In 2019, Li Yueru, who had just turned 20, participated in the WNBA draft and was selected by the Atlanta Dreams with the 11th pick in the third round (35th overall pick), but the Dream Team did not sign with Li Yueru at that time, and three years later, in 2022, the Dream Team traded Li Yueru's signing rights to the Los Angeles Sparks, and a month later, Li Yueru's signing rights were traded to the Chicago Sky.
It was with the Sky that Lee was offered her first official contract with the WNBA, and on May 29, she made her promotional debut against the Las Vegas Aces. That season, Li Yueru played 16 games, averaging only 51 minute out and took 18 points 15 rebounds, and later missed the game for a long time due to a third-degree cruciate ligament tear.
In July last year, Li Yueru announced that she would join the Turkish league Besiktas, and Li Yueru is a well-deserved inner core in this team, with a double-double of 22 points and 11 rebounds in a single game. Unfortunately, in the semifinals of the Turkish Cup, the Besiktas team lost 84-87 to the opponent and unfortunately went out, and Li Yueru got 13 points and 9 rebounds in that game.
With her wonderful performances in the Turkish league and the FIBA international stage, Li Yueru was once again favored by the Sparks in the past two days, and the Sparks made a deal with the Sky to send a No. 8 pick, which got Li Yueru and Julie Allemand and a three-round pick in 2025. In the new season, Li Yueru's salary is only 6$80,000, much less than the WCBA.
Unlike two years ago, the Sparks promised to give Li Yueru a steady playing time, and Sparks head coach Miller said: "Li Yueru has performed very well in Turkey this season and will play an important role in the next Olympic journey of the Chinese women's basketball team." Li Yueru is very good in shape and will provide good help to the team's interior in the future. ”
Li Yueru has indeed improved in recent years, which is an important reason why the Sparks have made two completely different decisions for Li Yueru in 2022 and 2024, and her progress is visible to the naked eye, especially in the Chinese women's national basketball team, from 2022 to 2023, Li Yueru helped the Chinese women's basketball team win the World Cup runner-up, the Asian Cup championship and the Asian Games championship as the main center.
However, objectively speaking, Li Yueru also has a lot of shortcomings, her body is relatively large, moves slowly, and does not have a relatively stable range, in terms of defense, the best may be limited to the basket, leaving the basket, Li Yueru's threat is greatly reduced. At the same time, on the offensive end, the grasp under the basket is not particularly high, and she relies more on the frontcourt rebounds to maintain firepower, and her use of low feet and the softness of her hands, fingers and wrists are still a little lacking.
Regarding the future, it is certain that Li Yueru will not get more stable playing time in the Sparks as he did in the WCBA and the Turkish League, just refer to Han Xu, Han Xu should be slightly better than Li Yueru in both offense and defense, which is why Zheng Wei will let Li Yueru play as a substitute for Han Xu.
But even so, I still hope that Li Yueru can play to her strengths and avoid weaknesses, give full play to her own advantages, and be recognized by the Sparks team through her outstanding performance. Probably, when will she be able to play the starting center of the Sparks, Li Yueru can really stand firm, and it even means that Li Yueru will have greater value in the Chinese women's national basketball team.
Finally, I wish Li Yueru all the best.