Yi Jianlian

Yi was not expected to enter the NBA draft until 2009 because the Chinese Basketball Association ruled that players are not allowed to leave for foreign leagues until they turned 22.[13] In early 2006, however, Yi announced that he would enter the 2006 NBA draft although he eventually decided to withdraw, saying he was "not good enough to compete in the NBA and needed more experience."[14] Later that year, the Guangdong Southern Tigers announced that Yi would enter the 2007 NBA draft.[15]

Yi chose Dan Fegan as his agent to represent him in the NBA draft and flew to Los Angeles to participate in pre-NBA draft camps.[16] Before the draft, Yi was predicted by many to be picked anywhere from third to twelfth.[17] On 28 June 2007, Yi was selected by the Milwaukee Bucks with the sixth overall pick in the 2007 NBA draft, despite Fegan warning the Milwaukee Bucks not to pick Yi and not allowing them to be one of the teams invited to Yi's pre-draft private workouts in Los Angeles. Fegan did not want Milwaukee to select Yi because the city of Milwaukee did not have a large Asian-American community.[18] However, Milwaukee's general manager Larry Harris said they had only drafted the best player available to them.[18] Yi and Sun Yue together marked the first time in NBA draft history where two Chinese born players were selected in the same draft, which was a feat that would not be repeated again until 2016.

After the draft, Milwaukee attempted to convince Yi to sign with the team and on 2 July 2007, the owner of the Bucks franchise, Herb Kohl, wrote a letter to Yi and his representatives, hoping to persuade Yi to sign with the team.[19] Three days later, head coach Larry Krystkowiak and Harris met with Yi, attempting to influence him to play for Milwaukee,[20] however, Yi's representatives requested that the team trade Yi to another team with a city that had a large Chinese presence. Chinese officials also required that any team Yi played for would have to give him sufficient playing time for him to improve for the 2008 Summer Olympics.[18] Kohl made a special trip to Hong Kong to appeal to Yi personally[21] and he assured Chinese officials that Yi would have sufficient playing time. On 29 August 2007, the Milwaukee Bucks and Yi agreed to a standard, multi-year rookie contract.[18]

Yi attempting a free throw against the Portland Trail Blazers

Yi was named to Milwaukee's starting lineup by head coach Larry Krystkowiak in place of Charlie Villanueva to begin the 2007–08 season.[22] He recorded nine points and three rebounds in a debut loss to the Orlando Magic.[23] He played his first home game in Milwaukee three days later and scored 16 points while grabbing eight boards in a 78–72 win over the Chicago Bulls.[24] The game was also Yi's first game to be televised nationally in China, where it was watched by an estimated 100 million viewers.[25] Yao Ming praised Yi's play in his first few games, saying, "If you compare us in our third NBA games, you will see that Yi's statistics are far better than mine."[25]

On 9 November 2007, Yi played against Yao for the first time when the Houston Rockets hosted Milwaukee in a 104–88 loss. Yi recorded 19 points and nine rebounds, including two three-pointers, while Yao recorded 28 points and nine rebounds.[26] The game between the two was watched by over 200 million people in China, making it one of the most-watched games in NBA history.[26] After the game, Yao called Yi's talent "unbelievable" and Tracy McGrady said that Yi had a "tremendous upside in this league".[26] Del Harris, the former head coach of the Chinese national basketball team, also described Yi as the "most athletic 7-footer in the NBA."[27]

Yi was named the NBA Rookie of the Month for December 2007 after averaging 12.1 points and 6.6 rebounds per game that month,[28] while scoring a career-high 29 points on 14-of-17 shooting in a win over the Charlotte Bobcats on December 22.[29] On 30 January 2008, he was selected for the rookie team in the Rookie Challenge at the 2008 NBA All-Star Game.[30] On 2 February 2008, Yi faced Yao for the second time when Milwaukee played at home against Houston, which Krystkowiak dubbed the "Chinese Super Bowl."[31] However, both players struggled during Houston's 91–83 victory over Milwaukee. Yao scored 12 points while Yi injured his shoulder during the game, finishing with just six points.[31]

On 2 April 2008, it was announced that Yi would miss the rest of the season with a knee injury.[32] Having already missed eight games with other injuries, Yi managed 66 out of a possible 82 games in his rookie season,[32] averaging 8.6 points and 5.2 rebounds per game.[33] One of Milwaukee's assistant coaches, Brian James, later said that "the injuries he had bothered him more than people realized, and he couldn't play through them."[34]

Yi (background) in 2010 with the Nets and then teammate Vince Carter

On 26 June 2008, Yi was traded by the Milwaukee Bucks along with Bobby Simmons to the New Jersey Nets in exchange for Richard Jefferson.[35] New Jersey's team president Rod Thorn said that "we feel strongly he's going to be a real good player,"[36] and the team's chief executive Brett Yormark said "it opens up a truly new fan base for us."[37] Yi stated that he didn't expect to be traded, but that it was "an honor to join the Nets."[38]

