MVP Officially Withdraws, Top Guard Also Absent, Further Weakening China Men’s Basketball Team

China’s men’s basketball team performed well during the latest FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers window, winning both games. They defeated Qatar by 26 points in the first game and narrowly beat Lebanon by 2 points in the second. Although the process of winning was not particularly convincing, for the current China team, getting victories is what matters; an unattractive win is still a win.

China’s next basketball assignment will be the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. Recently, the Chinese sports delegation was established and held a mobilization meeting in Beijing, with Hu Mingxuan attending the event as the representative athlete of China’s men’s basketball team.

The roster for China’s men’s basketball team at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games has also been finalized. The players are Cui Yongxi, Hu Jinqiu, Jiao Boqiao, Li Hongquan, Liao Sanning, Zhao Jiayi, Zhu Junlong, Hu Mingxuan, Li Yuezhou, Pang Zhenglin, Wang Junjie and Yu Jiahao.

The biggest difference between this roster and the previously leaked list online is that He Xining withdrew and Cui Yongxi was included. In addition, Zhao Rui is still not on the roster, indicating that he will not represent China’s men’s basketball team this summer.

As currently China’s strongest guard, Zhao Rui averaged 13.5 points, 3.7 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.4 steals per game at last year’s FIBA Asia Cup, leading the team to a runner-up finish. His absence from national team games is indeed a disappointment.

He Xining was the CBA regular-season MVP for the 2025-26 season. He has strong individual ability, but his role in national team games was unclear, his performances fluctuated significantly, and he did not deliver particularly outstanding displays. Therefore, with Cui Yongxi returning after recovering from injury, He Xining was adjusted out of the squad. He arranged a half-month individual training program in the United States before returning to China to prepare for the new CBA season.

It remains to be seen what kind of result China’s men’s basketball team can achieve at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. We wish them all the best.