Former NBA centre Wang Zhizhi was hailed the king of Chinese basketball Thursday after overshadowing Yi Jianlian, "the next Yao Ming," as Bayi Rockets ended Guangdong Tigers' reign as national champions.

"The King has returned," trumpeted the headline in the Basketball Pioneers bi-weekly after Wang led the Bayi Rockets to their eighth China Basketball Association (CBA) title on Wednesday night with an 88-83 win over the Tigers.

Wang scored 21 points and had seven rebounds in game five of the best-of-seven series as Bayi ended Guangdong's three-year championship run.