We could summarize the Asian American presence in the NBA in one word: Yao. The 7'6" center from China established himself as a presence in American pro basketball after being selected 1st overall in the 2002 NBA Draft by the Houston Rockets. That's not to say Yao's rise to stardom was immediate; his first two years , he struggled with his stamina and his lower body strength, the key to gaining position inside the basket. He continues to get injured frequently. But when he's healthy, he's a bona fide, physical center with good shooting touch.
This year's draft saw the next highly touted player to come from China, Yi Jianlian, drafted sixth by the Milwaukee Bucks. Yi is tall (7'0") and lanky, somewhat similar to Yao's body type. But to hype Yi as the next Yao would be completely inaccurate. Yi plays a completely different game - he slashes to the basket, he dribbles with flair, he showcases a more complete athleticism.
It does not look like Yi will be showcasing his talent to the Bucks, however. Amidst complaints of Milwaukee lacking a suitable Asian American population and of the Bucks having too many similarly-sized players, Team Yi (comprised of Yi's agent Dan Fagan and Chen Haitao, owner of Yi's Chinese professional team, the Guangdong Tigers) have spurned the Milwaukee Bucks and any negotiations altogether.
I cannot explain the Yi situation better than Beijing-based journalist Jonathan Ansfield. Ansfield makes a key observation:
In a package on Yi previewing the June 28 draft, the Chinese edition of Sport Illustrated magazine observed:“In contrast to Chinese royalty like Wang Zhizhi and Yao Ming, Yi Jianlian looks more like a player from the streets of America.”
If so, then Yi is certainly acting like an American basketball player, holding out for more prestige and a team with a greater market for his talents (coincidentally, a "big city" market like Los Angeles or New York, where he can get paid). Ansfield notes that Yi wants to escape Yao's shadow; so far, Yi is doing a good job of undermining China's paragon of hard work and determination. Yi's outright refusal to even communicate with the Bucks is downright disheartening and a sobering wake-up call. The NBA is not exactly brimming with Asian players, and Yi has a chance to tie together China with America in a way that not even Yao could. Even at 7', Yi relates more to the average basketball player than "The Great Wall" because of his style and flair. Yet, he spurns the opportunity to play for an NBA team, creating clouds of doubt over future Asian-based basketball players ("Do we really want to draft him? Remember what happened with that Yi Jianlian kid?").
If Yi really wants to escape Yao's shadow, he'll make a name for himself...by taking advantage of the opportunity at hand and playing for the team that drafted him.
Posted by Kevin Lee at August 27, 2007 11:39 PM
Comments
I think it's an error to assume that Yi is the one holding out. Yi's management and his Chinese team have been the ones trying to ship Yi to a location with a "better market". From what I've read, Yi seems less the petulant ballplayer and more a bargaining chip in his Chinese team's bball interests, which can't seem to articulate what they really want.
Even if it is Yi's decision, I respect his attempts to get to a better location. The Bucks knew what they were getting into when they drafted him. But making Yi the bad guy in comparison to the virtuous Yao is a bit of a stretch. Let's not start the polarization just yet.
Posted by: ash at August 28, 2007 9:34 AM
My favorite thing about Yi Jianlian is his nickname: The Chairman. I can't believe this article didn't mention that...
Posted by: Jason at August 28, 2007 10:19 AM
I am a little unsure about the stance taken by the author in this post. Plenty of American players have held out in the past and been relatively unaffected (Think: Eli Manning, John Elway, Steve Francis, etc.) Let's hope that Yi Jianlian's holdout isn't painted onto all Asian players in the future.
Also, I'm not sure Yi is undermining any kind of paradigms of hard work and determination. Especially Chinese paradigms. Why is it his responsibility to uphold these supposed paradigms at all? He is not all Chinese people, nor should he have to represent them as a whole. Additionally, if he's drafted in the lottery, there's a good chance NBA general managers felt he was a hard worker who was going to be worth a relatively large contract.
Posted by: nomuskles at August 28, 2007 11:50 AM
Did anyone see the FIBA U19 game? Who was the 19 year old Chinese guy that scored 21 against the USA? He was very and impressive and I see him as a future first round pick. But for the mean time. USA is blowing the competition out the box in FIBA AMERICAS. time to bring the gold back hoome were it belongs.
Posted by: RELAXl at August 28, 2007 5:07 PM
Well he just signed with the Bucks. The boy got game and let's hope he will develop nicely in the NBA.
Posted by: AV at August 29, 2007 1:28 AM
This of it this way, you just graduated from college. You're sending out your resumes. Are you gonna send your resume to companies in Milwaukee???? Most likely not, unless you're desperate for a job. I can understand Yi's concerns. He's not going to find any good dim sum places in Milwaukee. He's not going to have anybody to talk to. No friends. etc. Here's a guy who is an idol to 1.2 billion people having to move to a redneck town of 400K. Bucks should just trade him already!!! Yi doesn't want to play for the Bucks, so the Bucks can't expect 100% from Yi even if he does sign.
Posted by: Ant at August 29, 2007 2:21 AM
Ant, you don't understand NBA life. Yi can just get a couple of his Chinese friends to move into his mansion with him, and he can hire a personal chef to cook dim sum for him all day. Yi is just spoiled because he trained in LA and got used to that lifestyle. He finally realized that not everyone in the NBA can work in California!
Posted by: Jason at August 29, 2007 10:45 AM
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