Yi Jinhong has become the first grassroots rookie in the history of CBA! Is the club only selecting him to please the public? Player | CBA | Grassroots
The highly anticipated CBA draft has finally come to an official end today. A total of 23 players were selected by various CBA teams in today's draft, and several popular players have good prospects. Chen Guohao was selected as the "number one" by the North Control Men's Basketball Team, Fang Jiachen was selected as the second overall pick by the Sichuan Men's Basketball Team, Lin Yanting was selected as the third overall pick by the North Control Team, and the original "number one" hot spot Zou Yang was picked by the Fujian Men's Basketball Team in the fifth overall pick. But none of these were unexpected. The real underdog was Yi Jinhong - this 30-year-old grassroots dunk king king was selected by the North Control men's basketball team in 25th overall. As a result, the first grassroots player in the history of the CBA to enter a professional league through a draft.
There are two completely different voices from the outside world regarding the selection of Yi Jinhong. One type is blessings and encouragement. Some fans believe that this is an inspirational story of small people realizing their big dreams, proving that hard work and dedication will eventually pay off; But another voice believes that Yi Jinhong's skills and abilities are not enough to qualify for the CBA, and some fans believe that Yi Jinhong's selection was purely for sensationalism, reducing the seriousness and professional threshold of the CBA draft. "I hope North Control didn't choose it for the sake of traffic," commented a fan.
The reason for such criticism is understandable. Yi Jinhong, who is 1.78 meters tall, has not received professional basketball training. Whether it is his height, age, or basketball skills, among the 71 players in the same competition, there are many rookies who are more suitable for professional leagues than him. And looking at the 9 draft conferences in the history of the CBA, there have been many grassroots players with better conditions than him. Not only that, but more importantly, it is difficult for him to have much room for improvement, after all, he is already 30 years old. Yi Jinhong himself also knows that with his current abilities, it is not easy to play in the league. "My height may be considered as the first position, but I may still be more familiar with the second position myself, as I have unstable ball control. Professional teams still play systematic basketball, and it depends on whether the coach agrees with my help to the team's system. It mainly depends on the team's arrangements."
Why did the Beijing basketball team choose Yi Jinhong? This may trace back to his other identity - internet celebrity.
Yi Jinhong was born in Yimen County, Yuxi, Yunnan. He graduated from Yuxi Normal University with a major in Social Sports in June 2016. He is a folk dunk master, nicknamed "Yunnan Glider", and a member of the dunk team mic.
At the 2020 CBA All Star Dunk Contest, Yi Jinhong scored a stunning 50 point dunk in the first round with a spectacular leap from his crotch to his mascot. In the end, Yi Jinhong scored 95 points in two rounds of dunking, defeating professional players from various CBA teams and winning the championship of the 2020 CBA All Star Dunk Contest.
From some of the honors Yi Jinhong has achieved, he can indeed be considered the ceiling of grassroots players in China. In 2020, Yi Jinhong won the championship of the Sina 3x3 Golden League Dunk Contest and the NBA 5v5 Shenyang Station Dunk Contest. As of the end of last year, his personal account had 2.08 million followers on a certain platform. It can be said that in the field of folk basketball, Yi Jinhong is quite popular and very eye-catching. "Perhaps Yijinhong may sit on the bench in the new season, but the team can gain huge traffic, which is their greatest value." An industry insider analyzed that in recent years, many CBA teams have suffered serious losses due to the impact of the epidemic. Therefore, some teams have started to try to become internet celebrities and attract the attention of fans, just like the Tongxi men's basketball team last season. As a famous dunk king, Yi Jinhong has millions of fans. By contrast, the number of Tiktok fans of the North Control Men's Basketball Team is less than 100000. So when Yi Jinhong is selected by the North Control Men's Basketball Team, it is very helpful to improve the team's exposure. It is understood that after joining the North Control Men's Basketball Team, Yi Jinhong could only receive an annual salary of 150000 yuan. Some fans therefore believe that this signing can be considered a win-win situation. "He brought traffic effects, far more than 150000 yuan. The North Control Men's Basketball Team helped Yi Jinhong achieve his CBA dream, while Yi Jinhong brought huge traffic to North Control. This signing can be considered a win-win situation."
Anyway, being able to fulfill a grassroots player's dream in this way undoubtedly has a very positive impact on the promotion of basketball among the public. "I will soon be 30 years old, and if I can achieve my professional dream, even if I play for a few minutes a season, follow a professional team, or arrange for me to play in the super three leagues, I am willing. I will not pay special attention to the results, no matter what the final result is, it is a beautiful and precious experience in life, and also a rare improvement for myself." said Yi Jinhong.
The North Control men's basketball team fulfilled his dream and also showed more grassroots players a feasible path to realize their self-worth. In the official announcement, the North Control Club stated, "We hope to give dream chasers a chance. In the second round, we chose Yi Jinhong and also chose Dream. We hope his story can give more people motivation to bravely pursue their dreams! Let's cheer on Yi Jinhong!"
In addition to Yi Jinhong, the annual salaries of other CBA rookies have also been exposed: top scorer Chen Guohao earns 500000 yuan, top scorer Fang Jiachen earns 400000 yuan, Tanhua Lin Yanting earns 350000 yuan, fourth ranked Du Bochao and fifth ranked Zou Yang both earn 200000 yuan, sixth ranked Ma Guodong earns 180000 yuan, and rookies starting from seventh ranked have all earned 150000 yuan. Some fans mischievously compare the salaries of newly released NBA rookies this year, and the two leagues are vastly different. "Recently, Wen Ban Yama, who was elected as the top scorer, signed a 4-year contract with the Spurs worth about 380 million yuan, averaging 95 million yuan per year. Wen Ban Yama's salary is 190 times that of Chen Guohao."
