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When Chinese players are linked to the NBA again, what can the NBA bring to China?_Han Xu_Zeng Fan_trial training

Original title: When Chinese players are linked to the NBA again, what can the NBA bring to China?

(The Paper)The NBA playoffs are in full swing. The Bucks and the Suns, who joined the finals last year, both bid farewell on the same day. The sun’s 33-point defeat in the “tiebreaker” and the “curses” surrounding Paul have become hot topics on social networks. But unlike the past few seasons, this year’s NBA seems to have more “look forward to” for Chinese fans.

In the past few days, the NBA has officially announced the list of the Chicago United tryouts, and the name of Chinese player Zeng Fanbo is on the list. As the most important display stage before the 2022 draft, Zeng Fanbo’s invitation means that Chinese players have once again seized the stepping stone to knock on the door of the NBA.

Not only that, Zhang Zhenlin, a young forward from Bengang, Liaoning, and Yu Jiahao, a 19-year-old center from Chouzhou, Zhejiang, have all gone to the United States one after another to prepare for the NBA challenge.

In the WNBA arena, Han Xu not only ushered in the debut of the new season, but also scored a team-high 10 points off the bench, which made a good start for this WNBA journey.

Chinese players are once again closely associated with the world’s top basketball league. From Yao Ming to Yi Jianlian, from Zheng Haixia to Miao Lijie, Chinese players have never stopped pursuing a higher level of basketball. And this time, do they have the opportunity to bring more changes and breakthroughs?

When Zeng Fanbo’s name appeared on the roster of the Chicago United tryout, the news was a big incentive for him and Chinese basketball.

People who are familiar with the NBA know that the large-scale joint trial held in Chicago is the best stage for every young man who dreams of entering the NBA before the draft. Trials have also been broadcast live on local TV channels over the past few years. According to US media reports, this year’s joint trial will be held from May 17th to 23rd. A total of 78 young people will participate, including “top picks” such as Holmgren and Bancairo are also shortlisted for this list.

In fact, before last year’s draft, Guo Haowen of Shanghai Jiushi was also invited to participate in the NBA G League elite training camp before the joint trial, but he failed to qualify for the joint trial. . Compared with Guo Haowen, Zeng Fanbo, who was directly invited, can be regarded as recognized to a certain extent, and he is one step closer to the stage of the draft than other Chinese players.

So, the question is, what are the chances of Zeng Fanbo being selected by an NBA team?

According to predictions by multiple US draft sites, according to Zeng Fanbo’s age and background, he has a chance to participate in the 2022 and 2023 NBA drafts, and in the 2022 draft ranking, he is ranked in the “small forward” of several professional sites “He is in the 20th place and may be selected in the middle and late stages of the second round in 2022.

Last season, Zeng Fanbo played for the Ignite team of the NBA G League. This team was born in the NBA’s “Ignite Project”. The purpose is to hope that high school players can enter the league system after graduation to avoid brain drain. However, due to the influence of injury and state, Zeng Fanbo’s season is not very bright. In 13 minutes of playing time per game, he can score 3.8 points and shoot only 36.4%.

Although such a statistic is difficult to impress an NBA team, according to the domestic media “Beijing Youth Daily”, in the NBA scout’s report, Zeng Fanbo’s 19-year-old means great potential, “if he develops in the right direction If so, then he will be able to become a qualified NBA player. But he needs to be further improved in many aspects including physical, confrontation, offensive selection, basketball skills and so on.”

In addition to Zeng Fanbo, Zhang Zhenlin, who just helped Liaoning Bengang to win the CBA championship, and 19-year-old Zhejiang Chouzhou center Yu Jiahao also have the potential to hit the NBA, and they have also gone to the United States for special training. Especially Zhang Zhenlin, in the scouting report disclosed by the “Beijing Youth Daily”, although Zhang Zhenlin’s ball handling and defense need to be improved, “he has a very good physical talent, which is better than many American professional players. He is very He likes to attack the rim and is a very courageous, fearless player.”

Standing on the NBA and WNBA arena, Chinese players are even more different this time

Just as Zeng Fanbo, Zhang Zhenlin, Yu Jiahao and Guo Haowen were each working hard to get on the NBA stage, Han Xu, the new-generation insider core of the Chinese women’s basketball team, had already entered the WNBA arena first.

Not long ago, the news of Han Xu joining the New York Liberty to compete in the WNBA has excited Chinese basketball, and when the new season officially kicks off, Han Xu’s performance also makes American fans shine.

In a regular season two days ago, Han Xu ushered in her debut of the season. She scored a team-high 10 points in the third quarter. Even FIBA ​​praised Han Xu’s performance on social networks. : “This little giant in the inside line from China, in addition to her height, she also has flexible footwork and strong defensive ability.”

From the attention he received when he joined, to his dazzling performance in his debut, as well as the heated discussion that Han Xu’s performance caused after the game, these are actually typical examples of the differences between today’s Chinese players and their predecessors – the new generation of Chinese players. Chinese players are more likely to integrate into American basketball culture, and more importantly, they are backed by a more mature and diverse Chinese basketball market.

Big data is the most intuitive manifestation of this development and change.

In the era when Yao Ming entered the NBA, most fans in China were just beginning to understand the NBA, and the platforms that could watch NBA games were also concentrated on CCTV. Today, according to NBA statistics, the NBA has more than 240 million social media fans in China, and in addition to CCTV, which has just re-broadcast the NBA, Chinese fans have more different platforms and different ways to follow NBA games and their peripheral products.

