Once reviled for turning his back on China, former NBA center Wang Zhizhi is dominating the domestic league with a run of play that bodes well for Chinese Olympic hopes and his own return to the NBA.

Wang Zhizhi.

Wang scored 43 points and ripped down 14 rebounds to power his first-place Bayi Rockets to the team's 18th consecutive victory on Sunday.

The 101-97 win over third-place Jiangsu Nangang moved the club into a first-place tie with three-time league champion Guangdong Tigers.

Former NBA player Wang Zhizhi slams the ball during a CBA match between Bayi and Beijing on January 19. Wang has helped Bayi to win 18 games in a row, the second longest winning streak in CBA history. Zhong Ti

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Since returning home last year from a four-year stint in the US, Wang, dubbed "Big Zhi" by Chinese media, has become a pivotal player in China's drive for a medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics - a goal that, if fulfilled, could get him another shot at the NBA.

At the 2006 World Basketball Championships in Japan, Wang teamed with Houston Rockets All-Star Yao Ming to help China advance to the second round. Without Yao, he led the team to gold in Doha Asian Games.

"Wang is so talented you cannot believe it," national team coach Jonas Kazlauskas said after the Asian Games.

"In my coaching career there have been just a couple of players with bigger talent than him."

By dominating the domestic league and helping China to better results in international competition, Wang could soon be in position for a return to the world's top league, where he played for the Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Clippers and current NBA champions Miami Heat.

"It's in his hands. If he wants to, he can make it," Kazlauskas said.

Before departing to the NBA in 2001 - and being kicked off China's national team for refusing to return to national duty - Wang had helped Bayi, an army-run team which plays in Ningbo, to six consecutive CBA championships.

His departure opened the way for Yao Ming and the Shanghai Sharks to become the first team to dethrone the army team as league champions.

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