Guo Ailun, who was once the hope of China’s ‘1.4 billion continent’, made his comeback after 11 months.
Guangzhou Long Lions won 81-66 in the 2025-26 CBA first round match against Sichuan Blue Wales on the 13th (Korean time).
What received as much attention as Guangzhou’s victory that day was Guo Ailun’s return. He returned to the court in 11 months after scoring 40 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists against the Beijing Royal Fighters last January.
Guo Ailun suffered an eye injury after being stabbed by a fellow player during team training last February. This caused major problems with the conjunctiva and required surgery that required more than 40 stitches.
At that time, the situation was so bad that even real names were mentioned. Guo Ailun also expressed his feelings on social media, “I don’t know if I will lose my eyesight or not. If I lose my eyesight, I won’t be able to live. I might not be able to play basketball anymore. I don’t know if I will ever come back from this injury. Someone did something I can’t understand and my whole life has been ruined. I am truly devastated and angry.”
Fortunately, Guo Ailun returned to the court. It took quite a long time. After being out of the season due to an eye injury, he was unable to participate in everything from the NBA preseason tour to the National Sports Festival and cup competitions.
Even for the Sichuan match, it was difficult to guarantee participation. It was like that until a day ago. However, Guo Ailun made a great comeback and played 26 minutes, recording 16 points, 1 rebound, and 5 assists, leading to victory.
Chinese media ‘Sohu.com’ evaluated, “Guo Ailun showed stable performance after returning from injury, recording 16 points and 5 assists, showing that he is in good health.”
Of course, Sichuan is a team that currently has no foreign players. Therefore, it is difficult to evaluate Guo Ailun’s performance very highly. However, as he returned after an 11-month hiatus, he is hopeful that his performance has recovered to a certain level.
Born in 1993, Guo Ailun’s 16th season began like that. He was evaluated as the best guard in China after his CBA debut in 2010, and although there were ups and downs throughout his career, he became a veteran entering his 16th season. There are not many appearances in recent seasons due to various problems, but this season is off to a good start.
In fact, Guo Ailun is a name that is also familiar to domestic basketball fans. Even when South Korea and China faced each other, Guo Ailun was always on guard. In the 2019 FIBA China Basketball World Cup ranking match, he made Korea cry by scoring at a crucial moment.
In addition, he is also the man chosen by Michael Jordan. Of course, Guo Ailun did not advance to the NBA, but Jordan highly evaluated his marketability and as a result, he signed a contract with the ‘Jordan Brand’ by paying more than $1 million.
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