Yi Jianlian - Career in China

Career in China

Yi was born to father Yi Jingliu and mother Mai Meiling, who were both professional handball players. As a child, his parents initially did not want him to join a sports school, which is designed for children who are predicted to be future stars. However, after a sports school basketball coach noticed Yi playing streetball, he persuaded Yi's family to allow Yi to train professionally.

Hoping to sign Yi to an endorsement deal, Adidas invited him to attend the company's ABCD camp in Teaneck, New Jersey in 2002, where he competed against All-American high school players. After returning to China later that year, he joined the senior team of the Guangdong Southern Tigers and averaged 3.5 points and 1.9 rebounds in his rookie season. He also averaged 7.3 points and 7.3 rebounds in four games in the CBA Finals and won the Rookie of the Year award. In 2003, Yi was featured in TIME magazine's August 24, 2003 article titled "The Next Yao Ming". In each of his next three seasons, Yi led Guangdong to the CBA championship, and he was awarded the Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) honor in 2006. In Yi's last season in the CBA before he entered the 2007 NBA Draft, he averaged a career best 24.9 points and 11.5 rebounds per game, but the Tigers lost to the Bayi Rockets in the 2007 CBA finals. He also studied at the School of Economics and Management at Guangdong University of Technology.

For 2011, Yi Jianlian signed a one-year contract to return to Guangdong Southern Tigers. Unlike most NBA players who went to the CBA, he received an option to return to the NBA once the lockout had been resolved.

Yi rejoined the Guangdong Southern Tigers in 2012.