news

한어Русский языкEnglishFrançaisIndonesianSanskrit日本語DeutschPortuguêsΕλληνικάespañolItalianoSuomalainenLatina

When the commentator used the term "former NBA player" to describe Guerrón Yabusele, people seemed to have forgotten his NBA experience.

In fact, Yabusele's NBA career lasted only two seasons, and he played only 74 regular season games and 16 playoff games. The last time he played in the NBA was five years ago.

In terms of the length of his NBA career, Yabusele's two years were not even average. What's more, he was the 16th pick in the first round of the 2016 draft, which is even more disappointing.

But after the 2024 Paris Olympics, Yabusele returned to the NBA.

He signed a $2.1 million veteran minimum salary with the 76ers, which is less than the $2.24 million in the first year of his rookie contract.

His buyout fee from his former club Real Madrid increased from 1 million to 2.5 million after July 15. According to NBA regulations, the 76ers can only offer a maximum buyout fee of 850,000 this season, so Yabusele may have to pay some money after paying taxes this year.

But he came back anyway.

In the 2016 NBA Draft, Yabusele, who was expected to be selected in the late first round or early second round, was selected by the Celtics with the 16th pick in the first round, which caused some surprise. Even he himself said: "I didn't expect my name to be called so early."

But the personnel director at the time, Ainge, had been fond of him for a long time. Ainge said, "I am very satisfied with him. His advantage is that he has an excellent physique and can play multiple positions, whether it is the fourth or fifth position, he can do it. And as an inside player, his three-point shooting and passing are very good."

Jaylen Brown also said, "That kid is a monster. I've never seen anyone so big and so agile."

Yabusele, who registered as only 2.03 meters tall and weighs 117 kilograms, described himself like this: His favorite player since childhood was Larry Johnson, and he would learn his confrontation skills and outside shooting choices. He also admired Karl Malone. Both of them are top power forwards who are not particularly tall but are known for their versatility and strong confrontation.

In the version at that time, short and strong inside players like Yabusele were very popular, and people believed that he could develop in the direction of Draymond Green.

It’s just a pity that the Celtics have no place for Yabusele at all.

The salary structure and the role in the team were both tight, so the Celtics suggested that Yabusele go out to practice for a year. It turned out that this choice was absolutely a win-win situation. Yabusele joined the Shanghai Sharks. Fredette's assists made it easy for him to score points, and domestic players made him grab rebounds fiercely. After the season ended, Yabusele averaged 20.9 points and 9.4 rebounds per game, and successfully got the Celtics' contract, a 2+1+1 rookie standard contract.

"I saw a lot of possibilities in him. I went to Shanghai and everyone told me how happy they were to be with him," Ainge said. "They liked his big smile and cheerful personality. A lot of people in Shanghai knew him. I joked with him that going to China made him more cheerful. Every time he made a three-pointer or a dunk, he would do a different dance to celebrate."

This earned him the nickname, "Dancing Bear".

Moreover, he also won the respect of fans in the CBA: in the away game between Shanghai and Liaoning, Yabusele gave up the opportunity to force a 2+1, and instead protected Guo Ailun who had lost his balance in the air at the first time. The titles of "a breath of fresh air in the CBA" and "heartwarming little bear" followed one after another.

"I think last year I felt like he could do something," frontcourt partner Al Horford said. "It just wasn't really his time yet."

Head coach Stevens gave the same evaluation. "I think Guerchon can not only play the 5 position, but also move at the 4 position, which may make us have some advantages against some small lineups," Stevens said. "I think his low-post skills and rebounding ability are very important for us."

But this time it was still unfortunate that he happened to catch up with the year when the Celtics underwent a major change.

In the summer of 2017, the Celtics signed Irving and Hayward in the free agent market at the same time, and selected Tatum with the third pick. In addition, they signed Theis and rookie Ojeleye as free agents, and traded Bradley for Morris Jr. at the last minute. The Celtics have a large number of players in reserve on the front line and inside. It was not until February that Yabusele got his first playing time of more than 10 minutes in a single game.

In the second season, they selected Robert Williams again. Yabusele still didn't get many opportunities and could only switch between the roles of NBA water cooler manager and Development League main player. In the blink of an eye, it was summer again.

The Celtics frontcourt in the 2018-19 season

Yabusele, who had already executed the third year of his contract, was directly cut by the Celtics. The Celtics would rather pay his remaining 3.12 million in installments than give this first-round pick another chance. So his next stop was back in the CBA, this time with the Nanjing Tongxi team.

After leaving the CBA, he joined Tony Parker's Aswell team, and a year later joined the Spanish giants Real Madrid. The dancing bear who always had a smile on his face seemed to have become a completely different person in the European arena. He choked Exum on the court and was banned from participating in the Champions League final.

However, it was also at Real Madrid that he began to realize his desire for the game. In the words of his coach and teammates, his persistence in the game raised his spiritual attributes to a higher level.

"You can hear from teammates and fans that it's not over until the last minute, and that's something that's in our DNA," he said.

"I saw so many senior players in this amazing team who never gave up and worked hard. They didn't have any other tricks. In the particularly tough battles, they said, all we can do is try to persevere."

But whether in the CBA or Real Madrid, what Yabusele wants most is to prove that he belongs in the NBA. When he met the Celtics' team reporters during the Olympics, he would joke, "You have to talk to them and sign me back."

The Olympics is indeed Yabusele's best memory: At the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, Yabusele played with the French team for the first time, and they won the silver medal. After the Olympics, Real Madrid paid the transfer fee and brought him to Spain.

And three years later in Paris, in his native country, Yabusele once again showed basketball fans around the world his current strength.

In the quarterfinals against Canada, he scored 22 points and 5 rebounds; in the semifinals against Germany, he scored 17 points and 7 rebounds on 7 of 11 shots, helping France advance to the finals. FIBA ​​officials commented: "He has transformed from a 'dancing bear' to a 'knockout king.'"

In an interview before the final, he complained: "Everyone is talking about the American men's basketball team. Even the French media are talking about the American men's basketball team endlessly, and rarely mention the French men's basketball team. So we want to beat them."

In the final matchup against the United States, Yabusele really made himself the focus of the spotlight - he scored a record 15 points in the first half, and before the end of the half, he made a shocking one-arm dunk that knocked LeBron down.

Although the French team lost and won the silver medal, the whole world has already known that the French men's basketball team is not only capable of playing with Wen Banyama, Gobert and Fournier. Yabusele's strength is far beyond some NBA players.

After the game, he was selected to the Olympic Games Best Second Team. He was the only non-NBA player among the 10 players in the best team.

That’s why after the Olympic finals, Yabusele made a public statement to the NBA, “I’ve been waiting for my second chance, and I’m ready.”

He really did it.

Indeed, this base salary of 2.1 million is not impressive, and Yabusele needs to pay 2.5 million to buy out the remaining contract, and he may have to pay to play in the first year. But on the other hand, in August when the recruitment has already ended, he can still get a guaranteed spot, which is enough to show that Yabusele is really valued by the 76ers.

The second journey to the NBA was a time of dormancy, a temporary solution, but also a time of rebirth and preparation for a breakthrough.

From the age of 23 to 28, these five years did not disappear. Yabusele used these five years to tell everyone that as long as you have a goal, you should pursue it.

The road ahead may be dark, but at some point, the end may be at your feet.