Chinese women's basketball national player Yang Liwei signed the WNBA's Los Angeles Spark this season to pursue his dream, but unfortunately now Los Angeles Spark announced the cutting of Yang Liwei, it is reported that it is directly related to the Women's Basketball Asian Cup in June, Yang Liwei has to prepare for and participate in the Asian Cup, which is in conflict with the schedule of the Los Angeles Spark, so the Los Angeles Spark decided to terminate the contract with Yang Liwei. Now Yang Liwei is in a free state, she continues to train and apply for visas in the United States, and will join the Chinese women's basketball team in June.
The practice of the basketball association has also caused controversy, it is reported that the adjustment of the format, because the women's basketball Asian Cup not only bears the place of the 2026 Women's Basketball World Cup, but also includes the Paris Olympic Games, and the top four teams in this Asian Cup can directly get Olympic tickets, so the women's basketball Asian Cup is extremely important. It is precisely for this reason that the Chinese Basketball Association hopes that all players who play in the WNBA, including Yang Liwei, will arrive in Sydney to join the national team no later than June 20. As the captain of the women's basketball team, Yang Liwei also expressed his determination to play for the country.
For the approach of the Chinese Basketball Association, many fans complained, saying that although the Asian Cup is extremely important and related to the qualification for the Olympic Games and the World Cup, the future of the WNBA cannot be affected by the recruitment of players. What's more, as the runner-up winner of the World Cup, the Chinese women's basketball team is very competitive in Asia, and the 8 teams participating in the Asian Cup, the top 4 can go directly to the Olympic Games, even if the local strength players participate, the opportunity is also very large.
The 2023 Women's Asian Cup will be held in Sydney, Australia, from June 26 to July 2, Group A: China, South Korea, New Zealand and Lebanon. Group B: Australia, Japan, Chinese Taipei, Philippines. The top four can qualify for the 2026 Women's Basketball World Cup and the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Many fans talked about Wang Zhizhi, who pursued his dream at Mavericks, but because of the national team's matches and training, his prospects in the club were delayed, including preseason games. In the later period, there was a rumor of the Wang Zhizhi incident, which caused great controversy.
Now as the captain of the Chinese women's basketball team, Yang Liwei was called up by the Chinese Basketball Association to play in the Asian Cup just stepped on the WNBA, she personally has no two words, she must represent the Chinese women's basketball team in the Asian Cup, but obviously, there is a certain influence at the club level.