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late at night on september 20, beijing time, the agency of chinese player choi young-hee officially confirmed that the 21-year-old choi young-hee signed a two-year two-way contract with the nba brooklyn nets. the nets' official social media later confirmed the news. according to nba contract specifications, a two-way contract is a contract that allows a team to add players outside the regular season lineup. players who sign a two-way contract are called two-way players. in principle, two-way players are development league players, but they can also play in the nba (only for the parent team of the development league team). they can play a maximum of 50 nba regular season games in a season and cannot play in the playoffs. but they can train with the team and go on away games.

on the morning of the 21st, beijing time, choi young-hee, who was far away on the other side of the ocean, shared his experience of pursuing his dreams this summer with a reporter from the yangcheng evening news, and also disclosed more details behind the signing.

the twists and turns of the two-way contract

although he can only be regarded as a "temporary worker" for the nets, being able to win a two-way contract is a big breakthrough for chinese basketball today. you know, choi young-hee is the first chinese player to enter the nba in five years. the last time a chinese player appeared in an official nba game was in the 2018-2019 season when zhou qi played for the houston rockets. li qun, a guangdong basketball legend and principal of dongguan basketball school who has coached choi young-hee for a long time and played a great role in the latter's growth, described this signing as a "big surprise": "i have experienced the draft of yi jianlian and have lived with him in the united states for a long time, but this time it is our own child who has been trained since childhood who has entered the nba, which no one expected."

choi young-hee seemed calm about the signing: "my mood didn't change much after (seeing the nets' official announcement), just like when i was training in brooklyn these days, but i might feel more at ease in my heart." although choi young-hee's expression was calm, everyone knew the hardships and twists and turns of his dream-chasing journey this summer - he first went to the united states to train and prepare for the draft, and after being eliminated, he tried out for many teams and won the opportunity to represent the portland trail blazers in the summer league, and finally signed with the nets, the first team to try out. but choi young-hee seemed particularly calm when looking back on his experience this summer: "since i went to the united states, i wanted to find the gap with them outside and then improve myself. being elected was not my initial goal. it is enough to have the opportunity to improve in the summer league. it is best to be able to land successfully."

before the official announcement of the signing of choi young-hee, the nets had just used up another two-way contract quota on jaylen martin a few days ago. talking about the days before the nets' official announcement, choi young-hee admitted that he was "uncertain". he also disclosed more details about the team's choice to sign two-way players to the yangcheng evening news reporter: "(whether it can be signed in the end) is actually a two-way process. in addition to my own performance, it also depends on the communication between the team's top management and coaches. first of all, i need to show good performance in the tryout and summer league. in addition, it depends on whether the player can play a role in the lineup. i need to satisfy the coach and management. this is the key to finally getting the contract."

after the 2024 nba draft, choi young-hee immediately began trying out for multiple teams to get a chance to participate in the summer league. the brooklyn nets was his first team to try out. choi young-hee's performance in that tryout left a deep impression on the team's general manager sean marks, and his performance and character were also initially recognized by the team. in the subsequent summer leagues, choi young-hee had several encounters with the team's management, including sean, but the two sides did not communicate about the contract. "in fact, after returning to china (some time ago), i had been waiting for news from the trail blazers, but i didn't expect the news from the nets to come first. i made a slight choice and finally decided to sign with the nets."

this summer, jeremy lin, who sparked the "linsanity" craze in new york 12 years ago, also gave choi young-hee a lot of targeted suggestions. "brother hao told me that the yellow race will be subject to some prejudice here, and asked me to be tougher in training and games. they don't like players who are not tough in conflicts. if you want to compete with hundreds of the best players in the world on the same field, you first need to keep a stable mentality and perform stably in the face of trash talk. in addition, brother hao also told me that i should integrate into the team in terms of personality, live with my teammates, and try to be extroverted." choi young-hee said.

