Chinese men's basketball team missed the Olympic Games for two consecutive times, what is the blow to Chinese basketball?
After failing to refresh the lower limit of the Olympic Games for two consecutive years, the Chinese men's basketball team was disbanded in Manila, and the whole team returned to China in the early morning of the 3rd. Four years ago, when the Chinese men's basketball team did not qualify from the group and there was still a glimmer of hope for the qualifying match, Yang Yi, a well-known basketball media person, said that "this night, Chinese basketball has gone back 10 years." Four years later, when the Chinese men's basketball team missed the Olympics again, Chinese basketball may not only go back 20 years.
The "I believe that tomorrow will be better for Chinese basketball" posted by the naturalized player Li Kyle's team on social media is, at least for now, unrealistic fantasies anytime soon. When the first naturalized players introduced in the team's history failed to return to the Olympics, and even failed to qualify for the Olympic Games, defeat after defeat, this is not only a fiasco for the Chinese men's basketball team, but also another blow to the entire Chinese basketball industry.
As the top of the pyramid of Chinese basketball, the national team's performance complements the environment of the entire industry. In particular, the Chinese men's basketball team, although the results are far inferior to the Chinese women's basketball team, but to a large extent, as long as the Chinese men's basketball team can get decent results, it will definitely have better commercial value. This is also why the best result in the history of the Chinese men's basketball team is only the top eight in the World Cup and the Olympic Games, far less than the second place in the Chinese women's basketball World Cup and the Olympic Games, but it has always had more audiences and better commercial value in the past.
Now, the leader of the entire basketball has repeatedly refreshed the lower limit, and the confidence of Chinese basketball, the league value of CBA, the reform of relevant systems, and the development and positive development of youth basketball will be directly affected or even hugely impacted.
For the past four years, the Chinese men's basketball team has been preparing for its return to the Olympics. From participating in the Olympic Games in 2021 to train players in advance, to the selection of young players such as Cui Yongxi in the past two years, whether it is local coaches or European coaches, they are constantly changing blood for the Chinese men's basketball team. But when such a lineup still can't achieve a breakthrough, or even performs badly, how should the Chinese men's basketball team change? Is it to directly change another batch of players to prepare in advance? Or concentrate on selecting some players, tilt resources, and go out frequently to exercise in the offseason?
In terms of coaching staff, when European coaches are not suitable for the weak foundation of the Chinese men's basketball team, and the national team does not have international competitions in the next three years, should they continue to retain Jordjevic with high salaries? Do you stick to the European style or abandon the so-called traditional interior advantage to speed up the whole way? The style swing again made the Chinese men's basketball team face another collapse of confidence. It is not even ruled out that the Chinese Basketball Association and the CBA high-level will make big adjustments, but can these point out the direction for the Chinese men's basketball team in the fog?
The national team is the top of the pyramid of Chinese basketball, and the league is the bottom of the pyramid. The collapse of the spire will also directly cause the league at the bottom of the tower to suffer a huge impact. At the World Cup four years ago, when the Chinese men's basketball team was overtaken by Iran in the qualifying round and missed the Olympics, many fans were still regretting the lack of injured Ding Yanyuhang and Zhou Peng in the national team, and the league's sponsors did not sympathize with the CBA. Over the next four years, input from CBA sponsors declined. Now, four years later, when Zhao Rui admits that the league is not strong enough to support the Chinese men's basketball team to play on the stage of the national competition, sponsors who invest real money and aim for better exposure and revenue will be less sympathetic to the CBA. Not surprisingly, the number of sponsors and investment in the CBA will decline in the coming years, and CBA teams that struggled to return to the home-and-away format last season and just saw some hope will still struggle to achieve revenue. The decline in the commercial value of the league has made club investors compress their investment in youth training, and it is more difficult for the CBA to breed available talents. And improving the level and quality of the league is always fundamental, only by improving the league can players go out, be recognized by teams in higher leagues, and improve the strength of the national team.
After the last World Cup, the CBA quickly introduced relevant reforms such as salary caps and top salaries, and significantly changed the policy on the use of foreign aid, but the final effect was not satisfactory. In particular, the foreign aid policy, sharpened to four in the fourth quarter, did not promote the full evolution of local players, and some local players who performed well seemed to be just false prosperity in statistics. And this time? Will the CBA completely liberalize foreign aid policy? Let local players "dance with wolves" again? Does anyone know if this reform is drastic or for the sake of change?
In addition, the fiasco of the Chinese men's basketball team will directly weaken the support and foundation of fans. Four years ago, before the World Cup began, Yao Ming said: "The CBA league is aimed at the top professional league, and I am confident in the CBA's tomorrow." After the World Cup defeat, Yao Ming still injected confidence into the league: "I firmly believe that with the joint efforts of everyone, the CBA league will become the favorite professional sports league of the Chinese people." ”
But now, the Chinese men's basketball team has no confidence to let fans buy it, and the CBA hopes to enter thousands of households and make the goal of "fans guarding the home court" more ethereal. The CBA, which has been criticized for many controversies and negative events over the years, has long made a large number of fans look to the field field. The fiasco of this World Cup will not only lose more fans, but also directly affect the choices of many parents. Since the situation and online environment of basketball in China are so unbearable, many young parents will also consider whether they still want their children to participate in professional basketball. Basketball as a hobby or other more promising programs may become the new option.
Four years ago, we said that Chinese basketball ushered in the darkest moment. But four years ago seemed like nothing compared to now. Four years ago, we could at least hope that Ding Yanyuhang would return to the peak, that Yi Jianlian would continue to carry the banner, and that we could still have hope for the younger generation. But four years later, Yi Jianlian retired and Ding Yanyuhang fell to the mortal world, and we don't know who can still take over the banner in Yi Jianlian's hands, let alone when the younger generation will rekindle our hope.