With drums booming and cymbals crashing, several hundred members of Wisconsin's Chinese community and others jammed an atrium at the Bradley Center to welcome the Milwaukee Bucks' top draft choice. Yi Jianlian's arrival from China was met with screams and loud applause when he made his entrance.
Bucks owner Herb Kohl, some team officials and players and various politicians joined Yi at the atrium.
With the help of a translator, Yi answered questions from the crowd.
Asked what excites him about playing in the NBA, Yi says it was a dream come true to come to the United States to play professional basketball.
Asked why he wears number 9, Yi says he wore the number in his first professional game and considers it to be his lucky number.
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
