Yi Jianlian

Yi Jianlian (, born October 27, 1987 <nowiki></nowiki>) is a Chinese professional basketball player who last played for the Washington Wizards of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Yi played power forward for the Guangdong Southern Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) in 2002 and subsequently won the Rookie of the Year Award. In his five-year career with the Tigers, he won three CBA titles, as well as playing with the Chinese national basketball team in the 2004 Summer Olympics and the 2006 FIBA World Championships. In the 2007 NBA Draft, he was selected by the Milwaukee Bucks as the sixth overall pick. Initially, Yi declined to sign with the Bucks for several months before agreeing to a contract with them on August 29, 2007.

There has been controversy over Yi's age, as several reports have testified that his officially listed birth date of October 27, 1987,

Career in China

Yi was born to father Yi Jingliu and mother Mai Meiling, who were both professional handball players. However,...
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