Wang Zhizhi was selected with the 36th pick in 1999, who were the top five picks at that time, and how did his career develop

There is no 24th in the rivers and lakes

2024-05-07 11:30Published in Henan Sports Creators

Preface

Six of China's basketball players have played in the NBA, they are Yao Ming, Yi Jianlian, Battle, Wang Zhizhi, Sun Yue, Zhou Qi, they have all left their own figures in the NBA, once upon a time, fans can still see the "Chinese Derby" in NBA games.

Time has passed, and there have been no Chinese players in the NBA for many years, but many players are still working hard to enter the world's top league, and Cui Yongxi also signed up for the 2024 NBA draft and went to the United States for special training to prepare for the draft.

Looking back at the past of Chinese players participating in the NBA draft, in 2001, Wang Zhizhi became the first Chinese player to appear on the NBA court, his experience is more special, the time to participate in the draft is two years earlier than the official representative of the NBA team debut, Wang Zhizhi was drafted in 1999, when he was selected by the Mavericks (now the Mavericks) at the 36th pick, who are the top five in that draft?

Winner: Elton Brand

Elton Brand is a talented short and stout No. 4, who was selected as the State Basketball Man in high school, helped the team win the state championship twice, and college recruitment letters flew like snowflakes, Elton Brand finally chose Duke University, a famous American basketball school, and played a highlight performance of 17.7 points, 9.8 rebounds and 2.2 blocks in his sophomore year, shooting 62% from the field, and becoming a top interior player in the NCAA.

After his sophomore season, Elton Brand opted to participate in the NBA draft, and the talented No. 4 spot considered to be modeled after Karl Malone attracted the attention of the Bulls, who in the post-Jordan era they have been looking for young people who can handle the role, and finally locked Elton Brand with the first pick in the first round.

At the level of personal ability, Elton Brand can still easily play his various scoring methods in the NBA at a higher level, and he handed over an average of 20+10 results per game in his rookie season, and the embarrassing thing is that Elton Brand, who was chaotic at that time, did not get much support, he was one of the few bright spots of the Bulls, and the team's record was simply spicy, only 17-65, the second to last in the league.

In the 2000-01 season, Elton Brand continued his strong performance, averaging 20.1 points, 10.1 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1 steal and 1.6 blocks per game, but it was still difficult to support himself, and the Bulls' record did not improve, and after the end of the season, the Bulls management quickly made a decision, they lost patience and directly chose to trade Elton Brand and then make other attempts, in exchange for Tyson Chandler and Brian Skinner.

Elton Brand went to the Clippers after parting ways with the Bulls, was selected as an All-Star in the first year of the Clippers, averaged 20.3 points, 10.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1 steal and 2.3 blocks per game in his 7-year Clippers career, was selected to the All-NBA Second Team in the 2005-06 season, and the MVP and DPOY final lists were in the top 10.

Leaderboard: Steve Francis

Steve Francis has a lot of connections with a Chinese player, he drew the 2002 No. 1 pick for the Rockets, and later the Rockets used this No. 1 pick to select Yao Ming, and then the two had a deep friendship with the Rockets, and domestic fans once affectionately called Steve Francis "Boss Fertilis".

His mother died, his father went to prison, he dropped out of high school and couldn't get a diploma, and he had to live in an apartment with 18 people every day, this is what Steve Francis once experienced, and the poor upbringing environment made him form an unruly personality, in order to forget the harsh reality for a while, Steve Francis invested a lot of time to play basketball, he said that he once hit about a million jump shots on a court next to a phone booth.

Sticking to the basketball road, Steve Francis was finally discovered, and a basketball coach at a college discovered him, and Steve Francis made a name for himself as "the most exciting star of the 2000s" in the well-known magazine "SLAM".

In the 1999 NBA draft, Steve Francis heard his name read on the stage with the second pick in the first round, he was selected by the Grizzlies, and then went to the Rockets in a trade, starting his career from Houston, only in the third season, Steve Francis became a high-quality point guard who averaged 21.6 points, 7 rebounds, 6.4 assists and 1.2 steals per game, and was selected as an All-Star, and in the 2003-04 All-Star vote, Gary Payton, Nash and others became the starting point guard of the Western All-Star.

But the impact of the Rockets' change of coach finally reached a point that could not be ignored, Steve Francis was not comfortable playing under the coaching of Van Gundy Jr., and Steve Francis Jr.'s coaching plan also seemed a little out of place, and finally the latter left the Rockets in 2004 for 5 years, after which Steve Francis's career gradually went downhill, and his hot personality and injuries gradually made him out of the ranks of stars, leaving the NBA after the age of 31.

Tanhua: Baron Davis

After Harden made a name for himself in the NBA, he got a lot of attention, including his beard, of course, and before him, there was another player in the league who was dubbed the "original beard" by many fans, and that was Baron Davis.

On the road to growth, Baron Davis showed outstanding talent and leadership skills in basketball games, led the team to win the championship in high school, won the MVP, was named Gatorade Player of the Year, and won a lot of honors, attracting a number of basketball elite schools, including the University of Kansas and Duke University, to chase him, but Baron Davis finally chose UCLA, which is closer to home.

