Outside the Paint: When Basketball Ruled at the Chinese Playground

In the fi fth grade, I became consumed with basketball, convinced that I would grow up to become the fi rst female player in the National Basketball Association. I fueled my dream by playing two- on- two at a local schoolyard with my brother and grandparents. The games combined playfulness and intensity. My brother did not hesitate to swat the basketball away from any opponent, and my grandmother had no qualms about fl agrantly fouling.