Xinjiang men's basketball captain Abdul Salamu ushered in another career peak in the 2023-24 season: he averaged 19 points per game, more than four points higher than last season. He averaged 10.2 rebounds per game, the highest of his nine-year career, and shot 50.5 percent from the field, the highest in his last four seasons. This season, Abdul Salamu has found a better version of himself, and he also won the Most Valuable Player Award for the regular season this season on the 8th. Next, Abdul Salamu will launch the most powerful attack with the team towards the goal of the championship.
Abdul Salamu has a very different career experience: in the early years, Abdul Salamu was only a small role in the Xinjiang team, his physical condition was not excellent, and the data was very average, but even so, Li Nan, who was the coach of the Chinese men's basketball team at the time, chose Abdul Salamu during the men's basketball training camp, which also became an important turning point in his career. After coming to the national team, although many people were not optimistic about Abdul Salamu, he always gradually gained trust and playing time through active fighting, relentless defense, and tireless running, and he seized such a rare opportunity.
Abdul Salamu in the men's basketball final of the Asian Games in Jakarta
The men's basketball final of the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta was undoubtedly Abdul Salamu's famous match: in the championship and runner-up final against Iran, the Chinese team once trailed by as many as 16 points, and Abdul Salamu's substitute appearance played a miracle effect to turn the tide of the battle. He scored 11 points in a single quarter, leading the team to narrow the gap to four points at halftime. In the second half, he continued to chase hard, scoring a game-high 20 points, and became a hero of the comeback victory. After the Asian Games, Abdul Salamu's self-confidence has greatly improved, and his career has also entered the "fast lane". In 2018-19, Abdul Salamu averaged 18.6 points per game, compared to 7.4 points per game in previous seasons. In the 2019 Men's Basketball World Cup, Abdul Salamu did not have many "scenes", and he continued to perform strongly in the league after that, as if he wanted to prove himself.
But unfortunately, at the end of 2019, in the match against Beijing Shougang, Abdul Salamu suffered a serious injury with a rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. This injury is not uncommon among basketball players, but many athletes have experienced such injuries and their careers have taken a sharp turn for the worse. Abdul Salamu traveled to the United States to treat his injuries, after which he underwent a lengthy period of rehabilitation. For him, the recovery period was a double torment of physical and psychological suffering. In one documentary, Abdul Salamu slapped himself in the mouth before jumping on a 90-centimeter-high box, trying to overcome his psychological fear of jumping in such an extreme way.
Abdul Salamu who was injured at the end of 2019
The 2020-21 season was Abdul Salamu's first season in return, and as expected, his stats dropped significantly. Over the course of the season, Abdul Salamu averaged only 7.3 points per game, which was only slightly higher than in the first two seasons of his career. Before the injury, Abdul Salamu's style of play was flexible and elegant, but after the injury, his athleticism was greatly reduced, and he became afraid to make movements, and gradually lost his original characteristics and style.
But Abdul Salamu did not give up, as he said: "Suffering is suffering, I will not be grateful for it, I am just grateful that I have not been defeated by difficulties." ”
Since the 2021-22 season, the second season after his return from injury, Abdul Salamu's position has changed from small forward to power forward, and his style of play has changed from relying more on flexible running to often hitting the inside to eat opponents. This change minimized the adverse effects of the injury and allowed him to be reborn.
That season, Abdul Salamu averaged 23 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game to win the local scoring title, scored 43 points against the Liaoning team, scored a career-high 50 points against the Fujian team, and unexpectedly won the league's most improved player award for the second time in his career.
After winning the award, Abdul Salamu said: "MIP (Most Improved Player) is just a wonderful start, and next year I hope that 'I' will become 'V'!" "It is said that Abdul Salamu was a true rebirth of Nirvana at that time. But it's a pity that the Xinjiang team missed the playoffs that season. In the 2022-23 season, the Xinjiang team experienced a lot of turmoil again, including the turmoil of a brief withdrawal from the CBA that made them lose hope of hitting the playoffs, and Abdul Salamu's overall performance that season also slipped a little.
Abdul Salamu won the Most Improved Player award
But in the 2023-24 season, Abdul Salamu found a better version of himself. After the Xinjiang team has been greatly upgraded, they already have the absolute strength and foundation to compete for the championship, and Abdul Salamu has also used a more stable performance to help the team become better, and he is more like a qualified leader. Abdul Salamu described his role this season: "I remember a coach asking me if you were the tallest in the team and I said no. Are you the fastest runner in the team, I say no. He continued to ask me, what do I want you to do? I replied, I am the hardest working and most combative in the team. As the coach said, my physical fitness is really not very good, so I have been polishing my basketball skills and constantly improving my basketball IQ. I'll do my best wherever the team needs me. ”
Abdul Salamu, who has been doing his best, is constantly working hard for his second championship trophy. "I think the squad is very good this season. For me, I don't have to take on more on-field work that doesn't belong to me. I can have more energy to focus on what I'm supposed to do. I can be a better version of myself. I also hope to help the team go further. Our Xinjiang team has not entered the playoffs for two consecutive seasons, but this season we have to return to the playoffs first, I have always thought that the Xinjiang team was originally a playoff team, I miss the intensity of the playoffs, I miss the stage of the playoffs, I miss the shouts and cheers of the fans to the home team during the playoffs, I look forward to us going further. "The Xinjiang team has accomplished the small goal of returning to the playoffs, and they are moving towards the ultimate goal. In the process, Abdul Salamu found a better version of himself.
Text/Beiqing Sports Song Xiang