Retired Chinese basketball star Yi Jianlian found himself at the centre of a growing sex scandal on Thursday, after the ex-NBA player was accused of sleeping with a prostitute.

The 36-year-old father of two, who is considered to be the second best Chinese player of all time behind Yao Ming, and played for Milwaukee Bucks, New Jersey Nets, Washington Wizards and Dallas Mavericks between 2007 and 2012, reportedly engaged a woman’s services in a hotel in mainland China.

Pictures purportedly showing a semi-naked Yi, who is married to model Jing Ling, and an identity card showing a man bearing a striking resemblance to the seven-time Chinese Basketball Association champion, began circulating on social media this week.

While Yi has yet to comment, fans took to social media to defend the 7ft tall Guangdong Southern Tigers star, with many claiming the images looked as though they had been altered.

“It’s obvious this incident concerning Yi was fake news. A fake ID card, a fake nude photo, this has to be a conspiracy,” a Weibo user with 350,000 followers wrote.

Another Weibo user from Liaoning added: “It’s definitely fake, I trust Yi’s character, he is someone who grew up from the filth without being polluted.”