Yi Jianlian was injured instantly.

　　On the night when the Guangdong Men's Basketball Team defended the CBA championship, they became the first team in CBA history to win the championship 10 times. And it seems that 10 crowns are far from their upper limit, this is just the beginning of another Hongyuan dynasty. It was also this night that people felt more truly, I am afraid that it was the end of another period of history-the Chinese basketball "Era of Change" bid farewell to this night.

　　On the 15th, in the third game of the CBA Finals, there was 1 minute left in the third quarter. Yi Jianlian fell to the ground without confrontation when fighting for a rebound after a missed free throw. He held the back of his calf close to the ankle with both hands.

　　According to past experience, Yi Jianlian's series of actions instantly tightened people's nerves. After more than ten hours of waiting, people waited for the worst news, Achilles tendon rupture. For the 33-year-old athlete, this is undoubtedly devastating.

The Guangdong team announced Yi Jianlian's injury on Weibo.

　　On the night of the injury, Yi Jianlian, who was already unable to stand, was assisted by his teammates and walked into the locker room. Before leaving the court, he looked up at the scoreboard. When he returned to the locker room, he did not immediately go to the hospital for examination. Instead, he waited for the result of the game and waited for the moment of Guangdong's aspiration.

　　For a long time, people have been used to calling Yi Jianlian as "Big Brother". In the eyes of "little brother", the eldest brother Yi Jianlian has never flinched in the face of a strong opponent. Whether in the club or the national team. But this time, it seemed that he was not allowed to hold on any more. Even if Yi Jianlian's personal social media is between the lines, he will still show unwillingness.

　　But as he wrote: "The heart that wants to run is ultimately a body that cannot beat the brakes." Moreover, his body has turned into the only banner of Chinese basketball in the past ten years.

　　In the past ten years, he has survived the longest dormant period in team history for Guangdong Hongyuan. In 2013, in the first year of returning to the CBA, he led the team to win the CBA championship, but at that time, the team still had "Wang 7" and "Zhu 8" carrying them together. In the following years, Beijing, Xinjiang and Liaoning have all become the main players of the Guangdong team.

Data Map: In the 2019 CBA Finals, Yi Jianlian led Guangdong to win again after six years. Image source: Osports All Sports Photo Agency

　　In the next 6 years without a championship, the Guangdong team experienced too many failures, but they still remain in the championship every year. The only reason is that they own Yi Jianlian. Until 2019, the champion returned to the South China Tigers, and Yi Jianlian was elected as the finals MVP for the third time in his career, and a new Hongyuan dynasty kicked off.

　　In the national team, since the post-Yao Ming era, Yi Jianlian has taken over the banner of the Chinese men's basketball team, but unlike Yao Ming, he has never been considered a winner from the outside world. As the only real top card of the Chinese men's basketball team, he has been struggling to support all the low points of the Chinese men's basketball team in the past ten years.

　　For more than ten years, he witnessed the unbridled celebration of Iranians on the rainy night in Tianjin in 2009, and also experienced the astonishment and helplessness when defeating Manila. For more than ten years, the Chinese men's basketball team led by Yi Jianlian had ups and downs in the Asian arena. Volt, 10 games were lost in the Olympic Games.

　　Even he himself once derided himself as a qualified leader: "I haven't won the game for so many years, and what I did is relatively poor."

Data map: In the semi-finals of the 2015 Men's Basketball Asian Championships against Iran against the Chinese men's basketball team, the Chinese men's basketball team defeated the Iranian team 70:57 to advance to the final. Photo by China News Agency reporter Yang Huafeng

　　But in fact, after two absolute troughs in the past ten years in 2009 and 2013, you can see his roar almost every time you face your old opponent; every time he is the leader, you will lose everything. The "field" was regained; every time the Chinese men's basketball team failed to re-establish their name, they were all done under the support of Yi Jianlian. From this point of view, Yi Jianlian deserves the title of "Big Brother".

　　He is the support that the Chinese men’s basketball team relies on most during the downturn. He is also the “leading brother” who has set up a door for Chinese basketball for more than ten years. This is a blessing for Chinese basketball; and he is also the only international player of Chinese basketball in the past ten years. , This has to be said to be the tragedy of Chinese basketball.

Data map: On the evening of September 8, 2019, Chinese team player Yi Jianlian was in the game. That night, the 17-32 qualifying round of the 2019 FIBA ​​Basketball World Cup continued. In a match in Group M in Guangzhou, China (white) lost 73 to 86 against Nigeria (green).

　　Every legend has an end, and every history has an end chapter. Even without this injury, you and I know that the "changing era" of Chinese basketball has come to an end. And the lingering sound of this period of reverberation is of course due to the persistence of "Big Brother", but also to the sight. The next flag bearer is hard to find.

　　He suffered an Achilles tendon injury at the age of 33. Even if he can recover, it will be a long process. Even if Yi Jianlian's state can be restored by then, there will probably be little left in his career. No matter how you say it, his unexpected fall this time will bring the end of an era and make the Chinese men's basketball team instantly transition to an unknown new era.

The picture shows Yi Jianlian was injured and fell to the ground without contact. Image source: Visual China

　　The men's basketball World Cup has returned unfailingly. The Chinese men's basketball team is almost destined to stay away from the highest stage of world basketball in a short period of time. This is of course regrettable, but for young people, it means that they will get more opportunities, less pressure, and broader space.

　　As we get closer, in the Olympic men's basketball qualifiers a year later, Chinese basketball will no longer have "big brother" shelter. And in the more distant future, will Yi Jianlian's name appear again in the heart of world basketball with the Chinese men's basketball team? Everything is unknown, but I only hope that Chinese basketball and Yi Jianlian will reconnect on the international stage in the future, and the UAE can say one thing frankly—

　　"I haven't been a big brother for many years." (Author Li He)