Athletic and possessing a sweet shot, Yi Jianlian follows Yao as the latest Chinese import in the NBA
Posted: Friday June 22, 2007 9:45AM; Updated: Friday June 22, 2007 3:45PM
By Chris Mannix, SI.com
It is a warm and sunny June afternoon in Los Angeles when Yi Jianlian shows up for a workout. There is little fanfare accompanying the arrival of China's latest U.S. export, just a dutiful manager trailing him through the double doors of L.A.'s Home Depot Center and a trainer patiently waiting for him on the other side. Ever since China first approved Yi's entrance into the NBA draft last November, people have wondered if Yi is the next Yao Ming.
The answer is an emphatic no. Though Yi will likely be the highest Chinese draft pick since Yao in 2002 -- Boston likely won't pass on him at No. 5, and should he slip to No. 10, Sacramento would almost select him -- he has very little in common with Asia's most famous import. It doesn't take much more than a look at him to figure that out.
With Nickelback's Far Away blaring in the background, Yi begins to warm up. Stretching is followed by wind sprints as Yi slowly begins to work up a sweat. He pauses when he spots a contingent from the Sacramento Kings, led by president of basketball operations Geoff Petrie, walk onto the floor. He approaches the group and exchanges handshakes as well as rudimentary greetings he has learned in the two months he has spent in the U.S. learning the English language. He accepts a pair of Kings shorts and a sleeveless T-shirt from Petrie with a smile, quickly slipping them on and adding them to what has already become an extensive collection of apparel. His body, particularly his muscular legs and a wispy upper half that fill out his 7-foot, 248-pound frame, bear a striking resemblance to Yao, who is 7-6. But that is where the comparisons end.
"He doesn't look 19, does he?" remarks an onlooker as Yi begins his warmup routine. Certainly not, as a 7-5 wingspan, a dead jump of 33 inches, a three-step leap of 37 inches and 3.5 percent body fat make Yi more man than child. In fact, no one is entirely sure how old Yi is. Reports have varied from his stated age of 19 (the Chinese national team roster lists his date of birth as Oct. 27, 1987) to as old as 22. But as Yi resumes his workout it becomes increasingly clear that his remarkable talent makes any questions about his age nearly irrelevant.
Under the watchful eye of trainer Jarin Akana, Yi begins his workout routine with a steady diet of perimeter jumpers. Alongside journeyman center Matt Knight, who has been recruited to be Yi's sparring partner these last two months, Yi fires up shot after shot with many (if not most) making a clean swishing sound as it meets the bottom of the net. He steps back behind the three-point line and continues to launch, each make furiously recorded by a member of the Sacramento staff. It's a sweet stroke that, when coupled with his size and athleticism, makes Yi's game reminiscent of that of 2006 top overall pick Andrea Bargnani. When asked by Akana to showcase his finishing skills, Yi catches the ball several feet behind the foul line, and in a graceful yet explosive motion takes one dribble and finishes with an emphatic dunk at the rim. No, Yi has no aversion to dunking.
"The thing I like about him is that he does all the basketball related stuff really well," says Petrie. "He's pretty good at everything. That's what you're looking for first in a player."
There is no question Yi is not the prototypical center Yao was when he made the leap to the NBA in 2002. "I see him as a power forward in the NBA," says trainer Joe Abunassar, who was hired last October by Yi's agent, Dan Fegan, to oversee Yi's physical development. "He's going to be a matchup problem. When he catches the ball 12-15 feet from the basket, he's going to be dangerous."
Says one high-ranking league executive, "He has the athleticism of a Kenyon Martin or Richard Jefferson. But his skills are more advanced than either of them when they were drafted."
Following the 60-minute workout Yi, his new shirt drenched with sweat, departs for the second stage of his audition: a debriefing with Kings officials who use the time to interview the prized prospect who has yet to be vetted by the American media. There, at a local restaurant, Yi will answer a barrage of questions ranging from his hobbies to his experiences with alcohol and marijuana. For China's next big thing, it's all part of the process.
Yi Jianlian likes America. Sitting (crammed may be a better word) at a corner table inside Westwood's chic Napa Valley Grille, Yi feasts on a peanut butter mousse chocolate torte, the kind of dessert most people would consider a guilty pleasure. "So good," says Yi. Though his stature suggests otherwise, Yi is still little more than an oversized kid. As an interview runs long, Yi grows fidgety and works out muscle cramps by pounding on his thighs.
In the two months he has spent in the United States, Yi has experienced a broad range of American culture. He has attended the movie premieres of Shrek the Third and Pirates of the Caribbean ("I like the party scene," he says) while showing an aptitude for navigating the complex Los Angeles roadways. "One time we finished practice and the guy that drove Yi here left with someone else," says Abunassar. "When I asked Yi how he was going to get home, he said he was going to drive himself. He told me exactly what roads he needed to take. I said to myself, how long has this kid been here?"
