Former NBA 7-footer playing in this week's DP World Tour event

The DP World Tour starts its Asian Swing at this week's Hainan Classic, but the most familiar face in the field for Chinese fans might be someone who played in the NBA.

That's because 7-footer Yi Jianlian is teeing it up in the event as an amateur. If you're a basketball sicko, you surely remember the former first-round pick (No. 6 overall!) of the Milwaukee Bucks back in 2007.

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Over five seasons in Milwaukee, New Jersey, Washingtong and Dallas, Yi averaged 7.9 points and 4.9 rebounds. He then went back to the Chinese Basketball Association and dominated, winning six CBA titles and three Finals MVPs.

Apparently, the 38-year-old is an avid golfer now. He played in the 2024 Volvo China Open Pro-Am with Haotong Li and attended the Players Championship as a fan that year. And as the DP World Tour announced on Tuesday, he's in the field at Mission Hills.

We don't know much about Yi's golf game, but that swing looks pretty smooth. Certainly a lot better than fellow Chinese basketball legend Yao Ming:

Anyway, good luck to Yi this week. At the very least, he has to be breaking the record for tallest DP World Tour player ever.

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