Canadian-born Chinese basketball prospect Ben Li did the unthinkable last summer, leaving an NCAA Division I team in favour of a move to Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) giants Shanghai Sharks. But the 20-year-old, whose Chinese name is Li Hongquan, said he made the decision for two reasons – to repay his parents for their support, and avoid the unpredictability of the CBA Draft. “It was a pretty wild ride, to be honest,” Li said, reflecting on leaving after his freshman season with the Lehigh University Mountain Hawks in Pennsylvania, where he was called the “Chinese Zion Williamson” . “I went to college thinking I was going to do four years because playing NCAA was always a big goal of mine. But after the season, I had an opportunity that we simply couldn’t turn my back against. It was a no-brainer to us. ‘Can you even see the rim?’ – Basketball star Li on racism towards Asians “One of my all-time goals was to retire my parents because they sacrificed so much for me. My dad supported my basketball dreams 100 per cent, which is very rare to come by with Asian parents, so I’m very grateful. He literally quit his job to bring me to practice and rebound for me. “My mom was basically my daily nutritionist, having whole feasts with all the proteins and nutrients ready for me to recover when I come home from practice. I just had to help them retire via the game of basketball because that was so much of their daily investment.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by 李弘权 | Ben Li (@benli_8) The Sharks – considered one of the biggest CBA teams having developed the legendary Yao Ming before his move to the NBA’s Houston Rockets – had long identified Li’s potential from afar. Achievements such as becoming the first fully ethnic Chinese player to be picked for an All-Canadian game helped his reputation with mainland basketball fans. He has also trained with the China under-19s set-up. “I always knew I was going to go back to China – I just didn’t know it would be this soon,” Li said. “It’s a great opportunity. Their pitch was to come in to develop under their programme early and give me an opportunity to start my professional career. I talked it through with my teammates and coaching staff and they showed full support. It took off from there, I did the paperwork and flew out. “I had racked up a decent audience in China throughout my high school career and last year at Lehigh. By that time, everyone knew me as one of those up-and-coming prospects along with [Zeng] Fanbo in the [NBA] G-League .” Li even brushed shoulders with “role model” Yao, the towering NBA Hall of Famer who has been serving as CBA chairman since 2017 . “You watch all his highlights growing up then one day you’re talking to him. Words can’t describe how excited I was,” he said. “I played and got MVP in a tournament a few years back, so after Covid-19 [restrictions] they had a ceremony to commence the 2021-22 year. It was a surreal experience.” About six months after landing in Shanghai, Li was on the move again for a season-long stint at the South East Melbourne Phoenix of Australia’s National Basketball League (NBL). Li said the move was largely for game time, as CBA rules required him to be registered for at least two seasons before being fielded. He equated it to the collegiate “redshirt season” – an extra year to develop physically or academically without using or losing eligibility. “I technically have to be registered under the team for two seasons. It was a basic rule when signing, and it means I can join and play with them this upcoming summer,” Li said. “Another reason why I chose to go [to China] this year is because it was the final year for cut-off age. If I didn’t go back and I turned 20, I’d have to go through the draft if I wanted to go to the CBA. That means I wouldn’t choose my team and the contracts are not negotiable – you go wherever you go. View this post on Instagram A post shared by 李弘权 | Ben Li (@benli_8) “Big shout out to my organisation to allow me to go [to Australia] instead of sitting around for a year, training on my own. “To go to the NBL in a development role, being with the Phoenix every day, it’s been a great experience and a great way to get used to a professional athlete’s lifestyle. They were very welcoming from the day I got here and the players have extraordinary resumes.”