It is fair to say that Yi has embraced the American lifestyle faster than his Chinese predecessors, a fact that can be credited to his insistence on coming to the U.S. three months prior to the draft. In addition to driving regularly (he has a Chinese license and will apply for an American one once he figures out what state he is playing in), Yi has taken to American music ("Hip hop and R&B," he says) and has a firmer grasp of the language thanks to the hour-long English classes Fegan has set up for him five days a week. "And two hours on Saturday," adds Yi.
It's a way of life that is a far cry from what Yi left behind in China. Growing up in Shenzhen, a sweltering city in southern China near Hong Kong, Yi lived in a modest three-bedroom apartment with his parents, former team handball players who made their living as postal clerks. Yi first picked up a basketball when he was 12. "But I wasn't very good then," he says. By the end of grade school Yi had sprouted to 6-4 and was on the radar of the Chinese government, which enrolled him in one of its full-time sports schools. Despite raw physical tools-Chinese testing that included measuring the gaps between the bones of his hands indicated he would grow to be as tall as 6-9, Yi was hardly a physical specimen. Halfway through his first 400-meter run at the sports school, Yi stopped and gasped for air, unable to complete what was for the Chinese the most basic of exercises. "I didn't want to do it," says Yi. "I didn't want to be there anymore."
Yi elected to stick it out and would rise every morning at 8 for three and a half hours of classwork ("I didn't like any of my subjects," he says), which was followed by three hours of basketball drills. At night he would return to his dorm room, which was usually occupied by three or four roommates. "The worst part," says Yi. "Was that we only had one bathroom."
His obsession with the NBA, which began as a teenager when Yi would tune into the NBA games shown every week on Chinese television, grew stronger when Yi traveled to America with the national team in 2002 and took in a game between the Phoenix Suns and the New Jersey Nets. "I loved the atmosphere," says Yi. "The energy of the crowd was intense. It made me want to be out there." That same year Yi was the only Chinese player to participate in the Adidas ABCD camp.
By the end of that year, Yi had shown enough promise that he was given a spot with Guangdong Hongyuan, the top professional team in the Chinese Basketball Association. In five seasons in the CBA, Yi stepped out of the oversized shadows cast by China's "Great Wall of Centers," which includes Yao and former NBA backups Wang Zhizhi (who isn't really a center) and Mengke Bateer (who isn't really great). He quickly became a bona fide superstar in China, to the point where he is mobbed outside of hotels and stalked by rabid fans. In 2005, Yi led Guangdong to its third straight title, averaging 20.5 points and 9.6 rebounds. The team fell short of a fourth straight championship this season, losing in the title game, but Yi continued to distinguish himself, averaging 24 points (on 57 percent shooting) and 11 rebounds for the season.
China finally approved him for the draft last year after shooting down the idea in '06 citing a lack of preparation and "basketball skills, experience and physical stamina" that do not meet requirements to compete at an NBA level. In fact, the CBA is closely monitoring this year's NBA draft and may decide to pull Yi back if they believe the team that selects him is not a suitable one. Immediately Yi eagerly jumped into NBA training. Abunassar and his staff flew to China and spent an hour a day working with Yi on individual skills. "We had to be careful with him," says Abunassar. "He would practice with the national team two hours a day, twice a day. We didn't want to wear him out."
Abunassar also started Yi on a nutritional program that in the last six months has added 12 pounds of muscle to Yi's lanky frame. Abunassar made frequent trips back and forth to China and stayed in touch with Yi through phone calls and email. "This needed to be a long-term process," says Abunassar. "It wasn't just about gaining weight quickly. We wanted him to put it on and keep it on."
"I need to work on my upper body strength," admits Yi. "I need to be stronger to be able to deal with the physical play."
As the NBA draft approaches, Yi's potential success could signal the opening of an Asian pipeline to the NBA that has been growing in talent in recent years and eventually could becomes as fruitful as Europe and South America. Should he succeed, NBA teams may be more inclined to draft players out of the Pacific Rim.
"With the emphasis that is being put on basketball in China," says NBA commissioner David Stern. "I think it is fair to assume that there will be additional basketball talent in the Chinese population where 300 million people are playing basketball and as a matter of government policy the game is being promoted."
That kind of pressure would appear to be a lot of weight to be placed on one young man's narrow shoulders. In recent weeks Yi has placed two calls to Yao ("He talked to me about the playoffs and told me to work hard to prepare for the draft," Yi says) and has had dinner with Wang in Los Angeles. For the moment, however, the eyes of 1.3 billion Chinese -- as well as millions of Americans -- will be upon him.
At least until the next big thing comes along.
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