The 08 golden generation of the Chinese men's basketball team is only left with Sun Yue and the "little kid" Yi Jianlian.
In 2008, the NBA's first-year student Yi Jianlian was in the spotlight. The Olympics face Spain size Gasol's full defense, against Germany in the final quarter 28 seconds of the 2-point kill, to help the Chinese team realize the dream of the top 8.
Yi Jianlian defense of the German players. ／China Daily
People's expectations of Yi Jianlian from here to reach the apex, but life is a problem after problem, a little taste of success, questioning, misunderstanding, downturn, injuries in turn stepped on. Efforts or gifted, and did not give the young Yi Jianlian a pardon coupon.
Yi Jianlian's image is constantly being shaped by the reality of the game and the delusion of public opinion. Whether praising him as a talented young man, an NBA-level player, the last representative of men's basketball, or chastising him for his lack of skill and leadership, delusional prejudices and expectations never go away.
By chance, looking back, Yi Jianlian also carried the men's basketball team through a decade. When the fan's argument, the media's hyperbole slowly silenced, we realized that Yi Jianlian has long been out of the optimal solution of his career.
A day to see the flowers of Chang'an
Yi Jianlian, in the 2002-2003 CBA League came out of nowhere.
The final round of the regular season against Beijing Shougang, 16-year-old Yi Jianlian came on as a substitute, and took 13 of the team's 18 points in the final period in overtime on his own, shooting 4 for 4 to help Guangdong get the regular season title.
It's an evaluation or a question, it doesn't matter if you look at it now, but at the time, all the basketball fans in China were confident that another All-Star level player was going to conquer the NBA.
Yao Ming was a role model and a hindrance that Yi Jianlian could not avoid. ／Time
NBA scouts have let it be known that this 2.11-meter young man is the man they are looking for.
Nike couldn't wait to beat out other competitors for a six-year deal with Yi. The value of the contract far exceeded his salary and Nike's initial deal with Yao Ming.
Yi's rise to fame was a one-step process, and he didn't even play much in Asia, replacing hotshot MVP Tang Zhengdong in the starting lineup for the Athens Olympics under the forceful advice of Yunus, the assistant men's basketball coach at the time.
Although the Olympic debut nervous shot three does not touch, although every ball is accompanied by Yunus roar, but belongs to the "talented young man" "basketball prodigy" of the era has come to the face.
The dunk against Spain's Pau Gasol is still a highlight of the Chinese basketball era.
The apex of the ovation came on the night of June 28, 2007, at Madison Square in New York.
Yi's tumultuous NBA journey began here.
After Bartel, Yao Ming, and Wang Zhizhi, 20-year-old Yi was drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks with the sixth pick in the first round.
It's the second-most All-Star-caliber position among Chinese players after Yao. The future was limitless in the media buzz.
Yi's photo from the Asian Games was first in Sports Illustrated's photo album of international rookies. "I'm already playing in the NBA."
At the time, the fans who loved Yi Jianlian the most even put out a boast on his behalf: I came, I saw, I conquered. the NBA waiting for him to conquer.
The Last Great Wall of Motion
The 24-second offense had only six seconds left, and the ball went to Yi Jianlian. Lian rose into the air and slammed the ball into the basket as the whistle blew for the end of the offensive clock.
This Olympic dunk between Yi Jianlian and Gasol was staged in Athens four years ago. Only, four years later Yi Jianlian is already Gasol's colleague in the NBA, and the kid who played garbage time in Athens back then is now on his own.
The 2008 men's basketball national team has Yao Ming, Wang Zhizhi, Yi Jianlian composed of the Great Wall of interior movement, as well as a host of Asia's top outside players Sun Yue, Zhu Fangyu, Liu Wei, Wang Shipeng. Fully able to carry the title of the golden generation.
