On December 29, Beijing time, FIBA officially announced that Chinese women's basketball player Li Meng was named the best women's basketball player in Asia in 2023 by fans, which is the second consecutive year that Li Meng has won the award!
"Li Meng is one of the best players in the Chinese national team, winning the Asian Cup in Sydney, Australia, this year, ending the domination of the Japanese women's basketball team in the Asian Cup," the FIBA official post reads. Li Meng averaged 14.4 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game, and finished with 18 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists in the finals. ”
2023 is a very important year for Li Meng. Li Meng was selected for the best team of the tournament while following the Chinese women's basketball team to win the Asian Cup, and Li Meng also won the WCBA league championship and the Hangzhou Asian Games championship!
In the WNBA, Li Meng has set a series of records. She also became the first and only outside player in the history of Chinese women's basketball to start in the WNBA, and she was also the first and only outside player to have a scoring record in the WNBA playoffs! At the same time, Li Meng's playing time, average points per game, and total points in the WNBA have created a new record for outside players in the history of Chinese women's basketball and the entire history of Asian women's basketball! She became the first Asian women's basketball player to win the WNBA Best Rookie Team! This is also the highest individual honor in the history of Asian basketball, including men's and women's basketball, for all outside players to compete in the NBA and WNBA!
It is worth mentioning that this fan vote is not an official award of FIBA or the FIBA Regional Office for Asia. It was created simply to enhance the fan experience to show their support for their favorite players of 2023. In the voting session, Li Meng finally defeated another player from the mainland, Han Xu, to be elected.