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Yao Ming

Power 100 rank: 68
Sport: NBA/Houston Rockets—C
Age: 29
Most recent notable achievement: 2009 All-NBA Second Team
Earnings: $34.4 million
Key sponsors: Reebok, Coca-Cola, Visa

Why he's on the list: Yao has made basketball so popular in the world's most populated country that it was the best-attended sport during the Beijing Games. Even more telling, Yao's stateside teammate Tracy McGrady landed among the leaders in All-Star voting, thanks in large part to Chinese voters, despite having played sparingly this season.

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