"Domestic Warcraft" Li Xiaoxu: One person and one city, he wants to go to Liao Basket in both directions for 20 years
Veteran Li Xiaoxu signed another contract with the Liaoning men's basketball team for two years.
If he plays these two seasons, he will become the first player in CBA history to play for a team for 20 seasons.
In the most difficult years of Liao Basket, he silently supported the team's interior alone; Two major injuries that were enough to bury his career, not only did not let him fall, but tempered the iron will of the veteran; More than ten years of long career, one person and one city, the cloud light wind gently carried everything...
He was never the brightest star on the basketball court. But for more than ten years of perseverance, Li Xiaoxu has described a respectable basketball life for us with actions - if you love, you persist, you are diligent, you do not admit defeat, do not retreat, and one day, you will break through yourself and reach the other side of success.
The most powerful muscle is the heart
In May this year, at the press conference on the night of the Liaoning men's basketball team winning the championship, young coach Yang Ming shook out a "fierce material" about Li Xiaoxu - "The finger fracture in the first game of the finals, but this news was not disclosed to the public, thank Xiaoxu for his persistence." ”
Most of the reporters present showed shock: a 33-year-old veteran with a broken finger and eating painkillers. Grabbed 32 rebounds in four games in the Finals, and grabbed 15 rebounds in the second game, including 7 frontcourt rebounds... What kind of warrior is this, and what kind of iron will he has.
But if you are familiar with this iron-blooded tough guy who has been up and down with Liao basket for more than ten years, and has suffered two major injuries that are enough to ruin his career twice in less than four years, but he is firmly on his feet, all this can be said in him. After all, many people say that the most powerful muscle in Li Xiaoxu's body is his heart.
The first time Li Xiaoxu fell was in August 2016.
In the CBA physical test "Seventeen Folds of Life", Li Xiaoxu ran to the sideline, then kicked the ground, turned around, snapped, and broke the Achilles tendon on his right foot. For a league "iron man" who missed only two regular season games in the 2009-2013 season and averaged 42.2 minutes per game in the 2012-2013 season, such a sudden injury is even more brutal.
Yang Ming, who was still the captain of the Liaoning men's basketball team at the time, was even more heartbroken when he watched his brother fall. For the team, this is a "domestic monster" that helped them just reach the finals, averaging 10.8 points and 4 rebounds per game. In an interview the next day, when asked "what are your expectations for the new season", Yang Ming smiled bitterly, "Before yesterday, there were a lot of expectations, and after yesterday, it is difficult to say." ”
After that, it's surgery and rehabilitation. In the eyes of rehabilitator Eddie, many athletes will complain and be tired, but Li Xiaoxu has never. Since the 90s, he has helped many Chinese athletes return from injury, and he ranked Li Xiaoxu number one in terms of hard work.
"Xiaoxu is a fighter. In most cases, we have to motivate athletes not only to recover, but also to motivate them. Xiaoxu doesn't need it, he will force himself. ”
Even, seeing Liaobasket trailing Xinjiang 2-0 in the semifinals, he wanted to force a comeback, which was only the 170th day after his injury. After 225 days, he returned to the field and represented Liao Basketball in the warm-up game of the National Games. The average recovery time for Achilles tendon rupture, some people have calculated, is about 400 days.
The second time he fell, it was in July 2020. In the match against Shanxi, he fell again with a bang - seriously injured the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.
Covering his face with the towel handed by his teammate Han Dejun, Li Xiaoxu shed heroic tears. On the same day, he posted a picture of Luffy clenching his fists and walking forward on social platforms - and Luffy famously said, "I am not a natural king, but I have blood flowing in my bones that does not let me bow my head." ”
That's right, how could he throw in the towel? In the rumors of "retirement", Li Xiaoxu returned again.
The bell in the opposite direction ushered in the second spring
In the 2021-2022 season, in the first season after returning from a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament, Li Xiaoxu averaged 5.5 points and 5.3 rebounds per game, and only 2 points and 3.6 rebounds in the playoffs.
People think he's not good – a 31-year-old veteran who has suffered two major injuries, what else can you expect him to do? Flowers have a reopening day, and people are no longer young. Then sit on the bench, be a dressing room leader and retire early.
But Li Xiaoxu did not admit his life and did not admit defeat. This native of the northeast insisted, "Some people choose to terminate under such circumstances, but I still want to be a small strong, a small strong who can't die." I can't be a big man, but I hope to have an immortal heart. ”
So, in the playoffs of the 2022-2023 season, we saw a Li Xiaoxu who returned to the top: played 32.9 minutes, cut 7.7 points and 7.3 rebounds, the most since the 2015-2016 playoffs - at that time, he had not experienced those two major injuries.
In the first game of the finals 42 seconds before the end, Zhejiang foreign aid Wright missed a shot, the rebound flew to the sideline, and the first to rush over was Li Xiaoxu. At that moment, everyone seemed to see the 15-year-old him;
After breaking his finger in the first game, he took painkillers before the next three games to relieve his finger pain;
In the second game, he recreated the "glory of Warcraft" of 14+13 in his peak season - 15 rebounds and 7 frontcourt rebounds. You know, the last time this was achieved was Yao Ming twenty years ago. You can't imagine that this is the contribution of a 33-year-old veteran with a broken finger. In his words, "the reason for the adrenaline, the atmosphere is there, you can hardly feel pain"...
Yes, two major injuries took away the capital of this genius teenager who had reached 81cm at his peak to soar into the sky, but some things will never be worn out. His tenacity, his indomitability, his self-discipline, and his diligence all allowed him to usher in the second spring of his career at the age of 33, like a bell in the opposite direction.
Some fans sighed, "Xiaoxu's fuel tank is indeed out of oil, and he directly changed to new energy." ”
Top blue-collar workers, one person, one city
This past season, Li Xiaoxu helped Liao basketball win its third CBA championship trophy.
After eighteen years of fighting, "Xiao Er" has long become "Second Brother". Zhang Qingpeng, Yang Ming, Lu Wei and others who were with him when he first entered the alliance have long retired, but Zhou Juncheng, Wu Changze, Liu Yanyu and other juniors have watched him grow up.
Look at the statistics again - 646 games, fifth in history, first in the team; 4,746 rebounds, fifth in history and second on the team; 416 blocks, 17th all-time, second on the team...
I have experienced the time when Liao Basketball has missed the playoffs many times, and I have also tasted the regret of not winning the championship, and I have also experienced the joy of finally realizing my dream. Over the years, the name Li Xiaoxu really condenses another meaning, that is, the persistence of a veteran. He is like a veteran, guarding the Liao basket, training and competing for more than ten years, burning his youth, only willing to exchange a few championships for his hometown.
If you look at the data list, Li Xiaoxu has scored only five double-doubles in the season, and the highest scoring season in 2009-2010 is only 15.7 points per game. In these years in Liaobasket, he has never been the most popular star, nor the most dazzling star. He is more like a top "blue collar", one person and one city, working hard and complaining. When he was young, he did dirty and tiring work, to block people and grab boards; When he gets older, he will swim outside the three-point line to open up space, still rushing off the court for a sideline ball...
He has been receiving the "arrangement" of the team and calmly facing the life of "backfire". But even if his career has ups and downs, it is difficult to say that it will go smoothly, but those who can't defeat Li Xiaoxu have finally made this iron-blooded tough guy stronger.
This fall, Li Xiaoxu's nineteenth season, he will continue to stand on the inside of Liao Basket, waiting for his team and the dream he loves all his life.