• Yi Jianlian get a second chance to prove himself following his one-year deal with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Yi Jianlian get a second chance to prove himself following his one-year deal with the Los Angeles Lakers. (Photo : Getty Images/Lintao Zhang)

The Los Angeles Lakers have added some Asian flavor with the signing of Yi Jianlian. No less than Jeremy Lin welcomed back Yi to the NBA, joining a team the current Brooklyn Nets guard previously played for.

The Los Angeles Lakers were previously in advanced talks with the 28-year-old Chinese player and both sides apparently came to terms according to BBC.com. Yi last played for the Dallas Mavericks back in 2012 and has since spent time in the Chinese Basketball League.

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Yi is coming off a stint with the Chinese national team in the 2016 Rio Olympics but was already on the Lakers radar prior to that. Yi was picked up with the sixth overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft by the Milwaukee Bucks in a class that included the likes of Kevin Durant and Al Horford.

Aside from the Bucks and the Mavs, Yi also had a stint with the Washington Wizards. Failing to hit it well in the NBA, Yi opted to play in China for the Guangdong Southern Tigers where he averaged close to 20 points and 10 rebounds per outing. Among his teammates were Will Bynum who believes Yi has changed immensely.

Jeremy Lin congratulated his countryman a day after the signing through Twitter. Yi will try to bring the same toughness he showed in the CBA to the Lakers as he joins a young team composed of Jordan Clarkson, Julius Randle, D’Angelo Russell and incoming rookie Brandon Ingram.


While his contract is believed to be a minimum $1.1 million deal, the pact could be worth as much as $8 million if he does well, Lakers Nation reported. Yi will try to follow in the footsteps of Lin who eventually became a journeyman after carving a name for himself with the New York Knicks.

In the CBA, Yi was considered ripe and was mentioned as a matchup nightmare by Bynum. Both Bynum and Yi were teammates for the Tigers.

For the Lakers, Yi is seen as a low-risk investment as it tries to get back their winning ways. With a new head coach in Luke Walton, it will be interesting if Yi can eventually be squeezed into the rotation for the 2016-17 NBA wars.

Check out some of the Yi Jianlilan’s highlights via the video below.