Gong Xiaobin (; born November 23, 1969 in

Jinan Jinan (), Postal Map Romanization, alternately romanization of Chinese, romanized as Tsinan, is the Capital (political), capital of Shandong province in East China, Eastern China. With a population of 9.2 million, it is the second-largest city i ...

Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...

), is a retired

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player, who enjoyed an outstanding career in the

Chinese Basketball Association The Chinese Basketball Association (), often abbreviated as the CBA, is the first-tier professional men's basketball league in China. The league is commonly known by fans as the CBA, and this acronym is even used in Chinese on a regular basis ...

(CBA). At 2.03 m (6'8"), and 104 kg (230 lbs.), he played at the

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers. When on Of ...

and

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

positions. In 1990, he was chosen as one of

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

's 50 all-time greatest basketball players.

Early life

In 1982, Gong began to play for the Shandong Province youth

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

team, and in 1986, at the age of 17, he was selected to the Chinese national Under-19 team. In 1988, Gong competed in a national urban

tournament, and was chosen as an outstanding player; he was also listed as one of China's top ten basketball players of that year; in 1989, at the age of 20, Gong joined the

Chinese national basketball team The China men's national basketball team (nickname ''Team Dragon'') represents the People's Republic of China in international basketball tournaments. The national team is governed by the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). Based on the numb ...

Professional career

In the

(CBA), Gong played at the

position for the

Shandong Lions Shandong Hi-Speed Kirin () is a Chinese professional basketball team based in Jinan, Shandong, which plays in the Northern Division of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). Some home games are held in the nearby city of Linyi. The Hi-Speed Gr ...

, and in the 1997–98 season, he won the league's scoring title and regular season MVP award. He was named to the list of the 50 greatest Chinese basketball players of the second half of the 20th century. As a basketball player, Gong Xiao Bin represented his native Shandong Province, both as a sports role model, and as a player, leading the Shandong men's team at the Chinese National Games, including the 1997 games in Shanghai, at which the Shandong Province finished 3rd overall.

Chinese national team

As a member of the senior men's

, Gong competed for China in the 1989 Asian Games, the

1994 FIBA World Championship The 1994 FIBA World Championship was the 12th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's teams. The tournament was hosted by Canada from August 4 to 14, 1994. The tournament was held at SkyDome and Maple L ...

, and in the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

. In 2002, at the age of 33, he was still playing internationally, representing China in the Asian games and the FIBA World Championship.

Coaching career

Gong retired from his career as a basketball player in 2003, and he began a new career coaching basketball, for the CBA's

References

*This article originally translated from :zh:巩晓彬

External links