NBA star Yi Jianlian returns to CBA

NBA basketball star Yi Jianlian has returned to his homeland to help Guangdong win the Chinese basketball championships, sohu.com reported.

The 24-year-old, who has most recently played for the Dallas Mavericks in the US, has signed a one year deal for the coming CBA season, according to Liu Hongjiang, general manager of Guangdong team.

Yi will travel to Taipei on Sept 25 to watch his teammates play in the 2012 ABA Championship.

Yi had performed well in the 2012 London Olympics, with 14.8 points and 10.2 rebounds each game. He returned to the US after the summer Games, but was unable to secure a place in the NBA ahead of the new season. It was reported a number of European teams showed interest, but Yi decided to return home.

Yi played in NBA for five years for the Milwaukee Bucks, Brooklyn Nets, Washington Wizards and Dallas Mavericks. On average, he got 7.9 points and 4.9 rebounds every 22.2 minutes. His best performance was in the 09-10 season, when he contributed to the Brooklyn Nets 12 points and 7.1 rebounds each game.

Yi has signed a full season contact with Guangdong, which means he will play for the team until next March to April. He hopes to help Guangdong win the CBA championships and return to the NBA next summer.