Excited
When people talk about basketball in the U.S., it’s rare to hear any Asian players. And if they happen to mention an Asian player in the NBA, most likely it’s going to be Yao Ming.
With the success of Yao Ming, the popularity of basketball has greatly increased in China. Commissioner David Stern and the NBA also has plans for an NBA-affiliated league in China and envisions up to eight to twelve arenas in China.
But are there any other Asians that have played basketball in the NBA? Who was the first player of Asian descent to play basketball in the NBA, Yao Ming? Nope. The first player was actually 5’7″ Japanese-American Wat Misaka, the NBA’s first minority player. A first round draft pick by the New York Knicks, he is credited for playing three games, the same year when Jackie Robinson became the first African-American baseball player in 1947.
Forward it to the present day, 2009: there are actually more players of Asian descent, besides Yao Ming, in the NBA. They aren’t achieving the same amount of success or have the same impact on their team that Yao Ming does, but they are in the NBA, so that should count for at least something.
The first one that comes to mind is Yi Jianlian, sixth pick in the 2007 NBA Draft by the Milwaukee Bucks, later traded to the New Jersey Nets. Yi Jianlian seems be a new wave of Asian players coming from China with more talent; listed at 7’0 feet tall, he’s more athletic and faster than Yao Ming and can shoot the ball all the way from the three point line.
At this point, Yi Jianlian mostly does offense. If he can have this summer off from having to compete with the Chinese National Team, perhaps he can improve on his skills to have a more significant impact in the NBA. Also like other athletes from China, there has been controversy over his real age. My opinion? Whether he was born in 1987 [what he's listed as] or 1984 [where there are new reports surfacing], age isn’t a greater factor on whether you can compete in the NBA. Yi Jianlian was a superstar in the Chinese Basketball Association; that’s not really saying much, but he does have expectations being a lottery pick and having so many fans hoping he has great success in the NBA.
Speaking of fans, there’s more controversy revolving Yi Jianlian: this isn’t necessarily his fault, but NBA fans are paying attention. The NBA allows its fans from around the world to vote for the All-Star game starters. Just as Yao has been receiving many votes for the All-Star game ensuring his spot as a West starter, Yi Jianlian is currently ranked third for forwards with 959,324 votes. Third is not good enough to win a spot as a starter, but if he ranks at least second then Yi will start at the 2009 NBA All-star game. Personally, I don’t care much about the All-star game because it’s a exhibition spectacular for the fans, but there certainly will be more controversy if Yi becomes a starter in the All-Star game this season.
Another player from China currently in the NBA is 6’9″ guard Sun Yue. He was drafted the same year as Yi as the 40th pick by the LA Lakers, appearing in three games. He wasn’t always on the active twelve man roster, but with backup PG Jordan Farmar going down with injury, Sun Yue can be seen with other active Lakers players, usually sitting next to assistant coach Brian Shaw. His story is a little different than other Chinese players, previously playing with his Chinese team the Beijing Aoshen Olympians. The Beijing Aoshen Olympians were banned from the CBA after refusing to release Sun Yue to play for the Chinese National Team, and the Olympians transferred to a minor U.S. league known as the ABA.
Here’s a video of Sun Yue, with other Lakers players being interviewed. Also just like many other names, people seem to also mispronounce Sun Yue’s name as the reporter refers to him as “Sun Yi”:
Now people may question if this player is Asian or not, but there is also another player on a NBA roster: 7’2 Hamed Haddadi from Iran, who is with the Memphis Grizzlies. Haddai was on the Iran Team that won the 2007 FIBA Asia Basketball Tournament, leading Iran to qualify for a spot in the 2008 Olympics. Joe Alexander is neither ethnic Chinese nor a Chinese citizen, but was born in Taiwan and also went to school and played in China for a few years. He also speaks Mandarin and has said that he considers Beijing his hometown. He was drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks as the eighth pick in 2008 and is a candidate for the Slam Dunk contest at the next All-Star Game.
Other past players of Asian descent that have played in the NBA are Raymond Townsend (half-Filipino), Rex Walters (Half Japanese), Wang Zhi Zhi (Chinese), Mengke Bateer (Mongolian-Chinese-member of 2003 Champion Spurs), Yuta Tabuse (Japaese), and Ha Seung Jin (Korean). There’s also been other players who were either just drafted, appeared in the NBA D-League/summer league/training camp rosters/, or worked out for NBA Teams but never appeard in a NBA regular season game. Some examples are Yasutaka Okayama (Japanese – listed between 7’8-7’10), Liu Wei (Chinese), Sean Chen (Taiwan) and Sun Ming Ming (Chinese – 7’9). Then there’s the current head coach of the Miami heat, Erik Spoelstra. Eri’s Spoelstra’s mother is Filipino.
There’s also more players of Asian descent currently on NCAA/College basketball teams. If I have time, I will try to make a blog post pertaining to those players.
How does this post make you feel?
- Fascinated
- Amused
- Bored
- Sad
- Angry
NOTE: 8Asians.com is a community, and we thank you for being a part of it. While we welcome and appreciate differences in opinion, if you're rude or you're promoting spam, we have a right to edit or delete your comment. Read our comment policy for more information.
