The second stage of the CBA league is in full swing. Recently, Jones of the Jilin team has been plagued by injuries. He has not been able to play since December 26th, and it is unknown when he will return. However, he also took the time to accept an interview with a media person, discussing the current state of Chinese men's basketball.
A media person asked Jones who he thought was the most powerful player in the CBA. Jones thought for a moment and said that he felt Guo Ailun was the best five years ago, but now Zhao Jiwei and Zhao Rui are the best.
It is unclear whether this view can be accepted by most fans, as many may feel it is biased. Players like Yi Jianlian, Zhou Qi, and Hu Jinqiu are also very powerful.
However, Jones also mentioned that because he plays as a guard, he chose the best players from among the guards. Jones has been in the CBA since 2013 and has played for nearly 11 years, changing teams multiple times. Starting from Liaoning, he has been to Jilin, Shanxi, Qingdao, Nanjing, Tongxi, and Xinjiang. This season, he returned to Jilin, so he has seen many players in the CBA.
Based on his resume, he is qualified to evaluate the current CBA players. Jones said he watched Guo Ailun play when he was still a child and felt that he grew every year. However, Guo Ailun has been plagued by injuries in recent years and is no longer the best player.
He believes that the current best players are Zhao Jiwei of Liaoning and Zhao Rui of Xinjiang. However, these two are also affected by injuries. Zhao Jiwei's body has been overburdened from continuous play in the national team and CBA, leading to frequent injuries this season, and he is currently absent due to esophagitis.
Zhao Rui has also been inconsistent since joining Xinjiang, playing only 9 games last season and 14 this season. He was even suspended for 5 more games yesterday for colliding with a referee.
Guo Ailun, Zhao Jiwei, and Zhao Rui are indeed very powerful players. At their peak, they were in the limelight and were heavily relied upon as guards for the Chinese men's basketball team. However, after receiving top-tier contracts, both Guo Ailun and Zhao Rui have hardly played, especially Guo Ailun, who has not played well for several consecutive years. This year, he joined Guangzhou and played one game before resting for ten, including Zhao Rui in the same situation.
On the contrary, Zhao Jiwei of Liaoning really wants to play, but due to reasons such as tympanitis and esophagitis, he has also been inconsistent this season.
If the current best players in Chinese men's basketball are Zhao Rui and Zhao Jiwei, then the level of Chinese men's basketball is indeed average. These two players have not proven themselves on the international stage, which may be our current awkward position, as there are only so many players we can put forward.
We look forward to more outstanding players emerging in the future. Chinese men's basketball cannot continue to rely on past achievements. We don't know who will step up after players like Zhao Rui and Zhao Jiwei retire.