Chinese Basketball Player Yi Jianlian to Return to the NBA Next Season

Even with an average of 20.4 points and 6.6 rebounds, Yi Jianlian's impressive performance at the Rio Olympic Games didn't help the Chinese national basketball team win a single game, but it didn't go unnoticed, drawing the attention of NBA's Los Angeles Lakers instead.

Earlier on Tuesday, ESPN's Marc Stein reported that Yi was in advanced discussions with the Lakers, which was followed by an announcement from Chinese NBA reporter Li Shuangfu and confirmed via the Guangdong Southern Tigers' Weibo that Yi has negotiated a one-year contract with American basketball team, with further details to be announced later.

Born in 1987, Yi was selected by the Milwaukee Bucks with the sixth overall pick in the 2007 NBA draft. He played in the NBA for five seasons, scoring and average of 7.9 points and 4.9 rebounds. Though his career in the NBA has so far not been as successful as his career in the CBA, he is still commonly regarded as the best Chinese basketball player after Yao Ming.

Another two young Chinese basketball players, Zhou Qi and Wang Zhelin, will also enter the NBA next season after being drafted by the Huston Rockets and the Memphis Grizzlies, respectively, earlier this year.

It has been five years since we last saw a Chinese basketball player on an NBA court, so expect plenty of China fan frenzy next season.

Photo: zimbio.com