Several posters on other boards mentioned that this guy can play all 5 positions and is a much athletic version of Dirk. One poster even went as far as saying that Yao will be a bench warmer and plays behind this guy in China. And he is only 16. I just don't believe that this is true.
I watched several minutes of Yi's play in the recent CBA finals against Wang Zhi Zhi's old team, the Bayi Rockets. At 7' Yi's movement is smooth and his moves are natural. Once he faked to drive right, pulled back and launched a J that hit nothing but the net. It was pretty natural and quick. I didn't get the impression that he's much more athletic than Dirk, but rather similar to Dirk. Some say he can do 360* dunks but I haven't seen them. Obviously, he has nice size at 7' but lacks muscles. He's also nowhere near explosive as Kevin Garnett. On the other hand, he's young and you can tell has not been exposed to real body training. There's still room for improvement. Yi hasn't shown any post moves, but oh boy, his jumpers are money. Perfect trajectory and soft touch. Seems to hit the dead center of the rim every time. As for his defense, it's hard to say 'cuz they don't play much defense in the CBA anyway. Overall Yi has shown to me, in limited minutes, to be a sweet shooter with good size and athleticism. He's got a big P word written on. I guess it's safe to say he'll have a spot, how high up I don't know, in the NBA if he keeps progressing at a natural pace in the coming 2 to 3 years. He didn't show anything near Yao's dominance in the CBA yet, at age 16 or 17, he's not even the main guy on his team. Tell those board members who say Yi is better than Yao to put down the pipes!
He will be the next Chinese Superstar after Yao Ming. I've seen some footage as well and he is goooood
you can see some Yi's showtime in these media http://www.nike.com.cn/yijianlian/ (an ad for NIKE) Yi's game in CBA,he's #9 http://www.guangdongtigers.com/Download/yi_jian_lian_01.rm (a game in 2003.4) mms://v1.sports.cn/v1/lanqiu/20040225cba11.wmv mms://v1.sports.cn/v1/lanqiu/20040225cba12.wmv (CBA finals game 1) mms://v1.sports.cn/v1/lanqiu/20040228cba11.wmv mms://v1.sports.cn/v1/lanqiu/20040228cba12.wmv (CBA finals game 2) mms://v1.sports.cn/v1/lanqiu/20040229cba1.wmv mms://v1.sports.cn/v1/lanqiu/20040229cba2.wmv (CBA finals game 3) mms://v1.sports.cn/v1/lanqiu/20040303cba1.wmv mms://v1.sports.cn/v1/lanqiu/20040303cba2.wmv (CBA finals games 4)
I remember Yao said YI was better than him at the same age. And he is at the latest Chinest national team ,maybe we can see him in this summer Olympic Games. just found this from nbadraft.com http://nbadraft.net/profiles/yijianlian.asp Yi Jianlian Birthdate: 10/27/87 NBA Position: SF/PF/C Ht: 7-0 Wt: 230 Int Team: Guangdong Tigers Hometown: Shenzhen, China High School: Liaoning Academy Strenghts: Unlike other Chinese big men like Yao Ming or Wang Zhizhi, Yi is extremly athletic ... very good body type, long arms and big hands ... hasn't stopped growing yet, is projected to reach 7-2 ... great stamina ... nice ballhandler and passer, some say he's able to play all 5 positions ... he has great speed at running the floor, jumps really quick and can dunk 360s ... amazing rebounder, anticipates well ... great defender, excellent shot blocker ... left hander with decent range ... developes more and more lowpost skills, like a jump hook ... intelligent player, knows how to use his physics ... battled fellow Draft prospect Ha Seung-Jin to a standstill, although Ha has almost three years, three inches and 70 pounds on Yi ... at the age of 15 he literally dominates 18-19 years old players, as he did at the Junior World Championships in Greece ... if you think of how good he'll be by the time he enters the NBA Draft (likely 2006 or later), it's hard to image he'd be something other than the first pick overall Weaknesses: Still raw, because he didn't play organised basketball till the age of 13 ... has to learn the fundamentals of the game ... unpolished yet, especially on the offensive end ... needs to refine his postmoves ... too thin to hold a place in the paint, needs to develope muscles ... questions about his real age, some say he was born in 1985 -Stefan Lorenz Notes: He played at the U18 Tournament in Mannheim, Germany and averaged 15 points, 6 rebounds and 2 blocks mostly against players who are 3 years older than him. Dominated again at the U19 World Championships in Thessaloniki, Greece with 18.9 points and 11.5 rebounds per game. Made his first game in the CBA in December 2002, becoming the youngest player to ever player in Chinas highest league. Played only few minutes for Chinas top-team Guangdong, earned CBA Rookie of the Year honors, though. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- His team Guangdong Hongyuan used to train him as a guard when he was not very tall, so he has very good ball handling skill and shooting touch for his size. Superb body coordination ... very good 1-on-1 player (he played streetball before recruited by Guangdong team). Probably the best leaper in China, can throw down wind-mill dunks easily. His style is a lot like KG's. He has played both PF and Center potision in the CBA. A very good shot blocker, he swats the ball hard enough to make the fans crazy. When playing a bigger defender, he's able to dribble, spin, and outquick his defender. He can also back down weaker opponents, although he's usually one of the skinniest guys on the court. He also has the potential to play at SF position but might have problems staying with quick American perimeter players. -Scouting Report from Xiang Long translated by Shawn --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- He is a good athlete with the right size, and shows soft touch and also silky moves playing on the outside. He just has to add weight. He is able to make several leaps in a few seconds and watching him practice, Yi shows the ability to hit a pull up mid range jumper as well as from the long distance. He is only fifteen years old, and there is a long way till the NBA, but he is guy to follow in the future. -Romano Pettiti
Number 3 prospect on this guys list: http://www.latimes.com/sports/basketball/nba/lakers/la-sp-nbacol14mar14,1,4441801.column?coll=la-headlines-sports-nba-lakers
mms://v1.sports.cn/v1/lanqiu/20040118cba2.wmv Skip right to about minute 15 to see the dunk contest. he can dunk too...
some nba draft net have YI on numberOne pick in year 2006. With those dunks.... Chris Andersen looks 10,000 times better than Yi.
