We all hold our breath. Literally, as more than 80 reporters cram into a media room accustomed to 15. And figuratively, as we wait for Wang Zhizhi, the NBA's first Chinese player.

But in a way, we are disappointed. Wang is monosyllabic, reserved, and polite. He speaks through an interpreter. We are ready to jump out of our seats and embrace him, but his unmoving demeanor says 'sit.' After years of waiting for this moment, this player, to arrive, we'll have to wait a little longer for his personality to show up.

Where is the fun-loving prankster we've heard about? Underneath that black Mavs T, so soaked with sweat that he looks like a 7'1" oil-slick seal? Behind a curtain of politics and culture? Or trapped beneath newness, and an unyielding desire to sleep?

Maybe all of the above. Wang manages a half-smile on the court for his benchmates toward the end of practice, but can barely muster a half-grin for his official NBA photo shoot. Will Wang's perceived lethargy stamp a first impression that clouds subsequent ones? Will these stony headshots, this solemn face, follow him even when the facade drops?

No one will remember that this day began early in the morning with numerous physical tests. And continued with a brain-twisting press conference in a foreign language, a full-out practice, several more interviews, two photo shoots, an online chat, and an interview for Inside Stuff. They'll just see the surface. They won't see the fresh foot-long scratch down the back of his right arm. They won't see the sweat puddle at his feet. They won't see a man whose legs are so tired that he asks to stand in place instead of walk a few yards for a TV interview. They won't see how draining it is to be a trailblazer.

For all the talk about conditioning, bulking up, and dealing with a physical NBA game and a 40-minute clock, you can't call Wang Zhizhi weak. Muscle him out of the post and he'll hit you with an outside shot -- his strength. His teammates all walked away impressed after day one. And you can't call his personality weak. Try answering "How are you going to adjust to the NBA game?" 100 times. In Mandarin -- and English. Weak? You try lifting 1.2 billion people. And then waking up the next morning to do it again.