Yi Jianlian: NBA Draft Profile
May 15th, 2007
by Jeff Fox
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NBA Draft:
Yi Jianlian
Team: Guangdong Tigers
Birth Year: 1987 or 1984..
Position: PF/C
Height: 7’0”
Weight: 230lbs
Accolades: Chinese National Team, CBA MVP (06).
Scouting Report: An agile, athletic big man.
Strengths: Very athletic for his height. Can take his man off the dribble and finish strong. Good leaping ability – can dunk from a deep distance. Decent spot up shooter. Has good range on his jumper. Is agile in the low post. Very long. Decent back to the basket skills.
Weaknesses: His age is a mystery – has been listed as being born in 1987, but may actually have been born in 1984. Needs to add a lot of weight and strength to bang with the big boys of the NBA. While the Chinese Basketball Association is a decent league, he will have to make a big adjustment playing against the level of talent in the NBA. Will need to adjust to North American culture. Unfair pressure will be on him to be the “next Yao”.
Projected 2007 Draft Range: Top 10 pick.
Consensus: Yi Jianlian is a very intriguing package of size and skill, however he is not the next Yao Ming. That being said, he should be a very good NBA pro once he gets his weight/strength up and adapts to the NBA style of play.
Current NBA Mock Draft Position
CHN's Six-Star Ranking System
= Superstar/All-NBA Potential
= Potential NBA All-Star
= Consistent NBA Starter
= 6th Man/Fringe Starter
= Career Reserve
= Fringe NBA
Player/12th Man
0 stars = Life in the Minor Leagues
New for 2007: Check out CHN's NBA Draft Search Engine
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About Jeff Fox
Contact
foxyjj@sympatico.ca
Background
Jeff Fox is a freelance journalist based an hour outside of Toronto, Canada. While attending University of Waterloo (Canada) earning a B.A. in Economics and Management Studies, Jeff managed to walk onto the school’s varsity basketball team, the Warriors, for 2 seasons. His final year riding the pine for the Warriors saw the team make it to the CIS (Canada’s NCAA equivalent) Final 8 tournament. In addition to this site, his work has also appeared in Dime magazine, Inside Sport magazine in Australia, and he is a writer/editor for Canada’s top independent hoops site, Hooplife.ca. When he isn’t planted in front of his computer he spends the rest of his time with his wife, Lisa, his infant son, Adam and his dog Jeannie.
Location
Toronto, CA
