BEIJING — As one CBA (collective bargaining agreement) goes down, another CBA (Chinese Basketball Association) is just getting ready to fire up. The Chinese season is scheduled to begin Nov. 19. The CBA is a little-known league for American readers, so I will provide you with a preseason power ranking. The defending champs, as always, are accorded the deserved honor of starting the new season atop any power rankings, apart from their new addition of Yi Jianlian. 1. Guangdong Southern Tigers Including Yi, the
Weijia Column: Kenyon Martin in China update
BEIJING — Who is the greatest American player in CBA history? You can’t find an answer that pleases everyone. Some may tell you Stephon Marbury is the best. He is a two-time NBA all-star, was selected to the All-NBA Third Team twice, and praised himself as the best point guard on the planet. Others would say J.R. Smith is a better player for now because he is much younger than Starbury, and he is a scoring machine who already put up a triple-double (33 points,
Weijia Column: J.R. Smith adjusting slowly to China
BEIJING — Two years ago, when J.R. Smith and the Denver Nuggets came to Beijing to participate in the NBA China Games, he did not know he would spend part of his career in this ancient and mysterious country. But now, in October 2011, he has come to China and become a member of the Zhejiang Chouzhou team. “The lockout upsets me, basketball is my job, my love and my life. The lockout robbed it all. But because of the lockout, I can come
Weijia Column: Update from China on Marbury
By Guan Weijia BEIJING — About two decades ago, there was a popular Chinese soap opera called A Native of Beijing in New York. The soap was one way Chinese people started getting a view of the American way of life. Now, in China, there is an ex-NBA star living a reality show of his own, showing people all over the world the Chinese way of life. I think we can call the show A New Yorker in Beijing. Stephon Marbury, the two-time NBA All-Star, has joined in
Weijia column: Unemployed Yi Jianlian coming back to America
By Guan Weijia BEIJING — Chinese media and fans are usually harsh, sometimes even cruel. Even Yao Ming, the symbol of China and the greatest basketball player ever produced by the world’s most populated country, was criticized by a lot of Chinese Yao-haters. Even today, there are still a large number of Chinese fans who disapprove of Yao’s achievements, judging him as tall but awkward, calling him “Yao the Stupid” (In Mandarin, it is pronounced Yao Da Sha). The criticism of Yi Jianlian is more