At halftime in the men's basketball final of the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, Yao Ming, president of the Chinese Basketball Association, said to Iran's Hamad Haddadi: "Are you ready?At that time, Iran led by as many as 16 points in the half, and Haddadi asked with a confused face what to prepare, Yao Ming left a classic, "Prepare a new pair of shoes, a pair of new lungs, my people will run you to death in the second half!."”
The story really went according to Yao Ming's envisioned route, and the Chinese men's basketball team made great progress to complete the reversal, defeating Iran and winning the Asian Games, which was the last time the Chinese men's basketball team won the Asian championship. What makes Yao Ming so confident is the powerful legs of the men's basketball team, and Abdul Salamu, who scored 20 points all over the court, instantly became one of the most moving moments of the men's basketball team in recent years. Five years have passed, the Chinese men's basketball team has continued to decline, and it is no longer as brave as it used to be, and the hot-blooded young man in that team, Abdul Salamu, has experienced the ups and downs of his career in the past five years, and finally washed away the lead. He is like a snowlotus seed on the Tianshan Mountain, from germination to moss flowering, it takes several years to hibernate before he has a peerless appearance.
The men's basketball final of the Jakarta Asian Games was a watershed in Abdul Salamu's career, and before that, although he had several famous scenes, such as the 2014 Youth League basketball shootout to help Xinjiang win the first national championship in team history, the first CBA championship in team history with Xinjiang in 2017, and the 2017 National Games semifinals knocked out Guangdong 25+13 to advance to the finals in history, but in the league he only averaged 74 points for young players only. Looking through Haddadi's tired eyes, Abdul Salamu's energy exploded in the stadium and continued into the CBA. In the 18-19 season, he exploded and averaged 181 point 73 rebounds and won the league's most improved player award. In the 19-20 season, Zhou Qi returned to Xinjiang, and they once again attacked the championship, and this time Abdul Salamu has obviously stood on the top of the court. When the spotlights came over, Abdul Salamu didn't enjoy too many flowers and applause. On Christmas Day 2019, Xinjiang faced Beijing, and he left the field unexpectedly injured in the first minute of the game, and was diagnosed with a rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee after the game, which is also known as ACL. This is a recognized natural enemy of players in the basketball world, and there are not a few players who have suffered a serious injury and even retired after a significant decline.
Yao Ming had proudly dragged Haddadi's legs, and Abdul Salamu, who was running on the court, fell. By the time he stepped onto the CBA arena again, it was 354 days later, with a black hairband on his once handsome face, and thick protective gear wrapped around his once hot and powerful legs. In the first game of his comeback, Abdul Salamu made 0 of 7 shots and scored 0 points. That season, he averaged just 73 points, which is lower than the season before the Asian Games, and there has not been a game in the whole season that has exceeded 20 points, and the shooting percentage is only 388%, a career low, an average of only 31 rebound, only half of the peak. Before the injury, Abdul Salamu was known for his agile and elegant style of play, with a very high ball quotient and handsome appearance, which was loved by fans. Tall 2.03 meters, swinging forward, can not only eat small man like a big forward, but also complete a variety of ball-holding offenses like a small forward, 393% shooting, averaging 15 three-pointers. In the final against Iran, he shot inside and out, as if no one was in a no-man's land.
Abdul Salamu is better known for his runs and finishes in the transition between attack and defence. He is not a violent striker, but with a delicate touch and precise movement, coupled with a good ability to dominate the ball, he perfectly fits everything in the imagination of a modern striker, and with patience, he will surely become the lubricant and catalyst for most players. To put it simply, before the injury, Abdul Salamu was a hot-blooded player with comprehensive technical characteristics and a desire to fight. Players taller than him are not as fast as him, shorter than him is not as hard, as accurate than him is not as capable of dominating the ball, and players with better skills than him often do not have his physical strength and fighting spirit. However, at the age of 23, Abdul Salamu lost the athleticism he relied on to survive, and his basketball career fell to a freezing point. After a long period of ** and a slow recovery process in the first season after his return, Abdul Salamu finally broke out of his cocoon in the second year of his comeback and regained his sense of dominating the game. Staying healthy, he averaged 23 points per game in the '21-22 season4 rebounds and 38 assists, 1 steal and 1 block, won the local scoring title, scored 43 points in a battle with Liaoning, and scored a career-high 50 points against Fujian.