Chinese star unfazed by expectations in WNBA

Billed as the Yao Ming of the women's game, Chinese WNBA player Han Xu is beginning to live up to the hefty expectations on her shoulders as she adapts to the American league.

After spending her rookie season in 2019 almost completely on the bench, and then missing the next two campaigns due to the pandemic, the young center has begun to make her presence felt in the WNBA this year with much-improved performances on both ends of the floor for the New York Liberty.

With more minutes on court and better chemistry with teammates, Han has averaged 10.1 points and five rebounds in nine games for New York so far this regular season, up from just three points and 0.8 rebounds in 2019.

Game by game, her confidence is steadily growing since rejoining the Liberty in April for preseason camp.

Han's 15 points in New York's 88-69 thrashing of the Minnesota Lynx on Tuesday was the highest tally of her WNBA career to date. In 25 minutes on the court, she shot six of 12 from the field while draining all three of her free throws, to go with five rebounds and one steal.

It was the sixth game that Han had scored in double digits since her season-opener on May 11, making her one of five Liberty players to do so every game, despite playing an average of just 18.8 minutes, the fourth fewest in the team.

Citing lessons learned from her lackluster rookie season, Han attributed her breakout to much better acclimation this term.

"I think it's because I've got used to everything in the league better and quicker this time," said the 22-year-old, who was selected by the Liberty 14th overall in the 2019 draft.

"A lot of the credit goes to my coach and teammates, who helped me a lot on and off the court to get familiar with the training schemes, our plays and life around the league.

"Ultimately, I now feel more comfortable playing and living here."

Playing in a city with a big overseas Chinese community and with a team backed by billionaire owner Joe Tsai, a co-founder of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, Han finds herself constantly compared with the legendary Yao.

Chinese hoops fans have been eagerly awaiting the next big thing to emerge on the international stage, so knowing that she has big shoes to fill, Han prefers to embrace that challenge rather than shirk it.

"It's common for Joe to compare me to Yao because of my traits: Height, second woman drafted to the WNBA," Han told the South China Morning Post in an earlier interview through an interpreter. "I take this as an expectation that I should meet, and I'm here to accomplish this mission."

Han, whose long body frame, agility and soft shooting touch are undoubtedly reminiscent of Yao, reckons she knows what areas she needs to improve to emulate the hoops legend, who starred in the NBA from 2002-2011.

"Defensively, it's fine, but I need to grow stronger and do better in rebounds," said Han, who at 6-foot-10 (2.07 meters) is the tallest active player in the WNBA yet weighs only 87.5 kilograms.

"Offensively, my shooting is not quite stable. This is what I need to continue to work on," she added.

Hoops in the blood

Born to parents who were both basketball players, Han's talent was discovered and developed first in China's high-school league and later in the WCBA, representing Xinjiang, before her potential attracted international attention at the 2018 FIBA Women's World Cup.

Facing several of her future WNBA teammates, Han scored 20 points against eventual champion Team USA in a group game at that tournament in Spain, before helping China beat Canada with 12 points and nine rebounds in a decisive ranking game.

At last year's delayed Tokyo Olympics, Han played an average of 15.5 minutes across four games, averaging 9.5 points, 7.3 rebounds and two blocks per night while shooting an efficient 60 percent from the field to help China reach the quarterfinals.

During China's undefeated group play, Han and her teammates bested the Australian Opals, a squad led by current Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello and featuring current teammates Sami Whitcomb and Rebecca Allen.

"I've obviously coached against her a lot with the Opals and it's been really fun to see her development," Brondello said of Han's progress earlier this season.

"She actually moves really well. She's very skilled for a big player. Great chemistry. Good, good hands. So I'm excited just to keep building it up and see how we can use her, because she certainly has the ability."

Han hopes Team China will soon reap the benefits of her WNBA journey as she bids to become a more complete player.

"I need to train for a more versatile role and be good at my 3s and be more athletic and be able to get up and down the court quicker," she said. "I just try to elevate my game through my experience in the WNBA to eventually help the national team achieve greater results."

sunxiaochen@chinadaily.com.cn