Increasing numbers of former NBA players are turning to China’s professional league for jobs and their aggressive domination of the court has drawn criticism from a sports system dedicated to developing Chinese players.
China’s teams stepped up recruitment abroad this season after new rules allowed them to field two foreign players, a move the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) hoped would attract interest in the league and expose players to tougher competition.
High-level imports such as former NBA players Bonzi Wells and Donnell Harvey have, however, refocused virtually every CBA team’s strategy around the scoring power of the foreigners, reducing game time for Chinese players.
“In the past it’s been guys who were good but more team-oriented,” said Jason Dixon, a US import who has played for the Guangdong Tigers for 10 years.
“This year you’re finding a lot of high-caliber NBA players,” he said. “Even in college [Americans] are told, ‘If you want to play in the NBA, you have to score, you have to have a sense of selfishness,’ and I think the Chinese don’t understand that.”
The CBA’s top 15 scorers are all foreigners this season, and the reaction has not been positive.
Dontae Jones, a former Celtics forward, has been described by local media as a “cancer” on the Beijing Ducks because he shoots too much.
Former NBA guard Wells was also blasted by domestic media for pulling down the stats of his teammates by scoring as many as 50 points per game — without improving Shanxi Zhongyu’s record.
CBA office director Zhang Xiong agreed that the domination of the imports had been “detrimental for the growth of Chinese players,” who now play less.
However, increasing play time for imports had also helped to make the CBA more physical and created competition that would force Chinese players to improve, Zhang said.
The CBA is a training ground for players in a state-run sports system focused on increasing China’s success in international competition.
The association has encouraged physical play this season after critics said the league’s low-contact style was not producing players tough enough for the international game.
Meanwhile, imports needed to adjust to China’s less individualistic system, Zhang said.
“They are here to help CBA teams play, not just to exhibit their own shooting skills,” he said.
One result of the surge of foreign talent into the CBA has been a reversal of fortunes for the once-mighty Bayi Rockets, who have won eight out of 13 championships since the league started.
Bayi are unable to recruit overseas because their players are all officially soldiers.
Known for their rigorous training and never-say-die spirit, Bayi became the most popular team in China as they won the first six CBA titles. This year, however, they have struggled against import-loaded squads and are 20-19 after an eight-loss streak last month.
Bayi remained a model for other teams, said Xu Jicheng, a top Chinese basketball commentator.
“The ‘Bayi spirit’ is not just empty talk,” Xu said.
The team, who produced China’s first NBA player, Wang Zhizhi, had developed Chinese talent without recruiting foreign players before, and could do so again, Xu said.
“In this sense Bayi spirit is not outdated. It is a strong spirit that Chinese basketball can learn from in the future,” he said.
Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen yesterday exited at the BWF World Tour Finals in China, losing in the semi-finals to China’s world No. 1 Shi Yuqi. Shi, who was named the BWF Men’s Singles Player of the Year, had a 9-4 record against Chou going into the match. He extended that record to 9-5 with a 21-14, 21-18 victory. Chou advanced to the men’s singles semi-finals on Friday by upsetting top-seeded Anders Antonsen of Denmark in a must-win match at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium. The 16-21, 21-18, 21-15 victory saw Chou secure his second semi-finals appearance at the tournament, despite his relatively older
‘REMARKABLE’: Gaelic football is a traditional Irish sport that blends the skills of soccer and rugby, and hurling is an ancient sport played with a wooden stick and ‘sliotar’ The Taiwan Celts Gaelic Football Club marked a milestone achievement at the Asian Gaelic Games in Bangkok on Nov. 23 and 24, with two sides advancing to the knockout stages and competing at hurling for the first time. The event brought together 68 teams from 16 clubs across Asia, with more than 800 players in men’s and women’s tournaments. Gaelic football is a traditional Irish team sport that blends the skills of soccer, rugby union and basketball. Hurling is an ancient Irish sport played with a wooden stick, called a hurley, and a small ball, or sliotar. The Taiwan Celts’ women’s team reached
LIVERPOOL WIN: The 50th Champions League goal by Mohamed Salah helped the leaders of the Premier League to keep their perfect record intact Real Madrid’s big stars on Tuesday turned on the style to revive the Spanish giant’s faltering UEFA Champions League title defense. Galacticos Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham all scored in a thrilling 3-2 win against Serie A leaders Atalanta BC. However, Madrid still had to ride their luck as Mateo Retegui fired over from in front of goal in stoppage-time when handed a golden chance to level the game. It was only Madrid’s third win in the competition’s revamped league phase and leaves the 15-time champions in the unseeded playoff positions in 18th place. “It’s a very important win. Not everyone wins
Indian teenager Gukesh Dommaraju became the youngest chess world champion on Thursday after beating the defending champion Ding Liren of China in the final match of their series in Singapore. Dommaraju, 18, secured 7.5 points against 6.5 of his Chinese rival in the contest, surpassing the achievement of Russia’s Garry Kasparov, who won the title at the age of 22. The Indian teen prodigy has long been considered a rising star in the chess world after he became a chess grandmaster at 12. He had entered the match as the youngest-ever challenger to the world crown after winning the Candidates tournament earlier
RSS