2023 China Basketball Hall of Fame inductees unveiled

Chinese Basketball Association president Yao Ming announced the inductee list of the 2023 China Basketball Hall of Fame (HOF) on Thursday, with the induction ceremony set to be held in late January next year. 

The inductees include China's first national basketball team captain Huang Boling, the top scorer of the 1978 FIBA World Championship Zhang Weiping, and three-time Asian Championships guard Kuang Lubin as outstanding male athletes. 

Outstanding female athletes include Li Shihua, who served as the Chinese women's basketball captain from 1959 to 1972, as well as 1992 Barcelona Olympics silver medalists Liu Qing and Li Xin. 

Liu Guiyi, who first called on fast-paced basketball in China, and Chen Daohong, who led the Chinese women's basketball team to secure silver in the 1994 World Championship, were inducted as outstanding coaches. 

The "Battle Basketball Team" of the 120th Division of the Eighth Route Army and the Chinese women's basketball team at the Barcelona Olympics were inducted as "Special Tribute Collective" and "Outstanding Collective," respectively. 

Gong Peishan, widely regarded as the founder of the Chinese University Basketball Association (CUBA), was inducted as a "Special Contributor." 

"After the first recommendation event [2022 edition HOF], we found that under the original recommendation mechanism, basketball figures from earlier times were less likely to be recommended because contemporary people did not know them well. To respect history and consider the current situation, this year's event adopted the measure of recommending athletes over different periods," said HOF expert Jiang Jian as he elaborated on the details of this year's recommendation. 

"The more difficult the situation for Chinese basketball, the more it needs to find its own spirit and soul. The team should not just avoid losing games but also avoid losing spirit. History is the foundation of the Hall of Fame, and we should respect and review history, draw spirit and strength from history, and inspire generations of Chinese basketball players," said chief expert of the HOF Committee Li Yuanwei. 

(With input from Xinhua)