During his two years at UCLA, Baron Davis suffered a serious injury with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his knee, and unexpectedly, Baron Davis returned almost completely to the same as before, his explosiveness and speed did not seem to be affected, which did not affect his draft prospects too much, and Barlang Davis was selected by the Charlotte Hornets with the third pick in the first round of the 1999 NBA Draft.

Baron Davis started off the bench in the Hornets, and he averaged 5.9 points, 3.8 assists and 1.2 steals in 18.6 minutes per game in his rookie season.

Organizing tandem and leading by example, Baron Davis helped the Hornets reach the playoffs with a team-high 8.9 victory contribution value, swept the Heat led by Mourning in the first round, and led the team to a tiebreaker in the second round against the Bucks with the "three musketeers" combination of Ray Allen, Cassel and Glenn Robinson.

Although he failed to complete the promotion in the end, you must know that the Bucks' offensive efficiency in the regular season that season was 108.8, which was the first in the league, Baron Davis played a good performance in the backcourt matchup with the Bucks led by Cassel and Ray Allen, and even helped the team suppress the Bucks in offensive efficiency in this series, with the Hornets at 107.6 and the Bucks at 107.

In 2001-02, he was selected as an All-Star for the first time in his career, and in 2003-04, he was selected to the All-Star team three times, and was selected as an All-Star again, ranking in the top 10 in the final list of MVPs.

However, because of the disagreement with the coach's philosophy, and the recurrent injuries that began to occur during the growth period, Baron Davis was traded to the Warriors in the 2004-05 regular season, and the "gears of fate" also began to turn at this moment.

Fast forward to the 2006-07 season, Baron Davis left with 20.1 points, 8.1 assists and 2.1 steals, and more importantly, with his help, the Warriors returned to the playoffs after 13 years, and staged the "Black Eight Miracle" in the first round, overturning the Mavericks led by Nowitzki, the MVP of the season, and the "Golden State Gangs" led by Baron Davis became one of the most impressive teams in NBA history.

Fourth pick: Ramar Odom

Ramal Odom was once called the "left-handed magician" by fans, and with "God Operator" Pat Riley, Ramal Odom is a template for an all-around player, a "more talented player than 'Magic' Johnson".

The well-rounded Ramal Odom was already a star player in high school, and he was named to USA Today's All-American team.

In one season of college at the University of Rhode Island, Ramal Odom averaged 17.6 points, 9.4 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.5 blocks per game, and was the team's scoring champion, rebounding king, and block king.

On his NBA debut, Ramal Odom slashed 30 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks, filling the data column, showing a comprehensive skill, in the game, Odom's talent intoxicated the fans, but he was in constant trouble off the court, which made the team and the fans feel bad, after all, he was still used as a thorn and was given up by the team, but fortunately, in 2003, the Heat gave Ramal Odom a contract, giving him a chance to make a name for himself.

In the 2006-07 season, Lamar Odom, wearing the Heat jersey, handed over an average of 17.1 points, 9.7 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.1 steals per game, helping the team reach the playoffs and ushered in the first playoff journey of his career.

However, in order to be able to trade O'Neal, the Heat put Ramal Odom into a trade and negotiated with the Lakers, and Ramar Odom also started his Purple and Gold career, and he continued to play his all-round player attributes in Los Angeles, and later became an important part of the "Zen Master" Phil Jackson's coaching system, and achieved blooming, helping the Lakers complete two consecutive championships in the 2008-09 season and the 2009-10 season as the sixth man, and came to the highlight moment of his career.

But then it was reported that the Lakers had used Ramal Odom as part of their bargaining chips in pursuit of Paul, and although the trade ultimately didn't go through, it also dealt a heavy blow to the fragile Lamar Odom, and he left the Lakers in another trade.

Going to the Mavericks, Ramal Odom's career took a sharp turn for the worse, from a glamorous sixth man and a member of a championship team to a problem player who averaged single digits per game and gradually moved to the edge of the league, and finally left the league after 2013, and reappeared in the eyes of fans in a considerable part because of negative press.

Fifth pick: Jonathan Bender

Among the top five picks in the 1999 NBA draft, Jonathan Bender was the only one who "fell in the water", he played in the NBA intermittently for 8 seasons, leaving only an average of 5.5 points and 2.2 rebounds per game, but the only player with such data was once evaluated by the well-known coach Rick Carlisle as the top 1% and 2% of the players he saw in the first 20 years in the league.

After Jonathan Bender was selected by the Raptors in the 1999 NBA Draft and traded by the Pacers, he was able to deliver jaw-dropping performances to teammates and coaches in almost every practice, stage crazy dunk scenes, or use skillful footwork to shake the opponent and then score the ball with a soft touch, and his shooting range of 2.11 meters can also cover beyond the three-point line, which was very unique at the time.

However, injuries became a lingering haze in Jonathan Bender's career, although the Pacers gave him plenty of time to develop him for seven years, but a knee injury eventually made Jonathan Bender unable to hold on, and in 2005-06, the 25-year-old chose to retire.

Although he did return to the NBA in the 2009-10 season after more than three years of hard work and rehabilitation, he left the league he had dreamed of again after playing only 25 regular season games due to injuries including a hip injury during his time with the Knicks.

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