If you see a comment that violates the 8Asians.com comment policy, you may flag the comment by mousing over the comment and clicking "FLAG."
hi mate this is interesting article will make sure I check your posts more often! Really interesting articles.If anybody has an interesting articles you can share with me.Any way Ill be subscribing to your feed and I hope you post again soon.thanks for sharing good info.regards, I think you should try acai berry atleast once
Filipino-American Ricardo Brown (Pepperdine University) was drafted by the Houston Rockets in the early 80's. Went on playing in the Asia's first professional basketball league Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) and eventually became part of the league's Hall of Fame.
Jordan's Sam Daghlas also joined the Sacramento Kings during the 2006 NBA Summer League and with the Idaho Stampede in the NBDL.
Filipino-American Ricardo Brown (Pepperdine University) was drafted by the Houston Rockets in the early 80's. Went on playing in the Asia's first professional basketball league Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) and eventually became part of the league's Hall of Fame.
Jordan's Sam Daghlas also joined the Sacramento Kings during the 2006 NBA Summer League and with the Idaho Stampede in the NBDL.
My apologies, I meant Jeremy Lin (Harvard). Justin Lin is a director lol.
My apologies, I meant Jeremy Lin (Harvard). Justin Lin is a director lol.
At this time, the only player of Asian descent that I know of to get major playing time is Justin Lin.
Some other players that are on NCAA rosters are Japeth Aguilar (Western Kentucky), Spencer Soo (UCLA), Max Zhang (Cal), and Jin Soo Kim (Maryland) but they don't get much playing time.
I'll have to look at the all the teams though who actually do make it and if there's a player of Asian descent that gets major minutes, I'll blog about them.
At this time, the only player of Asian descent that I know of to get major playing time is Justin Lin.
Some other players that are on NCAA rosters are Japeth Aguilar (Western Kentucky), Spencer Soo (UCLA), Max Zhang (Cal), and Jin Soo Kim (Maryland) but they don't get much playing time.
I'll have to look at the all the teams though who actually do make it and if there's a player of Asian descent that gets major minutes, I'll blog about them.
Recently visited China and met a client that is crazy for NBA. I want to alert him to college March Madness playoff, and was hoping there would be a few players of Asian descent possibly playing in the tournament. Probably unlikely??
Recently visited China and met a client that is crazy for NBA. I want to alert him to college March Madness playoff, and was hoping there would be a few players of Asian descent possibly playing in the tournament. Probably unlikely??
Yi just had one of the best games of his career tonight vs the Kings.
Yi had 22 pts, 13 rbs, 2 blocks, 3 assists as the Nets win 98-90.
Yi just had one of the best games of his career tonight vs the Kings.
Yi had 22 pts, 13 rbs, 2 blocks, 3 assists as the Nets win 98-90.
Trackbacks
Custom Search
Recent Posts
- Chinese New Year Lanterns
- Is Kim Jong Un Dead? Assassination Rumors Hit the Internet
- Help Fight Stereoptypes With Asian Crew Clothing
- Deftones’ Chi Cheng Wakes Up From His 3-Year Coma
- SXSW 2012 Has a Nice Handful of Asian Movies
- Woman In China Gives Birth To 15 Lb Baby
- Naruto & Dragonball Now Available On Barnes & Noble Nook
Recent Comments
- : @whereisthelove @Biffer It's not that I'm turning it into a tirade against Blacks but folks seem to be on a lovely Kumbaya trip thinking that... – What if Jeremy Lin Weren't Asian?
- : @PhucDat You've obviously never heard of the "no asians, no fats, no fems" that's commonly referenced in the gay community. It's very frustrating and makes... – Asian Men Have The Highest Salary
- : @Biffer I find it interesting how you've managed to transform this great story into launching an attack against african- americans. It's quite offensive for you,as... – What if Jeremy Lin Weren't Asian?
- : This whole article was kinda frustrating and ridiculous. "And maybe this will help put a little more desirability for Asian males in the dating pool."... – Asian Men Have The Highest Salary
- : while it was pretty hilarious, it's a little disconcerting that most of the people who responded didn't use spellcheck. – What I Learned From Posting A Dragon Lady Personal Ad
APA Events
Feb 16: Adam WarRock and Kirby Krackle: West Cost Tour Dates!!!
Feb 16: (New York, NY) Amar Chitra Katha: Monica Ferrell, Chitra Ganesh, Keshni Kashyap, and Himanshu “Heems” Suri of Das Racist
Feb 17: (Los Angeles, CA) All My Sons
Feb 18: (Stanford, CA) Stanford’s 16th Listen to the Silence Conference- Feb 18: (San Francisco, CA) NAAAP-SF Lunar New Year Gala 2012
Feb 25: (Los Angeles, CA) Past Present I Future Imperatives: Queer Space Time
Mar 3: (New York, NY) Vong Pak’s ‘Electric Shaman’ Concert
Apr 30: (Sacramento, CA) California Asian Pacific Islander Policy Summit 2012: iAdvocate
Staff and Contributors
- Editors
- Ernie Hsiung - Founder, Editor-in-Chief
- Moye Ishimoto - Co-Editor, Editorial
- Joz Wang - Co-Editor, PR & APA Outreach
[...] to keep staying aggressive on both the offensive and defensive ends of the floor; he has to face the controversy of both his age and the attention from the All-Star votes, but everything eventually falls on his performance. It should also be noted that Yi has been [...]
[...] my turn to say something that might be considered politically incorrect. While watching pro sports like basketball may be entertaining, getting butts off the couch and actually doing sports is, IMHO, far more [...]