Born in the picturesque city of Qingdao in Shandong Province, Chen Nan has shown a jaw-dropping talent for basketball since childhood. By the time the young basketball star was just seven years old, he was already over 1.64 meters tall, far exceeding the average height of children of his age.
Her childlike eyes reveal a passion for sports.
After observing his daughter's unusual body shape, Chen Nan's father was full of expectations, expecting her to give full play to this talent.
He hoped that this young seed would thrive in the fertile soil of sports and bloom with dazzling brilliance.
When Chen Nan was only eleven years old, the admissions staff of the Municipal Sports School stepped into the Jiaonan County Experimental Primary School where she was located. They originally wanted to find excellent sports seedlings, but they were unexpectedly attracted by the tall figure of this little girl.
After rigorous testing, the teachers of the sports school were surprised to find that Chen Nan's potential in the field of sports is immeasurable.
Therefore, they did not hesitate to send a commissioner to persuade the school leaders and Chen Nan's father, hoping to let this wonderful flower in the sports world enter the sports school for professional training.
In the end, with the strong support of his father, Chen Nan entered the gate of the sports school with full of enthusiasm.
Since then, a future basketball legend has been born here. During his days in the sports school, Chen Nan not only received all-round sports training, but also won the favor of many professional coaches.
They admired the girl's physical prowess and perseverance, and eagerly awaited her becoming a professional athlete to shine on the future stage.
Chen Nan's love for basketball has also deepened over time. During the training process, she always listened attentively to the coach's guidance, her little face was full of concentration, and her brow was slightly furrowed, for fear of missing any key details.
At the end of her training, she is willing to stay a little longer and ponder the essence of certain movements. In the spacious and bright basketball hall, the small figure shuttled back and forth on the floor, sweat gradually soaking through her thin sports vest.
For Chen Nan, basketball is not only a sport, but also a love and dream that she devotes herself to. She aspires to one day compete for glory in the Circle with her own hands and let the world marvel at her performance.
Chen Nan's wonderful performance in the game quickly attracted the attention of the national team. In 1999, at a young age, at the age of 16, she was fortunate to be selected for the national youth team to participate in the Asian Championships held in Japan, which was her first time as an athlete to fight for the honor of her country!
On such a field, the girl's body is upright and straight, and her movements are strong and neat, like a sharp blade that hits the opponent's vital point.
Just a year later, the talented Chen Nan was selected for the national team, and in the Asian Cup that year, she helped the Chinese women's basketball team win the championship, and at the same time, she also won the best newcomer award.
This girl, who has worked silently in a sports school for many years, has finally climbed to the top of her life with her unremitting efforts and extraordinary talent.
The 2004 Athens Olympics was a major turning point in Chen Nan's life. In the group stage, the Chinese women's basketball team was challenged by strong opponents such as Japan, Spain and Brazil, and the situation was at a stalemate.
The final life-or-death game was played against the American women's basketball team, which is widely regarded as the world's dominant player. However, Chen Nan resolutely did not bow to fate, and she showed a fearless fighting spirit.
As soon as the competition began, she showed a fearless fighting spirit, with vigorous skills and firm steps, like a fierce lioness. Under her command and dispatch, the Chinese team showed extremely high tactical literacy, and even took the lead for a time.
Although the opponent lost 79-66 in the end, but with a slight goal difference, the Chinese women's basketball team finally advanced to the quarterfinals in a thrilling manner.
After entering the quarterfinals, Chen Nan's state is still in full swing. In a fierce matchup with the host Greek team, she single-handedly hit a key three-pointer with an outstanding performance of 22 points and 11 rebounds, and finally helped the Chinese team defeat the opponent 71-69.
In the decisive battle with the Brazilian team, Chen Nan, wearing the No. 5 jersey, once again showed her extraordinary strength, scoring 19 points, 9 rebounds, and even scored a two-point shot at a critical moment to determine the victory, and finally the Chinese women's basketball team fought back 67-63 Jedi and won the Olympic bronze medal in history! This feat undoubtedly let the world witness her extraordinary strength as a trustworthy and absolutely authoritative leader.
