Yen Hsing-su (; born 8 September 1976), also known as Johnny Yen, is a Taiwanese basketball coach and former basketball player, singer and actor. Since 2017 he has been the assistant coach of the

Chinese Taipei men's national basketball team The Chinese Taipei men's national basketball team is the men's basketball team representing the Republic of China on Taiwan in international competitions, organised and run by the Chinese Taipei Basketball Association (CTBA; ). The team was known ...

. From 2015 to 2017 he coached the

Fubon Braves The Taipei Fubon Braves () are a professional basketball team, that currently plays in the Taiwanese P. League+, since the league's foundation in 2020. From 2014 to 2019, they played in the semi-professional Super Basketball League (SBL). They ...

in Taiwan's

Super Basketball League The Super Basketball League (超級籃球聯賽), often abbreviated as the SBL, is a semi-professional men's basketball list of basketball leagues, league in Taiwan. Current clubs Currently, there are four teams competing in the SBL. They are ...

. Nicknamed "The Basketball Genie" (籃球精靈) for his playmaking skills, Yen was a regular of the

Chinese Taipei national basketball team The Chinese Taipei men's national basketball team is the men's basketball team representing the Republic of China on Taiwan in international competitions, organised and run by the Chinese Taipei Basketball Association (CTBA; ). The team was know ...

from 1997 to 2003. At the

2003 ABC Championship The 2003 Asian Basketball Confederation Championship for Men was the qualifying tournament for the Basketball Tournament at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. The tournament was held in Harbin, China from September 23 to October 1, 2003. ...

, he led the tournament in

assist Assist or ASSIST may refer to: Sports Several sports have a statistic known as an "assist", generally relating to action by a player leading to a score by another player on their team: *Assist (basketball), a pass by a player that facilitates a ba ...

s (4.7 per game), but retired soon afterwards to pursue a career in entertainment. In the years to follow, he led the boy band

183 Club 183 Club is a Taiwanese boyband managed by Jungiery. In other words, 183 Club is part of J-Star. Originally they were called "183 Yu Le Bu," meaning "183 Entertainment Group," but it was later decided that the name should be shortened to what it ...

and also starred in many popular TV dramas. He returned to professional basketball in 2007 and permanently retired in 2010. He has played professionally in both Taiwan (

Chinese Basketball Alliance The Chinese Basketball Alliance (; CBA) was a men's professional basketball league in Taiwan that existed from 1995 to 1999. Also abbreviated as "CBA", the defunct organization based in Taiwan was distinct from the Chinese Basketball Association ...

) and mainland China (

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 ...

Basketball career

Yen was a high school star back in

Private NanShan Senior High School Private Nanshan Senior High School (NSSH; ) is a school in Zhonghe District, New Taipei, Taiwan. The current principal is Wu Po Chen (吳柏成). School badge The school badge of NSSH is a stylised version of the ancient rendition of the Chinese ...

and turned professional in 1995 with the Tera Mars (later

Kaohsiung Kaohsiung City (Mandarin Chinese: ; Wade–Giles: ''Kao¹-hsiung²;'' Pinyin: ''Gāoxióng'') is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsi ...

and BCC Mars) in the

of Taiwan. As starting

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the five Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position. Point guards are expected to run t ...

, he led the league in assists for the 1997-1998 season and was then ranked among the best and brightest next-generation backcourt players in Taiwan. He was also selected to the

Chinese Taipei "Chinese Taipei" is the term used in various international organizations and tournaments for groups or delegations representing the Republic of China (ROC), a country commonly known as Taiwan. Due to the One-China principle stipulated by th ...

senior basketball team from 1997 until 2003. Around the start of the 21st century, however, Yen Hsing-su started to suffer from a succession of

knee In humans and other primates, the knee joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two joints: one between the femur and tibia (tibiofemoral joint), and one between the femur and patella (patellofemoral joint). It is the largest joint in the hu ...

injuries An injury is any physiological damage to living tissue caused by immediate physical stress. An injury can occur intentionally or unintentionally and may be caused by blunt trauma, penetrating trauma, burning, toxic exposure, asphyxiation, or ...

. In his last appearance on the national team, Yen led the FIBA Asian Championship in assists, signifying his ability to continuously compete at Asia's highest level of basketball if free from injury. Yet, he decided to become a full-time entertainer after completing the first season (2003–2004) of the newly founded

(SBL).Yen Hsing-su is among the few players who have played in both the Taiwanese CBA and the SBL. This was presumably due to the chronic knee problem and, arguably, the success of his new

entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have developed over thousa ...

career following the airing of ''

My MVP Valentine ''My MVP Valentine'' () is a 2002 Taiwanese romantic sports teen drama based loosely on two Japanese manga series: ''Slam Dunk'' and ''MVP wa Yuzurenai! (MVPは譲れない!；Can't Give up MVP!)''. Starring Chinese Taipei basketball star Johnny ...

'', a basketball-themed TV drama he starred in while healing the initial knee injury in 2002. In 2007, Yen returned to basketball when he signed with

Yunnan Bulls Yunnan Honghe Running Bulls () or Yunnan Honghe or Yunnan Running Bulls were a basketball team in the Southern Division of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA), based in Mengzi, Honghe, Yunnan (). They won the 2004 Chinese Basketball League ...

in the

mainland China "Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territories within Greater China. ...

to play in the 2007-2008 season. As a starter, he averaged 8.1 points and 5.2 assists (3rd in the league) in 22 games. After the season, he returned to Taiwan to play for

Taiwan Beer Taiwan Beer (, or ) is a large-market beer brewed by the Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corporation (TTL). The brand, an icon of Taiwanese culture, is the best-selling beer in the country. History The company today known as TTL, had its origins in ...

in the SBL where he won his only club

championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

title. In the ensuing 2009-2010 season, Yen once again joined the Chinese professional league to play for the

Shanghai Sharks The Shanghai Sharks () are a Chinese Basketball Association team based in Shanghai. It is best known outside China as the club that developed Yao Ming before he entered the National Basketball Association. With Yao on the team, the Sharks made ...

. Currently, Yen is an assistant coach in

Brigham Young University–Hawaii Brigham Young University–Hawaii (BYU–Hawaii) is a private university in Laie, Hawaii. It is owned and operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). BYU-Hawaii was founded in 1955, and became a satellite campus of ...

and a sports commentator at

FOX Sports Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world. The ''Fox Sports'' name has since been used for other sports media assets. These assets are held mainly by the Fo ...

Taiwan.

Filmography (TV Dramas)

External links

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Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yen, Hsing-su 1978 births Living people Taiwanese men's basketball players Taiwanese male television actors Fu Jen Catholic University alumni 183 Club members Sportspeople from New Taipei Taiwanese basketball coaches Point guards Shanghai Sharks players Taiwanese expatriate basketball people in China 21st-century Taiwanese male singers Musicians from New Taipei Male actors from New Taipei Taiwan Beer basketball players Taoyuan Pilots head coaches Chinese Taipei men's national basketball team players Chinese Taipei men's national basketball team coaches Super Basketball League players Mars basketball players Chinese Basketball Alliance players BCC Mars players