Liu Wei has played basketball with Houston Rockets center Yao Ming for 10 years, including this summer on China’s national team.

In part because it will be a first for him, Liu is looking forward to playing with the Kings next week against his good friend and the Rockets in exhibition games in Shanghai and Beijing.

"It’s going to be exciting to play at home," the 24-year-old point guard said of the two contests billed as the NBA China Games 2004, "but it’s going to be more exciting to play against Yao. We’ve always been on the same team."

Liu, born and raised in Shanghai, doesn’t speak English very well and uses Frank Sha as an interpreter. They stay in the team hotel and generally eat all of their meals there, Sha said.

However, the 6-foot-3, 198-pound Liu said he has no problems with language during games and when strategy is discussed. Liu said his experience at the Athens Olympics with the national team, guided by Dallas Mavericks assistant coach Del Harris, helped his ability to comprehend basketball terms in English.