Who does not miss that generation of men's basketball. ／Wiki
At this time, Yi Jianlian has been in the NBA to learn a year, although there are ups and downs, but a game against the Bobcats in 12 consecutive 12 shot 12, 43 minutes of play with 82% hitting rate contributing to 29 points, 10 boards, 3 steals record in the stag so far has not been broken.
The Chinese derby with Yao Ming, more than 250 million people watched the NBA single-game ratings record.
Yi Jianlian's impressive performance has led many to see him as the next German Chariot Nowitzki. Unexpectedly, at the Olympics, the Chinese team first encountered a fierce battle with Germany.
"That game itself chased after Nowitzki all over the court whisking, and it was Nowitzki in his prime. Every time he took a shot, you were picking it up inside." [iv]In Yi Jianlian's view, his two-point kill that helped China enter the last eight was just a lucky hand, and the whole team's effort was the key to the eventual win.
It was never a scene, and in a game that seemed like a meat grinder's war, everyone fought hard. If Kaman blocked Yi Jianlian, then Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian switch defense; if the German replacement center stuck Yi Jianlian, then Sun Yue in time to make up for the defense.
08 Olympic first goal. / @ Yi Jianlian
jamming, defense, grabbing rebounds, to the second half of the fourth quarter, everyone is very tired, when Nowitzki once again breaks the ball fast break, Yi Jianlian at this time can also be faster to catch up with him and damage.
Still only 21 years old, Yi Jianlian is still very green, the center and secondary offense is his main means of scoring, netizens jokingly referred to it as Yi Jianlian's "blue-collar period".
Waiting for the free throws, Nowitzki came to talk to him, and Yao Ming celebrated after the kill, which was a sign of the face that the basketball world is giving to this new star. This face is because of his illogical growth rate and high ranking in the NBA. People, it's better to get famous while you can.
Fans missed every game that summer and the last of the golden era. Yi Jianlian's defensive play at the time was hailed as a model for all young players. For him, those moments of happiness "will be in your mind for the rest of your life".
"This is my career"
"Chewing Green Arrow, drinking Erie, two points and a board in space easy."
Advertising endorsements continue, the field "sleepwalking" unabated, back to the United States, Yi Jianlian, encountered unprecedented network violence.
The afterglow of the Olympics has made the enthusiasm for men's basketball unprecedented. Standing at the node at that time, people rightly expect more and more young people to stand on the NBA, beyond Yao Ming's achievements, become the first, become the main force, on the All-Star.
But Yi Jianlian, who is regarded as the next Yao Ming, poured a pot of cold water on people with his unlucky performance.
Comparisons to Yao are everywhere.
After being traded to the New Jersey Nets (now the Brooklyn Nets), a game against the underdog Pistons should have been in the bag, but Yi Jianlian's 1-of-12 shooting slump wasted many of the offense's chances. Not only did the team lose the game, but also became his own "iron" masterpiece.
The NBA played to the 150th game, Yi Jianlian a ball did not enter the game there are 10 games, into the ball 23 games, into the ball 27 games. But the single-game hit rate of more than 50 percent was less than a third of 49 games.
What's even more ridiculous is that, in order to strongly argue the persona of Yao Ming's successor, the domestic media at the time carried out a lot of meaningless cudgeling reports.
"Allian just smiled, he has won the trust of the head coach" [v], ridiculous headlines can be seen after every game. Obviously inaccurate bragging is baffling. But the backlash from fans is starting to spread for real.
A set of rumors about Yi Jianlian's confrontation with a chair during his rookie days was rehashed, when his team reportedly rejected the content of a tryout arranged by the Celtics, and only allowed Yi to complete dribbling and shooting drills under the defense of a chair. [vi]
The origin of Lian's "chair man" may just be normal training.
The fans' taunts got louder, with titles like "chair man," "Yi Di," and "Lian Mei" circulating from the bar. After Liu Xiang, Yi Jianlian took over the baton to become the target of the "disgrace for the country". Start, rotation, replacement, Yi Jianlian was pressed on the bench.
It was at this time that Yao Ming accidentally retired, Yi Jianlian became the leader of the Chinese team, at this time from the 2009 Tianjin Asian Championships in only three months.
In the final, Iranian center Haddadi, an old rival, was full of provocation. He did not defend, standing in the three-second area to the outside receiving the ball Yi Jianlian made a "go ahead" gesture. Yi Jianlian missed the shot. China's title was not saved.
Only 10 points in the first quarter of the game, the lowest score in a single quarter; only 25 points in the second half, the lowest score in a half; the total score of 53-70, and then create the largest loss spread.
Three Asian Championships shameful record, so that this defeat is seen as a sign of China's loss of dominance in Asia.
Yi Jianlian and Haddadi play in the CBA League. / Tupelo Creative
A Chinese team without Yao Ming just doesn't work.
After the award Yi Jianlian ripped off the medal and wrapped it around his hand, sitting helplessly on the sidelines with his towel covered.
Injuries followed the failure to find the door, the right shoulder injury, pinky bone fracture, ankle sprain, the corner of the mouth stitched 50 stitches ...... right knee in four years bumped six times. "Fragile" is no longer attractive to the team, Yi Jianlian's career in the NBA into the upside down.
After bouncing around the Washington Wizards and then being sold to the Dallas Mavericks (now the Mavericks), the crowded field of players in the same position saw the high-upside player end up averaging less than seven minutes a game.
As a high-priced player with a lottery contract in hand and a huge Chinese market behind him, Yi's value is on the rise, but not all of the plus points will help you win a spot in the right spot.
Yi Jianlian's track record in the NBA is considered less than stellar. ／NBA
Slow reaction to hold the ball, poor ball-handling ability, in the interior does not act, can not play the back ...... fans five years ago the expectations of Yi Jianlian to this day have not been realized. Even in an interview with Yang Nan, he himself responded very directly that he minded comparisons with Yao because he felt he "couldn't compare"[vii].
Yi Jianlian chose to return to the domestic league, where the reputation of not being able to make it in the NBA seemed to be realized. No one was listening to him at that point, and he wanted to play and to stay in better playing shape.
The silent leader
"I think we should call Lian up," said Wang Zhizhi, who handed the microphone to Yi Jianlian at his own retirement ceremony. Yao Ming, Wang Zhizhi, Yi Jianlian, when the mobile Great Wall of the Chinese men's basketball team once again stood together, there were only emotions.
The legacy of the Chinese men's basketball team. / @ Yi Jianlian
"Back then, I thought that Lian was just an ordinary successor, but I didn't realize that he had been holding out for so many years", which is what fans say the most nowadays.
The Chinese men's basketball team is going through a tough time with the old and the new, and the results are really limited at the world-class tournaments.
With back-to-back losses at the 2012 London Olympics, a tough loss to Taipei at the 2013 Asian Championships, no chance at the 2014 World Cup, another loss at the 2016 Rio Olympics, and an eventual loss to Poland at the 2019 World Cup because of mistakes, China may be missing the Olympics for the first time in 36 years.
"To take the leader set my words, it feels like a failure. After so many years of not winning a game, one is doing worse in every aspect." World Cup documentary, Yi Jianlian described himself this way.
The so-called "failed leader".
But having watched the tournament, you know what it means to the Chinese team to have a player who has carried a bad reputation for too long. "Failed leader" Yi Jianlian, roughly the same meaning as the average family Ma Huateng, Peking University okay Sabin, is the same.
In London in 2012, as the flag bearer of the session, Yi Jianlian for the third time in the Olympic Games, single defense Gasol, with 30 points and 12 rebounds in the history of the results dedicated to the eight-year appointment.
2015 Asian Championships, Yi Jianlian and Iran Haddadi's story is also updated. In the face of repeated provocations by the Iranian team against the young Chinese players, the always modest and courteous Yi Jianlian pushed a rare elbow. Leadership naturally does not need this to show, but this protection also inspired the confidence of the players and the audience.
