IN: Menachem Begin ( listen ; Hebrew: m@nakhem be'giyn Menahem Begin, Polish: Mieczyslaw Biegun; Russian: Menakhem Vol'fovich Begin Menakhem Volfovich Begin; 16 August 1913 - 9 March 1992) was an Israeli politician, founder of Likud and the sixth Prime Minister of Israel.

On 17 May 1977 the Likud, headed by Begin, won the Knesset elections by a landslide, becoming the biggest party in the Knesset. Popularly known as the Mahapakh ("upheaval"), the election results had seismic ramifications as for the first time in Israeli history a party other than the Alignment/Mapai was in a position to form a government, effectively ending the left's hitherto unrivalled domination over Israeli politics. Likud's electoral victory signified a fundamental restructuring of Israeli society in which the founding socialist Ashkenazi elite was being replaced by a coalition representing marginalized Mizrahi and Jewish-religious communities, promoting a socially conservative and economically liberal agenda.  The Likud campaign leading up to the election centered on Begin's personality. Demonized by the Alignment as totalitarian and extremist, his self-portrayal as a humble and pious leader struck a chord with many who felt abandoned by the ruling party's ideology. In the predominantly Jewish Mizrahi working class urban neighborhoods and peripheral towns, the Likud won overwhelming majorities, while disillusionment with the Alignment's corruption prompted many middle and upper class voters to support the newly founded centrist Democratic Movement for Change ("Dash") headed by Yigael Yadin. Dash won 15 seats out of 120, largely at the expense of the Alignment, which was led by Shimon Peres and had shrunk from 51 to 32 seats. Well aware of his momentous achievement and employing his trademark sense for drama, when speaking that night in the Likud headquarters Begin quoted from the Gettysburg Address and the Torah, referring to his victory as a 'turning point in the history of the Jewish people'.  With 43 seats, the Likud still required the support of other parties in order to reach a parliamentary majority that would enable it to form a government under Israel's proportionate representation parliamentary system. Though able to form a narrow coalition with smaller Jewish religious and ultra-orthodox parties, Begin also sought support from centrist elements in the Knesset to provide his government with greater public legitimacy. He controversially offered the foreign affairs portfolio to Moshe Dayan, a former IDF Chief of Staff and Defense Minister, and a prominent Alignment politician identified with the old establishment. Begin was sworn in as Prime Minister of Israel on 20 June 1977. Dash eventually joined his government several months later, thus providing it with the broad support of almost two thirds of the Knesset. While Prime Minister, Yehuda Avner served as Begin's speech writer.

What was Begin's role in the victory?

OUT: the Likud, headed by Begin,


IN: Yi Jianlian (simplified Chinese: Yi Jian Lian ; traditional Chinese: Yi Jian Lian ; pinyin: Yi Jianlian, pronounced [i tcjenljen], EE JEN lee-EN; born October 27, 1987) is a Chinese professional basketball player for the Guangdong Southern Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He has also played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Milwaukee Bucks, New Jersey Nets, Washington Wizards and Dallas Mavericks. Yi joined the Guangdong Southern Tigers for the 2002-03 CBA season, and subsequently won the CBA Rookie of the Year award. In his first five years with Guangdong, the team won three CBA titles.

Yi was not expected to enter the NBA draft until 2009 because the Chinese Basketball Association ruled that players are not allowed to leave for foreign leagues until they turned 22. In early 2006, however, Yi announced that he would enter the 2006 NBA draft although he eventually decided to withdraw, saying he was "not good enough to compete in the NBA and needed more experience." Later that year, the Guangdong Southern Tigers announced that Yi would enter the 2007 NBA draft.  Yi chose Dan Fegan as his agent to represent him in the NBA draft and flew to Los Angeles to participate in pre-NBA draft camps. Before the draft, Yi was predicted by many to be picked anywhere from third to twelfth. On 28 June 2007, Yi was selected by the Milwaukee Bucks with the sixth overall pick in the 2007 NBA draft, despite Fegan warning the Milwaukee Bucks not to pick Yi and not allowing them to be one of the teams invited to Yi's pre-draft private workouts in Los Angeles. Fegan did not want Milwaukee to select Yi because the city of Milwaukee did not have a large Asian-American community. However, Milwaukee's general manager Larry Harris said they had only drafted the best player available to them. Yi and Sun Yue together marked the first time in NBA draft history where two Chinese born players were selected in the same draft, which was a feat that would not be repeated again until 2016.  After the draft, Milwaukee attempted to convince Yi to sign with the team and on 2 July 2007, the owner of the Bucks franchise, Herb Kohl, wrote a letter to Yi and his representatives, hoping to persuade Yi to sign with the team. Three days later, head coach Larry Krystkowiak and Harris met with Yi, attempting to influence him to play for Milwaukee, however, Yi's representatives requested that the team trade Yi to another team with a city that had a large Chinese presence. Chinese officials also required that any team Yi played for would have to give him sufficient playing time for him to improve for the 2008 Summer Olympics. Kohl made a special trip to Hong Kong to appeal to Yi personally and he assured Chinese officials that Yi would have sufficient playing time. On 29 August 2007, the Milwaukee Bucks and Yi agreed to a standard, multi-year rookie contract.

Any other details about him being drafted into the NBA?

OUT:
Larry Harris said they had only drafted the best player available to them.