Chinese basketball player Yi Jianlian finally signed a multi-year contract with Milwaukee Bucks in Hong Kong Wednesday to begin his NBA career.

Yi thus becomes the fourth Chinese basketball player to ply his trade in the NBA after Menk Bater, Wang Zhizhi and Yao Ming.

"We are very excited to associate ourselves with Alian (nickname for Yi Jianlian). He is an extraordinary person and a great basketball player," said Herb Kohl, owner of the Bucks, at a press conference after the contract signing. "Alian will be a great addition to the NBA and of course to the Bucks."

At the press conference, Yi said he was glad to join the Bucks and would do his best to meet new challenges ahead. "To play in NBA is my goal," he said.

Yi is expected to attend the Bucks' training camp from October 1 at the Bucks Training Center in St. Francis, WI, said Larry Harris, general manager of the Bucks, pledging that the Bucks will do its most to make Yi the best basketball player.

Asked whether the contract would compensate Yi’s former club, Guangdong Hongyuan, Harris said that the contract was a standard NBA one which did not address the issue of compensation.

Yi played professionally for the Guangdong Hongyuan of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) from the 2002-03 season, when he was awarded Rookie of the Year honors. He has competed in the last five CBA Finals and won titles in 2004, 2005 and 2006, earning the Finals' Most Valuable Player award in 2006.

He played for the Chinese national team at the 2004 Olympics in Athens and the 2006 FIBA World Championship in Japan.

(Xinhua News Agency August 30, 2007)