Since then, the 21-year-old Chen Nan has successfully risen to become a representative of the new force of the Chinese women's basketball team, and has become a new generation of leaders. Her fighting spirit and outstanding individual strength have led the team to multiple championships at the 2005, 2006 and 2010 Asian Championships and Asian Games, as well as the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, reaching the semi-finals, and winning the Team of the Year and Most Valuable Player awards on an individual basis.
The fans love her and affectionately call her "Asia's No. 1 Center" and "Women's Yao Ming".
However, Chen Nan, who was full of honors, was not satisfied with this, on the contrary, she resolutely decided to go overseas to fight with a desire for a higher-level challenge.
From 2000 to 2001, she chose to join Kumho, a powerhouse in the Korean professional league, and started a new chapter in her life.
When he first appeared on the field in a foreign country, Chen Nan was full of uneasiness, worried that it would be difficult to adapt to the customs there. However, as soon as she put on the jersey and went into the game, she immediately regained the familiar feeling she used to have.
On the court, the tall center swings his powerful arms like a fierce lion, quickly breaking through the enemy's defense and trampling the opposition's interior defense under his feet.
In the end, Chen Nan showed amazing strength on the inside of the Kumho team, averaging 24.4 points and 16 rebounds per game, which deeply touched the hearts of Korean fans.
They called frantically for the star of the Chinese women's basketball team, who regarded him as an idol in their hearts.
From the end of 2002 to the beginning of 2003, when China and the United States launched in-depth exchanges and cooperation in basketball, Chen Nan went to the United States for further study as an "exchange student". She eventually signed with the Chicago Sky in the WNBA and moved to the world's highest professional league.
On the field, Chen Nan faced unprecedented challenges and pressures. As an expatriate player, she not only had to bridge language and cultural barriers, but she also had to find her place among the many powerful American interior players.
At first, Chen Nan's performance was a little jerky, but she quickly adjusted her form and gradually got on the right track with the help of her coach and teammates.
During the game, she sometimes sweated like rain, went all out to dunk, sometimes responded calmly, shuttled flexibly on the inside, broke through many obstacles, and formed a tacit understanding with her teammates in offensive firepower.
Although he still maintains the traditional inside play style of Chinese players, Chen Nan has always been able to make clever innovations in subtle ways that will amaze his opponents.
In the end, with an outstanding performance of averaging 12.8 points and 6.8 rebounds per game, Chen Nan not only successfully integrated into the Sky team, but also became one of the most outstanding foreign players in the WNBA at that time!
This invaluable overseas training experience not only enabled Chen Nan's personal skills to be unprecedentedly breakthrough and improved, but also gave the global audience the opportunity to witness the extraordinary strength of the Chinese women's basketball team.
At the same time, Chen Nan and Yao Ming, the leader of the men's basketball team, have become outstanding representatives of leading Chinese basketball to the world.
The love story between Chen Nan and her husband Gong Bin is undoubtedly a good story in the Chinese basketball world. They were both born in 1983 and have formed a strong friendship since childhood.
They were both born in the beautiful Shandong province, Gong Bin is from the provincial capital city of Jinan, and Chen Nan is a local girl from Qingdao. When they were eight or nine years old, they studied together in a sports school, wore similar sportswear, and ran and played happily on the playground, like close friends.
Then, the pair of "childhood sweethearts" joined the Shandong Youth Basketball Team together and became teammates again. Young and vigorous, they are full of infinite anticipation for the future, swaying their youthful energy on the court, scrambling to shoot and grab rebounds, as if they will never be separated.
However, fate will still play a little joke on them after all. When they were in college, Chen Nan chose to enter the School of Physical Education to continue his studies, while Gong Bin was attracted to Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and the two began their own journeys.
Born in 1981, Mr. Gong Bin is an astonishing 2.04 meters tall, and he plays the role of a center forward and is known as the "tall and handsome guy". He and Chen Nan once played for Shanghai Jiaotong University in the University Super League, although they fought separately, but it was inevitable that there would be some "secret competition" psychology.
After that, Chen Nan joined the Bayi women's basketball team and started her career, and the connection between the two gradually decreased, but the sincere feelings in their hearts never changed.
