Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barret yesterday declared October 7 'Yi Jianlian Day' to the loud applause of the Chinese basketball player's fans.

 

This is the second festival named after a Chinese basketball player following Houston's announcement in 2002 that December 11 is 'Yao Ming Day.'

 

Yi's fans held a reception at Bradley Center yesterday, attended by more than 500 fans and VIPs including Senator Herb Kohl, who owns Yi's new team the Milwaukee Bucks, Mayor Tom Barret and Huang Ping, the Consul General of China in Chicago.

 

Yi, Milwaukee's top draft pick this year, signed a multi-year contract with the Milwaukee Bucks in August after lengthy negotiations amid talk he and his handlers weren't happy he was taken by the team.

 

His US agent Dan Fegan said Yi's contract was worth "roughly US$3 million" a year, guaranteed for the first two years pursuant to an NBA collective bargaining arrangement for rookies.

Milwaukee Bucks' Yi Jianlian of China claps hands with fans before the team's opening scrimmage of the new season at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, October 6, 2007. Yi got 10 points and five rebounds during his first appearance at the Bucks' home count.

Milwaukee Bucks' Yi Jianlian of China jumps to shoot during the team's opening scrimmage of the new season at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, October 6, 2007.

Milwaukee Bucks' Yi Jianlian of China gets treatment after hurting his nose during the team's opening scrimmage of the new season at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, October 6, 2007.

(Shanghai Daily October 8, 2007)