Sun Mingming, who is two inches taller than Yao, has attended a training camp in the United States and hopes to be picked in the NBA draft next month, the South China Morning Post reported Sunday.

If the 22-year-old Sun is signed by an NBA team, he would become the tallest player in league history.

Gheorghe Muresan and Manute Bol, at 7-foot-7, are the tallest players in NBA history.

Former NBA player Keith Gatlin, a coach who has worked with Sun, told the newspaper that the Chinese prospect is a 70 percent shooter but needs to work on his agility.

"He really doesn't get much lift and that's something we're looking at to improve," Gatlin said.

Still, Gatlin noted Sun's height means "he pretty much only needs to stand with his arms up in front of the net and he's blocking the basket."