Li Nan's most controversial choice! Failed to be selected for three warm-up games in five years and sat on the bench.

On August 29th, Beijing time, DreamWeaver58.com announced that the Chinese men’s basketball team officially announced the 12-man roster for the World Cup. This roster is not much different from outside predictions, but it is obvious that the forward position is the weakest link of the Chinese men's basketball team. In the end, Li Nan did not choose to recruit a new No. 3 position, but decided to bring 5 guards.

Without Zhou Peng and Ding Yanyuhang, now the only authentic small forwards in the men's basketball team at the 3rd position are Zhai Xiaochuan and Kolan Bek. Abdul Saramu is actually the swingman at positions 3 and 4.

The luckiest person on this list is undoubtedly Kolan Bek. Five years ago, he was selected for the national team for the first time, but he has never represented the national team in any major competition. He failed to qualify for the Asian Games in 2014, the Asian Championships in 2015, and the Rio Olympics in 2016. In the end, he will make his national team debut in the World Cup held at home.

Kolanbek's selection is partly thanks to Zhou Peng and Ding Yanyuhang. If it weren't for their injuries, Kolanbek would never have had a chance to play in the World Cup.

However, Li Nan also faced a lot of controversy when he brought Kolan Bek. Yes, in the league, Kolanbek was the hero that helped Xinjiang reach the finals. He averaged 7.4 points per game and shot 41% from three-point range. In the second game against Liaoning in the semifinals, he made 5 of 8 three-pointers and scored 21 points, which is still impressive.

However, in the national team's warm-up matches this summer, Kolanbek didn't perform much, and he mostly played in garbage time. In the last 5 warm-up games of the men's basketball team, Kolanbek sat out 4 games and only played in the last game, playing 7 minutes, without scoring a point and making 2 turnovers.

So why did Li Nan take him with him? What Li Nan values ​​​​is the role of Kolanbek's locker room. In the warm-up match of the men's basketball team, Kolanbek was the player who worked the hardest to cheer for his teammates on the bench. He is also a fighter and is very diligent and hardworking in normal training. Li Nan needs him to boost the team's morale. After all, in the actual 12-man roster, only 10 people can have stable playing time at most, and the last two can lead almost everyone. The more important thing at this time is their off-field role.

However, the fans still didn't buy it and thought it would be better to bring Li Gen with Kolan Bek. Li Gen, who owns the domestic James City, is a veteran of the men's basketball team participating in the Rio Olympics. Last season, he still averaged 11.9 points per game and shot 38% from three-point range. He was also the hero of Xinjiang's promotion to the finals. However, Li Nan gave up on the 31-year-old Li Gen long ago and was not even shortlisted for the initial training squad.