism that some players were too passive brought a stinging rebuke from Chinese officials, who suggested that their “obedient son” had become corrupted by the American emphasis on individualism. Yao offered that, as the team’s leader, he was merely attempting “to motivate my team to take risks and play more aggressively”.

Four years later he is more certain of himself as a person and as a player. According to one Chinese columnist, he is worshipped at home as “an instantly recognisable embodiment of China’s emergence in the world, smashing the stereotype of the weak and diminutive Chinese and showing how China can compete against the best in the world”. Such descriptions prompt an embarrassed smile from Yao but he will be ready to play his part when the greatest stage in sport arrives in Beijing.

“It will be an incredible experience for the people of China to host the Olympic Games and, for Chinese athletes taking part, maybe the proudest moment of their careers,” he said. “For me, it will be an honour and I’m looking forward to leading the Chinese team.” When asked about possibly being chosen to light the Olympic flame Yao reacted sheepishly again: “That is something I could hardly imagine because people who have had that honour have enjoyed magnificent careers.”

Increasingly, Yao’s career is a source of national pride. An orphan he visited last summer told him he thought he would only ever see him on TV. “He couldn’t believe I could be so tall,” Yao recalled. The event made him want to do more for Chinese unable to enjoy the kind of life he leads in Houston. “I hope to invite some children I met on the trip to the Games. This would be great for them emotionally,” he said. “My life has been an incredible journey and I know I can make a difference in the lives of others.”

On Friday, Yao scored 28 points and had 14 rebounds in the Rockets’ 100-80 win over the New Orleans Hornets, his team’s 11th straight victory and a franchise-record 10th in a row on the road. “New Orleans is a very good team in the Western Conference, so it means a lot for us to beat them on the road and to keep our winning streak going,” said Yao. With the Olympics to come, a charge for the NBA championships by the Rockets could make 2008 a momentous year for the big man from Shanghai.

He really is that tall! Yao Ming, who weighed 11lb at birth, is the tallest player in the NBA at 7ft 6in (2.27m) His father was 6ft 7in and his mother - captain of the Chinese women’s basketball team - 6ft 3in In 2007 Ming married Ye Li, a 6ft3in Chinese basketball star

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