Through his first 37 games with New Jersey, Yi averaged 10.5 points and 6.2 rebounds per game while shooting 39% from behind the three-point line, which was well above his average from the previous season.[39] But on 9 January 2009, Yi broke the pinkie on his right hand and was expected to miss four to six weeks.[40] Thorn called it "lousy timing" because "he'd been playing well," but Yi said "(I'll) just take my time. I'll come back."[40] In voting for the 2009 NBA All-Star Game, Yi finished third in total votes for forwards in the Eastern Conference, ahead of players such as Paul Pierce and Chris Bosh.

Yi made his return from injury after the 2009 NBA All-Star Game in a loss to the Houston Rockets on 17 February 2009.[41] However, after averaging only six points on 36% shooting after his return, Yi was removed from the team's starting lineup.[42] His final averages for the season were 8.6 points and 5.3 rebounds per game, as well as a 38% shooting percentage from the field and 34% on three-point field goals.[33] After New Jersey finished the season outside of the playoffs,[43] Yi's agent Dan Fegan suggested New Jersey played better when Yi played more minutes and took more shots, and said it "begs the question[sic]...who's accountable?" New Jersey's head coach Lawrence Frank said that "you have to be patient. He's only 21", and Yi assessed his season by saying he was "still too much up and down."[44]

In the 2009–10 season, Yi returned to the starting lineup for New Jersey. Starting in every game he played but one,[45] Yi suffered several injuries during the season which made him miss 30 games. He sprained his medial collateral ligament on 4 November 2009, had a laceration on his upper lip on 8 December 2009, and sprained his left ankle on 8 March 2009.[46][47] His final averages for the season were 12 points and 7.2 rebounds per game, as well as a 40% shooting percentage from the field and 37% on three-point field goals.[33]

Yi with the Wizards in 2011

On 29 June 2010, Yi was traded to the Washington Wizards along with $3 million in cash considerations for Quinton Ross.[48] Yi ended the 2010–11 season averaging 5.6 points and 3.9 rebounds per game. Washington had until 30 June 2011 to extend Yi's contract but decided not to do so.[49]

On 6 January 2012, Yi signed with the Dallas Mavericks to a one-year contract after starting the season with the Guangdong Southern Tigers.[50] He was immediately assigned to Dallas' D-League affiliate team, the Texas Legends.[51] Yi benefited from the new collective bargaining agreement rules which allowed players with more than two years of NBA experience to be assigned to the D-League with the players' consent.[52] On 9 January 2012, after playing two games for the Texas Legends, averaging 23 points and 12 rebounds per game, he was recalled by Dallas.[53][54] The team faced the Oklahoma City Thunder in the playoffs and in Game 3 of the playoff series, Yi played in his first NBA playoffs game, where he scored two points for the team in five minutes.[55]

On August 22, 2016, Yi signed a one-year, $8 million contract with the Los Angeles Lakers, returning to the NBA for the first time since 2012.[56][57] Lakers head coach Luke Walton considered Yi to be the team's best-shooting big man during the preseason, but did not provide Yi with much of a role. Yi averaged 3.0 points and 2.5 rebounds in 10.7 minutes per game over six contests with the Lakers during the preseason. Feeling he would have better opportunities elsewhere, Yi requested a release from the Lakers prior to the start of the regular season.[58] The Lakers waived him on October 24, 2016.[59]

Yi is fluent in both Mandarin and his native tongue of Cantonese. He was ranked fourth on Forbes' China Celebrity 100 in income and popularity in 2008.[70] In 2008, Yi donated 100,000 yuan to support the 2008 Sichuan earthquake victims[71] and also participated in the 2008 Summer Olympics' torch relay by carrying the torch during the Hainan leg of the relay.[72]

In 2004, Yi was listed as being born in 1984 during the Four Nation Tournament,[73] but Chinese officials said that it was probably a typographical error.[74] Two years later, Fran Blinebury of The Houston Chronicle reported that Yi told Shane Battier he was 24 years old in an exhibition game before the 2006 FIBA World Championship,[75] but the story was refuted by both Yi and Battier.[76][77] Yi is not the first Chinese basketball player to come under scrutiny for age discrepancy, as former NBA player Wang Zhizhi had been listed as being born in both 1977 and 1979.[78][79] In 2006, a senior Chinese official admitted that past youth squads had included players above the permitted age.[80]

In 2007 and 2008, Yi's date of birth was further scrutinized as being 27 October 1984, including a Chinese reporter discovering a high school enrollment form from 1997 that listed Yi as being born on 27 October 1984.[1][2]