Here it comes! Cui Yongxi makes a highly anticipated debut! He has been absent from the Chinese men's basketball team for two years.

The 12-man roster for the Chinese men's basketball team's opening game against Serbia's KK FMP Club features predominantly young players from the short-term training camp, listed below:

Guards: Liao Sanning, Jiang Weize, Pang Zhenglin, Feng Ao, Zhao Weilun;

Forwards: Zou Yang, Jiang Haoran, Zhao Jiayi, Cui Yongxi, Wang Junjie;

Centers: Xu Xin, Jiao Boqiao.

Best rookie, All-CBA First Team, and All-Star starter Pang Zhenglin (Jiangsu), Xinjiang rookie Feng Ao, NCAA guard Zhao Weilun, Jiangsu forward Jiang Haoran, and Most Improved Player Xu Xin (Guangzhou) are all expected to make their senior national team debuts.

It is especially worth noting thatCui Yongxi returns to the Chinese men's basketball jersey after two years. His last FIBA appearance for the national team was the Asian Qualifiers in February 2024.After that, many things happened to him—signing a two-way contract with the Brooklyn Nets, suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, and being traded from the Guangzhou team to the Guangdong team, among others.

In his first year with Guangdong, Cui Yongxi, who had high expectations placed on him, failed to meet them. This regular season, he played 15 games all off the bench, averaging 17.3 minutes, 7.4 points, and 2.9 rebounds per game, with shooting percentages of 39.8%, 34.6%, and 76% for field goals, three-pointers, and free throws, respectively. In the playoffs, he appeared in 6 games off the bench, averaging 15 minutes, 2.8 points, and 2.3 rebounds, with shooting percentages of 33.3% and 20% for two-pointers and three-pointers.

If Guangdong's championship coach Du Feng doesn't have the manual for using Cui Yongxi, then current Chinese men's basketball head coach Guo Shiqiang certainly does.

Remember, Cui Yongxi played for the Guangzhou team under Guo Shiqiang for two seasons. The two were both teacher and friend, achieving success together.

Now, in his return to the national team debut, Cui Yongxi reunites with Guo Shiqiang. Perhaps he can regain his form and prove himself. He urgently needs a standout performance to declare his rebirth, rather than showing a cliff-like decline after a major injury and losing his former prowess.

Born on May 28, 2003, Cui Yongxi has just turned 23. Standing at about 2 meters tall with a wingspan of 2.07 meters, he is a versatile wing player with ball-handling skills and abilities on both ends of the floor. His future is still very promising, and he will be an important part of the Chinese men's basketball team.

Finally, we look forward to the performance of "the best summer job player" Wang Junjie. Last year at the Asian Cup, he averaged 13 points and 4.2 rebounds per game, with shooting percentages of 56.1% and 47.8% for field goals and three-pointers, making great contributions to the Chinese men's basketball team's runner-up finish and earning a spot on the All-Tournament Team.