In the end, China eliminated defending champion Iran 70-57, with Haddadi sitting helplessly on the sidelines with his towel covered. This image also appeared six years ago in Tianjin, only now Haddadi and Yi Jianlian switched roles.
The Sports Illustrated cover of Yi Jianlian has two photos, the 2009[viii] one of Yi Jianlian tearing off his 2007[ix] cover. In the face of controversy back then, perhaps Yi Jianlian would have to use such a formalized way to express his determination. But now, people who call him "Yi Di" again, expressed respect.
Hand tear "good boy" persona.
Even Yi Jianlian's performance in the NBA is slowly being recognized.
With the growing understanding of competitive basketball as more than just a passion, people are beginning to realize that a qualified NBA rotation is already a rarity, and Yi's numbers for the 2009-2010 season were an average of 12 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. , seven double-doubles.
The questions that have hung over Yi's head since he was 16 haven't changed, but the way people look at them finally has. Yi Jianlian was never going to be Yao Ming, but that ended up being a good thing.
From the 2009 Asian Championships to the 2019 World Cup, the players around them went and came, the Chinese team's coaches have changed six, Yi Jianlian is still the strongest and most stable scoring point.
"Genius boy" name seems to be still in front of us, no one would have thought that the 2019 World Cup may be Yi Jianlian's last world-class game.
Against Nigeria is the last chance to go straight to the Tokyo Olympics, to seize a silver lining can only look at Yi Jianlian. The Nigerian team also knows this. A live photo of all the opposing team's players 5-man pack of Yi Jianlian ironically contributes to the beauty of Laocoon.
Every ball is "living" in the pack.
Yi Jianlian is too busy on the court. Basket strong attack, three-point shooter, two-point jump shot, rebound king, scoring king ...... he has two strong attack to reduce the score difference to three points, not only took the highest 27 points, a one-handed dunk also selected FIBA's international game ten years wonderful dunk.
But in the face of the opponent's full blossom, Yi Jianlian again eye-catching also seems to be difficult to support.
Yao Ming patted Yi Jianlian on the head during the break, and the Nigerian captain praised him as a very good player after the game. We ended up losing, and regret was written on Yi's face, but he said it or, "Eyes forward."
Ten years have passed, Yi Jianlian still does not love to talk, but at this time the oligarchy was reinterpreted as a silent leader. cba he was called the yellow skin of the foreign aid to lead the reconstruction of guangdong hongyuan won the ninth and tenth crown [x], the national team, he silently undertake to wait for the growth of young players.
Yi Jianlian lost so many years of the ball, but became the last men's basketball "cloth".
Yi Jianlian has talked about his admiration for Kobe on many occasions, not just his performance on the court, but his love for not letting himself be absent from the game. "None of us will be the next Kobe, but we can all be tough in our own way," Yi wrote on Twitter.
In fact, Kobe also commented on Yi Jianlian, even not without regret. "Yi is very talented, I just don't think he's met the right opportunity to show what he can do."
There are few fans who hold the same attitude as Kobe. Some feel that if Yi Jianlian had met the small-ball era of the later NBA, he would have been able to gain a foothold with his spatial 4-position characteristics; others say that Yi Jianlian carried too much on his back for the national team, and that his positioning on the court didn't deliver on his talent in the extreme.
These evaluations are all love and care for Yi Jianlian, but the outside world's view seems too lightweight anyway.
Ten years ago in a documentary, Yi said on the streets of New Jersey, "I hope to do 100 percent to build my career." He did that a long time ago.
Now, ten years later, a fan stumbled upon Yi Jianlian eating on the street in Los Angeles, and the images gradually overlapped with the look in the documentary.
If there is something to look forward to, I hope that Lian will still be able to think like he did back then, that "life is very satisfying, and it's lucky to be able to make a career out of an interest".
Yi Jianlian's career is far from over. / "Refinement"