"I wish more Chinese players would follow suit. Only by playing with the best can they catch up with the best, and, eventually, beat them on the international stage," said the retired legend.

Making her domestic league debut with the Guangdong Dolphins in the WCBA in 2015, Li was selected 35th overall by the Atlanta Dream in the 2019 WNBA Draft, but only played her first WNBA game in 2022 with the Chicago Sky following a pair of trades. She averaged 1.8 points and 1.5 rebounds over 16 games with the Sky in a struggling season. She missed the 2023 season due to injury.

At international level, Li led China with team highs of 17.7 points and 11 rebounds per game at Paris 2024. She recorded the most points by a woman in Chinese Olympic basketball history since 1998 with 31 points against Spain on July 28, 2024.

Jiang Xinyu contributed to this story.

sunxiaochen@chinadaily.com.cn