Take Shanghai Wenguang Interactive TV Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as SiTV), one of the top five integrated broadcast control and operation platforms for cable digital pay channels in the country as an example. SiTV’s Madden Sports Channel broadcasts NBA games once a day during the regular season this season, which means that SiTV’s Madden Sports Channel can take advantage of the huge potential and space of the audience that NBA games reach.

Not only that, in addition to the continuous broadcast of NBA games by Oriental Pearl TV and Baishi TV in the past few seasons, CCTV Sports Channel’s rebroadcast of NBA this season also represents a trend of closer cooperation. According to the reporter from The Paper (www.thepaper.cn), some provincial sports channels including Shandong Sports and Shaanxi Sports have also resumed the live broadcast of the NBA, while Guangdong Sports and Fujian Sports are in negotiations. Blockbuster TV is also planning to broadcast Han Xu’s game in the WNBA New York Liberty.

It is worth mentioning that, compared with the traditional NBA broadcast, the advancement of technology and the freshness of the new media platform have brought new ways of playing the game broadcast and attracted more users to pay attention to basketball. Take Blockbuster TV as an example. The sports team of Blockbuster TV has strong Internet platform genes, so the way of breaking the circle is as refreshing as the Phoenix Suns in this year’s playoffs.

Broadcasts on more domestic platforms have attracted more viewers, which also means that Chinese players have a larger and more diverse market behind them to support them. In addition, the feelings Chinese fans cultivated in the years when Yao Ming, Yi Jianlian and Miao Lijie fought in the NBA are also an important link between today’s young players and the NBA or WNBA.

Just like the Mavericks and Bucks, who both entered the “Tie-Ball” in the second round of the playoffs, were once the teams that Wang Zhizhi and Yi Jianlian fought against. They are not typical big markets in the United States, but they still have huge market share in China. fan base. As a team that ranks low in the playoffs and has no home field advantage, they can instead create a lot of topical discussions on social networks.

In turn, the attention that NBA teams have received in the Chinese market has also made team management more willing to learn about Chinese players. Just like Cuban, the owner of the Mavericks, who is filmed on TV every playoff game, he is willing to provide Chinese players with opportunities to challenge the NBA.

In the second round of the playoffs, the Mavericks and Bucks, who both entered the “tie-breaker”, were once the teams that Wang Zhizhi and Yi Jianlian fought. They are not a typical big market in the United States, but they still have huge fans in China. base.

Once again so close to the NBA, what can the NBA bring to China?

More international players, better talents, a more mature and diversified market, and a broadcast platform with higher attention and influence… This time Chinese players try to knock on the door of the NBA, perhaps more than the past few times. more confident and confident.

In fact, the NBA is not the only platform for Chinese basketball to seek progress and growth. But compared with other professional basketball leagues in the world, the NBA is not only better in terms of competition level and training system, but also has taken deep roots in China during the past 40 years of cooperation and exchanges.

In fact, in the last season and earlier, many Chinese players also played in the Australian league, but in terms of fans’ increased attention to basketball and their personal growth and changes, it seems that they are not as good as the NBA league. influences from all sides.

Chinese basketball really needs one or more new faces to stand on the NBA arena.

On the one hand, this is for the faster and more obvious growth of Chinese basketball. If all of China’s outstanding players just stay in the top domestic leagues to train and compete, then their chances of competing against higher-level players in the world will only be a dozen or so international games every year, or the rest of the year. Special training in the United States during the season. Even if Chinese players are indeed improving and growing, if the speed of this growth is not as fast as that of international basketball, it means that Chinese basketball can only face the cruel reality that the gap continues to be widened.

On the other hand, due to the ups and downs of Chinese basketball in the international arena in the past few years, coupled with the impact of repeated epidemics on domestic leagues and some intercontinental and international events, the image of Chinese basketball in the public eye has also Need a new “facade” like a player to support. Once, Yao Ming was the bridge connecting Chinese and American basketball cultures, and then Yi Jian joined Yao Ming’s baton. Now, when Yi Jianlian is gradually entering the final stage of his career, it is time for Chinese basketball to cultivate a player who can once again stand on the stage of the world’s top leagues. To stimulate the enthusiasm of Chinese fans for basketball.

In fact, for a long time in the past, the NBA has also been helping the development of Chinese basketball. From cooperating with the Chinese education department to create basketball tutorials, to holding high school basketball leagues such as Jr. NBA in China, to bringing NBA care actions to those rural schools in difficulty, just like NBA President Adam Silver once in China What we said in an interview with The Paper during the game, “We will insist on helping Chinese basketball, especially the youth. We not only hope to find the ‘next Yao Ming’, but also hope to help China cultivate the ‘next Yao Ming’. Yao Ming’.”

Now, Yu Jiahao, who has the label of “next Yao Ming”, is already in the United States, hoping to stand on the stage of the NBA draft. Beside him, Zeng Fanbo, Zhang Zhenlin and Guo Haowen are also ready. On the WNBA stage, Han Xu “made samples” for Yu Jiahao and Zeng Fanbo through his own efforts.

Of course, whether these young people, including Yu Jiahao and Zeng Fanbo, can enter the NBA is still unknown, but once again Chinese players are so close to the NBA, their efforts will bring more possibilities to the future of Chinese basketball.Return to Sohu, see more

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