Three years ago, American Marcus Williams led Shanxi, which was owned by Wang Xingjiang, to a franchise-best third place in the Chinese Basketball Association.

Williams has now reunited with Wang in the lower tier National Basketball League to help propel Zhengzhou Dayun to the top-flight CBA.

"He is really a good friend and I really like him," Williams said of Wang, whose passion for basketball has earned him the nickname 'Chinese Cuban', after Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban.