Yi Jianlian (Pinyin: Yì Jiànlián; Cantonese: Yik6 Gin3 Lyun4, pronounced E GEE-ehn-LEE-ehn born on October 27, 1987 (disputed) in Heshan, Guangdong, China) is a Chinese professional basketball player for the New Jersey Nets.

Yi played power forward for the Guangdong Southern Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) in 2002 and subsequently won the Rookie of the Year Award. In his five-year career with the Tigers, he won three CBA titles, as well as playing with the Chinese national basketball team in the 2004 Summer Olympics and the 2006 FIBA World Championships. In the 2007 NBA Draft, he was selected by the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association as the 6th overall pick. Yi refused to sign with the Bucks for several months before agreeing to a contract with them on August 29, 2007.

There has been controversy over Yi’s age, as several reports have testified that his officially listed birth date of October 27, 1987, was intentionally falsified so he would be able to play longer in junior competitions. Yi has refused to comment on his age.

Career in China
Yi was the only child of his father Yi Jingliu and mother Mai Meiling, who were both professional handball players. As a child, his parents initially did not want him to join a sports school, which is designed for children who are predicted to be future stars. However, after a sports school basketball coach noticed Yi playing streetball, he persuaded Yi’s family to allow Yi to train professionally

Hoping to sign Yi to an endorsement deal, Adidas invited him to attend the company’s ABCD camp in Teaneck, New Jersey in 2002, where he competed against All-American high school players. After returning to China later that year, he joined the senior team of the Guangdong Southern Tigers and averaged 3.5 points and 1.9 rebounds in his rookie season. He also averaged 7.3 points and 7.3 rebounds in four games in the CBA Finals and won the Rookie of the Year award. In 2003, Yi was featured in TIME magazine’s August 24, 2003 article titled “The Next Yao Ming”. In each of his next three seasons, Yi led Guangdong to the CBA championship, and he was awarded the Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) honor in 2006. In Yi’s last season in the CBA, he averaged a career best 24.9 points and 11.5 rebounds per game, but the Tigers lost to the Bayi Rockets in the 2007 CBA finals.