The great superpower battle of the 2008 Olympics, China against the United States, will be played out on the track, in the diving pool, on the rowing lake and across all the Beijing venues, but nowhere is it more keenly awaited than on the basketball court. “It will probably be the most watched game in sports history,” LeBron James, the US superstar, said of tomorrow's clash, which may be overstating the case, but only a little.

George W. Bush has requested a ticket and, while the athletes have been keen to avoid political discussion, there is no doubt that China versus the United States has replaced the former US-Russia rivalry as the great titanic duel of the Olympics.

Footballers and tennis players aside, China against the US at basketball will pit the best-known names of these Games together, at least as far as more than a billion Chinese are concerned. There is no more popular, or recognisable, home sportsman than Yao Ming, the 7ft 6in star of the Houston Rockets, who carried his nation's flag at the opening ceremony yesterday. “You know what the Great Wall of China means?” Carmelo Anthony, the US forward, said. “That's what Yao means in China.”

Kobe Bryant and James, the best that America has to offer, are icons in China, where basketball is regarded as such a growth sport that the National Basketball Association (NBA) has invested in the club league - NBA China - as part of an ambitious global expansion. David Stern, the commissioner, also has plans to set up franchises in Europe, including London.

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A full house at the 18,000-capacity Wukesong Gymnasium is guaranteed and a US victory should be expected, too. China have never finished higher than eighth place, at the Athens Olympics, and the Americans have come to Beijing so intent on putting right their wretched showing in 2004 that they have been called the Redeem Team.

Their third-place finish in Greece, where James was dubbed “LeBronze”, was notable for infighting and complacency. “We have learnt that basketball is no longer America's game, this is the world's game,” Chris Paul, the US point guard, said yesterday, in a marked change of tone. “Chemistry is not a problem,” Anthony added. “Egos are in check.”

Yet signs of the Chinese leaving nothing to chance are reflected in the secrecy of their preparations. They have been training away from the Olympic venue and questions about their media activity yesterday were met with blank stares. A stark contrast to the Americans, who came out to face the press yesterday and were full of talk of humility and focus.

As long as the game is close, the atmosphere should be electrifying and a wonderful appetiser for the China-US, East-West confrontation to be played out over the next fortnight. The Americans will expect to flex their muscles on the basketball court, although they are taking nothing for granted against a China team who also boast Yi Jianlian, the 7ft New Jersey Nets forward. “They'll be taller than us,” Bryant said, “and they'll be committed.” They will also have a billion fans behind them.