Zhang Bentianjie: From a basketball genius to a "traitor", his naturalization path has caused controversy!

From a basketball genius to the main player of the Japanese men's basketball team: His choice path

Everyone knows that basketball is a technical job and an emotional job. In 1992, Zhang Bentianjie was born in Tieling, Liaoning. His family's sports genes were like a cheater. His father was the main player of the Liaoning men's basketball team, his mother was a volleyball player, and his grandfather was also a fencing team coach. This child has been surrounded by sports since he was a child, and it should be said that he should inherit the "Chinese Sports Gene". But in 2003, when he was 11 years old, he followed his father to Japan, and his life trajectory began to turn.

"Brother, why do you think our dad has to go to Japan? " When he was a child, Zhang Bentianjie might not have thought that this problem would become a hurdle for his life. Japan's youth training system is very unfriendly to "outsiders" like him, but their basketball talent is there! In order to break through the bottleneck, he made an amazing decision - to give up his Chinese nationality, change his name to Zhang Bentianjie, and join the Japanese men's basketball team. This operation was like throwing an atomic bomb in the sports circle, which caused Chinese fans to talk about it. The controversy behind the highlight moments: is he a hero or a traitor?

But if you say he is incompetent at all, it won't work. At the 2013 East Asian Games, he led the Japanese team to defeat the Chinese National Olympic Team, and the Japanese media directly named him "naturalized hero". Later, in the 2016 Olympic qualifiers, he scored 21 points against New Zealand, setting a record for Japanese naturalized players. These achievements are there, but why do Chinese fans just not buy it?

"Sports have no borders, but athletes have their motherland. " This sentence is not a casual statement. While winning the score, he maliciously fouled at Chinese players and said shamelessly, "My basketball life belongs to Japan." Who would feel comfortable if you listen to this? Some netizens commented: "He thought changing nationality can make it whitewash? The feelings of family and country on the basketball court are not just a matter of not wanting it! "

From the top to the edge: Is his basketball dream shattered?

But who would have thought that the once unlimited scenery would eventually become a mess. In the 2022 season, his three-point shooting percentage dropped directly to 28.1%, which is the bottom level in the CBA; in 2023, he missed 42 games due to a knee injury; in 2024, his average score was only 2.1 points per game, setting a new career low.

"Brother, why did I become the marginal figure of the Japanese men's basketball team? " This is probably the question he wants to ask himself the most now. In Japan, he was crushed by powerful players such as Watanabe Yuta and Hachimura Shirakami; if he wanted to return to the Chinese CBA to make money, the teams directly refused. This awkward situation is just like what netizens said: "He used sports as a springboard, but both ends were lost. "

The double-edged sword of sports naturalization: What do we need to reflect on?

Zhang Bentianjie's incident reminded the Chinese sports community. It’s not impossible to have naturalized players, but it depends on how to naturalize them. Like Spain's naturalized Doncic, it was voluntary and brought a qualitative leap to Spanish basketball. If China also engages in naturalization, do we have to consider it clearly?

"Sports naturalization is not a simple nationality conversion, but a recognition of values. " Statistics from the Chinese Basketball Association show that the average three-point shooting percentage of CBA league players is around 35%. If naturalized players cannot agree with Chinese basketball culture, no matter how good the skills are, it will be difficult to integrate into it. Zhang Bentianjie's experience is like a mirror, reflecting the complexity of naturalization problems.

Is his story a warning or a revelation?

Now everyone is discussing whether Zhang Bentianjie is a profit-seeking traitor or a poor person who is forced to this point by the environment? If it were you, what would you choose?

But no matter what, his story sounds the alarm for us: sports is not a cold arena, but a home full of emotions and sense of belonging. Athletes should not lose their feelings for their family and country on the road to pursuing their dreams. I hope that the future sports naturalization will be less utilitarian and more sincere. After all, the true sporting spirit is to make the world more united, not more divided.