So the obvious comparison for Zhou Qi is Yao Ming -- but that is not an easy thing to do, as one is a retired Hall of Famer -- the other has yet to start an NBA career, and many are questioning his potential. Their concerns mostly revolved around his size and physical abilities. Here is a look at how the two players stacked up at the time of their respective drafts.

Zhou is one of the tallest players in this summer's draft, standing at 2.18 meters, while Yao with a towering 2.29 meters, the tallest player in the 2002 class. But he was also criticized for not having the upper body strength expected of someone his size. This is an even bigger complaint with Zhou, who weights just a tick under 95 kilograms, nearly 40 less than the supposedly "skinny" Yao was 14 years ago. Zhou has the advantage in both wingspan and vertical reach, and helped China win the FIBA Asia Championship last fall, but his Xinjiang Flying Tigers best finish in his two-season CBA career was reaching the Semi-Finals this winter. By contrast, Yao led the Shanghai Sharks to the title heading into his draft, greatly boosting his own stock.