Liu Wei () is a retired Chinese basketball player who played as a

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

CBA career

Liu Wei played alongside his close friend

Yao Ming Yao Ming (; born September 12, 1980) is a Chinese basketball executive and former professional player. He played for the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) and the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Associa ...

for ten years on several youth teams and with 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 t ...

before Yao went on to play in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues i ...

with the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...

. Prior to the 2004-05 season, the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

signed Liu to their preseason roster. Liu was released by Sacramento at the end of training camp after playing in three games and averaging two points per game and four rebounds per game. Liu then returned to China to play for the Shanghai Sharks, carving out a career as one of the best ever players 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 ...

. After seventeen seasons playing for Shanghai, Liu decided to sign with the

Xinjiang Flying Tigers The Xinjiang Guanghui Flying Tigers () is a professional basketball team based in Ürümqi, Xinjiang, China. The team play its home games at the Hongshan Arena, which has a capacity for 3,800 spectators. The club joined the Chinese Basketb ...

National team career

Liu was a key member of 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 ...

that participated in the

2002 FIBA World Championship The 2002 FIBA World Championship was the 14th edition of the competition now known as the FIBA Basketball World Cup, the international world championship for men's basketball teams. The tournament held by the International Basketball Federation i ...

, the

2006 FIBA World Championship The 2006 FIBA World Championship was the 15th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's national teams. The tournament was hosted by Japan and held from 19 August to 3 September 2006. It was co-organised by ...

, and the

2010 FIBA World Championship The 2010 FIBA World Championship was the 16th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship contested by the men's national teams. The tournament ran from 28 August to 12 September 2010. It was co-organised by the Inte ...

. He was also selected to play on the Chinese national squads that competed at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

, the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nat ...

and the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, th ...

. In addition, Liu has also taken part in numerous

FIBA Asia Cup The FIBA Asia Cup (formerly the FIBA Asia Championship and ABC Championship) is an international basketball tournament which takes place every four years between the men's national teams of Asia and Oceania. Through the 2015 edition, the tourna ...

competitions.

Career statistics

CBA statistics

References

External links

FIBA ProfileProfile
at Eurobasket.com
Fourteen Years And Counting; The Legacy Of Liu Wei In Shanghai
1980 births Living people Basketball players from Shanghai Point guards Shanghai Sharks players Sichuan Blue Whales players Shooting guards Xinjiang Flying Tigers players Chinese men's basketball players Olympic basketball players for China Basketball players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 2012 Summer Olympics Asian Games medalists in basketball Asian Games gold medalists for China Asian Games silver medalists for China Basketball players at the 2002 Asian Games Basketball players at the 2006 Asian Games Basketball players at the 2010 Asian Games Medalists at the 2002 Asian Games Medalists at the 2006 Asian Games Medalists at the 2010 Asian Games 2010 FIBA World Championship players 2006 FIBA World Championship players 2002 FIBA World Championship players {{PRChina-basketball-bio-stub