It wasn't until a party in Shanghai in 2006 that the former "confidant and friend" regained the emotions of the year, and sparks flew around.
Since then, although they can't see each other often because of their busy work, they have always maintained a tacit understanding of their hearts, treated each other sincerely, and interpreted the deep friendship of "childhood sweethearts" with practical actions.
At the successful conclusion of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, Chen Nan and Gong Bin decided to hold hands to spend the rest of their lives together. When they held the marriage certificate in their hands, the staff couldn't suppress the joy in their hearts, and sincerely wished the pair of "Chen children" to grow old with love and grow old together.
On May 6, 2012, they held an unprecedented wedding in the capital Beijing. The groom's official Gong Bin was dressed in a straight suit and was heroic, while the bride Chen Nan appeared in a gorgeous wedding dress, which was so beautiful that it made people's hearts move.
With happy smiles on their faces, they share the best time of their lives with their family and friends.
Soon after marriage, Chen Nan welcomed two lively and lovely sons, who not only inherited their parents' excellent basketball talents, but also were outstanding in appearance and intelligent, becoming the pride and comfort of their parents.
Today, this happy family is happy, her husband Gong Bin has made brilliant achievements in his career, and at the same time dutifully plays the role of a good father, while Chen Nan is a model of a good wife and mother, taking care of her husband and children, bringing endless warmth and blessings to this small family.
On social media platforms, they often share the daily life of the family, or like each other and send sweet love words to each other, which is enviable.
In her long career, Chen Nan has made outstanding contributions to the Chinese women's basketball team, and has won numerous honors and people's respect. Until the National Games held in September 2017, at the age of 34, she once again stood up for the Bayi team and served as a leader.
At the scene of the game, Chen Nan was wearing a five-star red flag robe, and his tall figure was shining. She swung her strong arms and weaved her way on the inside, her opponent's defense insignificant in her eyes.
Although she is no longer young, she still maintains her championship-level form, using masterful feints to lure her opponents into shots, and then seizing the opportunity to quickly close the holes under the basket.
Fearless and calm in the face of danger, this is the extraordinary quality that Chen Nan has honed on the field for many years. Under her leadership, the Bayi team overcame all the obstacles and finally defeated the powerful Iron Normal Team in the finals, drawing a perfect end to Chen Nan's career and adding new luster to Chinese basketball.
This National Games is undoubtedly the last gorgeous bloom in Chen Nan's sports career. Shortly after the event, she made a low-key decision to retire, without arranging any formal farewell ceremony or making a public statement, just quietly withdrawing from the shining stage of athletes.
However, leaving the court does not mean that she says goodbye to basketball, on the contrary, Chen Nan changed her role and became the assistant coach of the Bayi team, devoting herself to cultivating the new generation of center talents, and selflessly teaching her rich experience and exquisite skills to more future basketball people.
"I'm looking forward to passing on what I've learned to the players and helping them grow better. In an interview with the media, Chen Nan said sincerely.
She firmly believes that only through continuous inheritance and development can the future of Chinese basketball be more dazzling.
Facts have proved that under her careful guidance, many rookies of center forwards have gradually emerged in the Bayi team, and their strength is increasing day by day. These young people often gather around Chen Nan, humbly ask for advice, and carefully record every bit of her perception and suggestions.
Sometimes, Chen Nan will also personally demonstrate, recreate the heroic posture of the past, and show the core value of the center with practical actions. Whenever this happens, there is always a burst of applause and cheers, and everyone is impressed by the former superstar.
Although she has been away from the arena, Chen Nan has always paid close attention to the dynamics of major competitions at home and abroad, and she often publishes unique insights and wonderful comments on social platforms.
What's even more admirable is that she also frequently attends various basketball activities, exchanging experiences with other stars, sharing basketball concepts, and interpreting "the court will always be my concern" with practical actions.
Looking back at Chen Nan's own concluding words: "Basketball is my lifelong pursuit and love, and I will never forget it." From an unknown little girl, to becoming a world-renowned superstar, and then returning to an ordinary life, basketball seems to have always been the most important theme in her life.
Maybe one day, when Chen Nan's children grow up, she will pass on this love for basketball just like her father did back then.