The Chinese media has followed Yi's situation very closely since the 2007 NBA Draft. (Getty)

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Tix

August 29, 2007

Beijing -- The Milwaukee Bucks drafted China’s Yi Jianlian on June 28, 2007 with the 6th pick in the NBA Draft. After two months and 1 day’s time, Wednesday August 29, Yi officially became a member of the Milwaukee Bucks.

Days and weeks of anticipation for Bucks fans around the world ended when it was announced at a press conference in Hong Kong at 3:15 p.m. China time (2:15 a.m Milwaukee time) that Yi will be in a Bucks uniform when the upcoming 2007-08 NBA season begins. Bucks owner and team president Senator Herb Kohl, General Manager Larry Harris, and Bucks Vice-President Ron Walter were all present at the press conference and in Hong Kong for negotiations with Chen Haitao, owner of Yi’s former team, the Guangdong Tigers.

At the press conference, Senator Kohl and Larry Harris expressed enthusiasm and excitement in having the opportunity for a player with the basketball skills and character of a young man like Yi to be added to the Milwaukee Bucks young nucleus of talent.

Yi articulated the same sentiments while speaking at Wednesday’s press conference. “I’m very happy and excited to welcome everybody to today’s press conference. Today I have officially signed my contract to play for the Milwaukee Bucks. This is the start of my NBA career and I will be sure to continue to work hard and do my best. This is a new beginning, and a new challenge.”

Basketball fans in China are ecstatic with the announcement of Yi’s signing with Milwaukee. Since the Bucks drafted Yi, Chinese fans have been urging Yi to end the negotiation process as soon as possible and sign with the Bucks. As the last minutes ticked down prior to today’s press conference, hundreds of thousands of Chinese internet users inundated message boards and blogging websites trying to find out information regarding what today’s news conference would hold. When it was announced that Yi had signed with the Bucks, countless messages of congratulation and good luck for Yi seemingly sprang up out of nowhere. The feeling among Chinese fans almost seems to be that they are traveling down this NBA road with Yi, and that Yi represents the NBA dream for Chinese basketball fans. Yi signing with the Bucks today in a sense is not just an accomplishment for Yi, but all Chinese basketball fans as a whole.

China’s main sports channel, CCTV5, started off the evening’s sports with a simple, yet profound message. “There is no doubt that today is a good day. Yi Jianlian has signed with the Milwaukee Bucks.” The thoughts of many in the Chinese media are that today’s contract signing was made possible because of the never-changing determination and desire by the Milwaukee Bucks organization to make Yi a part of their team. The only result the team would settle for is Yi in a Buck’s uniform.

In a post-press conference interview, Dan Fagen, Yi’s agent, commented that the Yi camp did not want to rush the process to sign with the Bucks, and it was this patience that mistakenly made many people nervous about the prospects of Yi’s future in Milwaukee. Fagen continues explaining that over the last two months both the Bucks organization and Yi’s camp have been working close together to get to this point, and he is very happy with the result. Fagen expressed confidence that Yi playing in Milwaukee for the Bucks will be a complete success.

Xu Jicheng, a television commentator for China’s CCTV5, believes that Yi will be a good fit and strong addition to the Bucks' roster. Xu thinks that one of the reasons the negotiation process took this long is because Yi wanted to first consider those who have helped him get to this point in his career before moving on to the NBA. The Guangdong Tigers and the Chinese National Team have given Yi the opportunity to be the best possible basketball player he can be, and because of them Yi now has the opportunity to live his NBA dream. According to Xu, Guangdong Tigers owner Chen Haitao’s biggest concern has been whether or not Yi will get enough playing time with Bucks, and that Chen feels he has been looking out for Yi. It has been the Bucks' persistence in pursuit of Yi that has now convinced all parties involved that the Bucks are the right fit for Yi. Yi will be able to compliment his new Bucks teammates well, and help continue to make the Bucks a more complete basketball team that will be able to compete with the best teams in the NBA.

Yi Jianlian will be with his Bucks teammates when training camp begins October 1. After playing eight preseason games during October, the season officially begins for the Milwaukee Bucks October 31 in Orlando. The Bucks have their first home game of the season November 3 against the Chicago Bulls.