Jeremy Lin leads tributes to Yi Jianlian as Chinese basketball hails retiring legend – ‘thank you for paving the way’
- Yi spent 16 seasons over three different spells in the CBA with Guangdong Southern Tigers, winning 7 titles
- He also played in the NBA, and won FIBA Asian Cup twice as captain of China, with teammates hailing ‘banner of Chinese basketball and mentor’
NBA champion Jeremy Lin led the tributes to retiring Chinese basketball legend Yi Jianlian, who has called time on his 21-year career.
The former men’s national team captain spent 16 seasons over three different spells in the Chinese Basketball Association with Guangdong Southern Tigers, winning 7 titles, and also played in the United States.
“What a great career! And thank you for paving the way for me and for so many other players!” former New York Knicks and Toronto Raptors star Lin – who played against Yi in the NBA and during his stint in the CBA with Guangzhou Loong Lions and Beijing Ducks – wrote in a post on Chinese social media platform Weibo.
Debuting in 2002, Yi left China in 2007 and was the sixth overall pick in that year’s NBA Draft, selected by the Milwaukee Bucks. He moved to the New Jersey Nets in 2008 for two seasons, before a stint with the Washington Wizards.
During the 2011 NBA lockout, Yi signed a one-year deal to return to Guangdong. But he left for the Dallas Mavericks in January 2012, where he played his first NBA playoffs game, scoring two points in five mounts of game 3 against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
At the end of the 2011-12 season he returned to Guangdong for good, before ending his his career aged 35.
Yi played for China at four Olympic Games, from 2004 to 2016, and he was also the MVP of the 2011 and 2015 FIBA Asia Cups won by China on home soil.
“You are a banner of Chinese basketball and a mentor and helpful friend in my career,” Yi’s former China teammate Li Gen said.
“Your energy is always full of sunshine, inspiring the younger generations to continue to fight. Congratulations big brother on an amazing career! Best wishes to you, I hope you will be happy in the days to come!”
“I was honoured to be a teammate with Brother Lian once,” the former Xinjiang Flying Tigers player Zeng Lingxu said on Weibo. “Thanks for bringing us so many wonderful games and your dedication to Chinese basketball. Pay tribute to the legend.”
“Twenty-one years, an example. His legacy inspires us to start the next chapter,” read a message by sports apparel giant Nike on the Twitter-like social media platform.
“The more fans miss Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian, the more it will show that the Chinese men’s basketball team is too poor,” one Weibo user wrote.
“Farewell to Yi Jianlian, his successor is hard to find,” another comment read.
“Now Yi Jianlian has retired, who can he hand over the banner of the men’s basketball team to? Give it back to Yao Ming?” another user quipped.
“The national team is where you risk your life. As the captain of the Chinese men’s basketball team, Yi Jianlian did everything he could. Pay tribute to our best captain,” was the verdict of another supporter.
