"As John Wall awaited the outlet pass from Trevor Booker, Yi Jianlian dropped his head and sprinted down the middle of the court. By the time Wall received the ball near half court, the 7-foot Yi had already outrun every player down the floor, so Wall rewarded the hard-charging big man.

Yi moved so quickly that his momentum nearly carried him beyond the basket, but he gathered himself and dunked with two hands while getting fouled. Teammate Al Thornton rushed to Yi and greeted him with a celebratory forearm to the chest.

The Washington Wizards' textbook fast break against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday - two passes, no dribbles and a dunk, in less than five seconds - served as evidence of the evolving Yi, who is looking to finish strong near the basket more often and "race the floor," not simply run it.

"Race the floor," Yi said with a grin. "That is the term."

Yi picked up that phrase while working for six weeks last summer with David Thorpe, the executive director of the Pro Training Center in Clearwater, Fla. In one of their early conversations, Thorpe asked Yi if he runs the floor. When Yi told him yes, Thorpe retorted, "The best players race."

The message was sent early to Yi that being a special NBA player requires maximum effort in every facet of his game. Yi displayed that focus as he carried the Chinese national team at the world championship in Istanbul, averaging 20.2 points and a tournament-best 10.6 rebounds. "