Los Angeles Lakers hosted an official media conference for its new Chinese player Yi Jianlian Friday at the team's training center.
Aided by an impressive individual performance at the recently concluded Rio de Janeiro Olympics, Yi was signed by the Lakers, one of the most popular National Basketball Association (NBA) team. Terms of the deal were not released.
"Going back to NBA feels both familiar and new," Yi told Xinhua and other local media reporters for the first time as an official Laker, "but it won't take too long for me to get use to it."
Yi has prior experience in the NBA. Drafted as the 6th overall pick by the Milwaukee Bucks in 2007, Yi last appeared in the NBA with the Dallas Mavericks in the 2011-2012 season. Over his five-year NBA career, the forward averaged 7.9 points and nearly 5 rebounds per game.
Although Lakers won the NBA Championship for 16 times, their performance was poor during the last two years.
However, Yi showed his confidence for the new season Friday.
"After Kobe's retirement, Lakers will start a new journey," Yi said, "we will go step by step in this new journey, try our best to win more games. The first goal it to get into the playoff."
A native of Guangdong Province, Yi competed for China at the Summer Games in Rio averaging 20.4 points and grabbing 6.6 rebounds. He also shot over 46 percent from three-point range. That included a stellar individual effort against the NBA All-Star-filled USA team where Yi dropped 25 and six boards on them in the Olympics, including two three-pointers.
As the 2016-2017 NBA preseason will kick off early October, Yi arrived at Los Angeles on September 2 and started his training right away, but he confessed that the team had not decided his position so far.
"Coach has not decided my position for yet," Yi said, "I can shoot three-point shot, I am good at spread the floor, I could be playing power forward or center."