more intense competition within the team after signing

the nets are indeed a better choice than the trail blazers: although both are "bottom-feathered teams", the nets have better management and reconstruction goals than the trail blazers, but the competition within the team is also very fierce. after choi young-hee signed the contract, the nets have an excess of personnel reserves on the front line and have become a veritable "forward team" - in addition to all-star player ben simmons, the team also has cameron johnson, bojan bogdanovic, finney-smith and other forwards with starting ability. in addition, choi young-hee also needs to compete for playing time with players such as jaylen wilson, zaiel williams, trendon watford, whitehead, and noah clowney. "the living environment in the nba is actually more difficult than in china. difficulties such as daily life and language barriers require choi young-hee to bear extra pressure in addition to training and competition. this kind of competition is often very fierce." however, coach li qun is also very optimistic about choi young-hee's prospects: "choi young-hee has experience living and training in australia, and he adapts quickly to the language and culture. in addition to physical and technical abilities, the nba also pays special attention to the players' ability to adapt to the situation on the spot. in terms of adaptability on the spot, choi young-hee may be the best player in china. in addition, choi young-hee has very clear and definite goals for himself. when he sets a goal, he will go all out to strive for it. this is a trait that many of our chinese players do not have. when i asked choi young-hee before leaving for the united states whether he had any psychological assumptions about the difficulties he was about to face, his answers were 'very difficult' and 'i am sure i can do it'. i sincerely wish choi young-hee to seize every opportunity."

however, for now, his height of 201 cm and 97 kg is not enough to help him gain a foothold in the no. 3 position (small forward). therefore, in the upcoming new season, choi young-hee may appear more often in the no. 1 and no. 2 positions. this is also the consensus of choi young-hee's team and coach li qun. when talking about the team positioning he is about to face, choi young-hee has clear expectations and preparations. he admits that he needs to start with being a "3d player" (i.e. a role player who takes on the responsibility of receiving the ball, shooting three-pointers and defending on the court): "i have to do what i can do well on the court. it is impossible to compete with the top five players in the team for the ball. the first thing for young players is to defend, and the second thing is to seize all opportunities created by the team's star players and seize the opportunity ball. at all times, i have to do a good job of execution and concentration on the court." choi young-hee also has a very clear understanding of the changes in basketball environment and positions: "in the 'small ball' era, there is no clear division of positions on the court. a person may need to switch back and forth between different positions. this is the current trend of basketball. only when i do a good job in '3d' can i explore other aspects of development."

the toughest nba development path

compared to predecessors such as battelle, wang zhizhi, yao ming, yi jianlian, sun yue, and zhou qi, choi young-hee's path to the nba may be the most difficult one. he did not enter the nba directly through the draft, nor did he gain favor through his performance in international competitions in his mature period. some people commented that the path choi young-hee chose is the development path that many chinese players are most reluctant to try. after being undrafted, he fought for the opportunity of a two-way contract through tryouts and summer leagues. this means that choi young-hee will face the most intense competition in the early days of his entry into the nba without any team resources. choi young-hee said that he is trying to "take a path": "players like chairman yao and brother lian may only appear once in decades or nearly a hundred years, while players like us may only have a little talent and need to climb up little by little. this path may be very difficult, but it can still be very promising. if i can succeed in my attempt, i believe my experience can also help all players like me to bravely pursue their dreams."

in the process of trying to "find a way", perhaps only choi young-hee understands how much effort he has put in. coach li qun's comments on choi young-hee may be able to slightly prove this: "some of his qualities touched me very much. he once said that going to the united states for training this summer was to 'spend money to find gaps'. he is willing to sacrifice his body, his time and his money for his dream. he can give his all for basketball, and strive to seize every opportunity bit by bit, and finally turn himself into a player who can continue to compete on this platform. this may be something that many young basketball players in china today cannot fully do."

"i don't know how many years i can stay here, how far i can go, and how much help i can provide for chinese basketball, but i only know that the longer i stay here, the more help i can provide to the team." choi young-hee admitted that he did not dare to say that entering the nba would have any particular significance for chinese basketball. "my strength alone is not enough. i hope that more chinese players of my age and with the same talent level as me can come forward, so that everyone in the national team can have more comprehensive experience and ability, which can help chinese basketball more than me alone."

source:yangcheng evening news