When someone says Asian player, basketball isn’t necessarily the first thing that comes to mind, so we have compiled a list of 9 best Asian NBA players ever to show you that, although rarely, Asian ballers can play in the NBA.
Every year more and more foreign-born players come to NBA and Asian players are no exception. While the majority of them can’t really compete with American or European players, the gap is steadily shrinking. Teams like Philippines and South Korea regularly make noted appearances on FIBA World Cup tournaments. While some naysayers will claim that the main reason for the influx of Asian players in the NBA is that teams can obtain access to huge markets, we would have to disagree. Financial gains can be and probably are one of the factors behind these decisions, but the player’s skill is still the most important. After all, in order to be scouted by the NBA team, these guys had to know how to play basketball. All of them had notable careers in their home leagues and with their national teams, so reducing them to mere marketing stint in order to sell more merchandise is judging them unfairly.
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Some of them didn’t quite make it in the NBA. The cultural shock was too much for some players and few of them couldn’t adapt to the fast paced NBA style of play. Some of them just weren’t good enough, but they all have helped in bringing down the stereotype that Asians can’t play basketball.
When we were making the list, the most important criterion was how big the player’s career was, so you can probably guess who is number one. We also excluded Russian and Turkish players. While technically, both of these countries are partly in Asia, both their clubs and national teams compete in European championships. These players are included in our the 12 best European NBA players of all-time list.
Another important thing to note is that we only included players that were born in Asia. That is why Jeremy Lin isn’t on the list, in case you are wondering, as he was born in Toronto, Canada. The only exception to this rule is number 9 Wataru Misaka. He didn’t have an impressive NBA career, playing only one season for the Knicks 1947-48, coming from the University of Utah who he helped win 1944 NCAA tournament. Rather than his NBA achievements, Wataru’s inclusion on this list of 9 best Asian NBA players ever is due to the fact that he’s the first Asian descended player and the first non-Caucasian to ever play in the NBA, three years before the first African American, Earl Lloyd, joined Detroit Pistons in 1950.
9. Wataru Misaka
Born: December 21, 1923, Ogden, Utah.
NBA career: New York Knicks
The man who started the whole thing, Wataru Misaka had a notable college career, winning the NCAA title with the University of Utah (which later brought him induction in the Utah Basketball Hall of Fame). He only played one season in the NBA, deciding to pursue a career in engineering rather than basketball.
8. Hamed Haddadi
Born: May 19, 1985, Ahvaz, Iran.
NBA career: Memphis Grizzlies, Phoenix Suns
Haddadi was the first Iranian player to come to the NBA. Despite having several noted performances, he wasn’t really given a chance before being let go by the Suns in 2013.
7. Yuta Tabuse
Born: October 5, 1980, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
NBA career: Phoenix Suns
Yuta Tabuse first came to the US in 2003. He spent a year playing in the NBA and he was signed by Suns in 2004. Unfortunately, he was waived after just two months. Now, this is the interesting part – instead of going back to Japan to wreck chaos in J league, he decided he wanted another shot at playing in the NBA. He even refused to play for Japan national team so he could fully devote himself to his goal. Tabuse spent the next 4 years playing summer leagues, D leagues and ABA before deciding in 2008 that it wasn’t going to happen and going back home. That kind of dedication ensured him the place on our list.
6. Mengke Bateer
Born: November 20, 1975, Hanggin Banner, Inner Mongolia, China
NBA career: Denver Nuggets, San Antonio Spurs, Toronto Raptors
Best known as the first Mongolian to ever play in the NBA, Bateer has a distinction of being the first Chinese player and one of only two on our list that have won a championship ring. Setting aside the fact that he didn’t play a single game during the playoffs that led to Spurs’ winning the said championship, he still deserved his place on 9 best Asian NBA players ever list.
5. Wang Zhizhi
Born: 8 July 1977, Beijing, China
NBA career: Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Clippers, Miami Heat
Wang Zhizhi was the first Chinese to play at prestigious Nike Hoop Summit, receiving an offer for Georgetown University scholarship. His NBA career was marked with clashes he had with the Chinese Basketball Association.
4. Ha Seung-Jin
Born: Samil Commercial, Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea
NBA career: Portland Trail Blazers
The first and only South Korean player to play in the NBA so far, Ha Seung-Jin was drafted by Portland in 2004. He is one of the tallest players ever to play in the NBA.
3. Sun Yue
Born: 6 November 1985, Cangzhou, Hebei, China
NBA career: Los Angeles Lakers
Sun Yue and Magic Johnson have two things in common: they were both 6’9’’ point guards that played for LA Lakers. Unfortunately for Yue, that’s where similarities stop. Like Mengke Bateer, Yue is the proud owner of an NBA Championship ring, also without having to play a single playoff game in LA Lakers vs. Orlando Magic 2009 NBA finals.
2. Yi Jianlian
Born: Samil Commercial, Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea
NBA career: Milwaukee Bucks, New Jersey Nets, Washington Wizards, Dallas Mavericks
Yi Jianlian’s career started with a scandal when he initially refused to sign with Milwaukee Bucks, who drafted him as 6th pick in 2007 draft, because there wasn’t large Chinese community in the city. Eventually, Bucks and Yi came to terms and in the first few games he astonished everybody by displaying his talent. Then the injuries started and never stopped. If it weren’t for them, Yi’s career would be much more prominent one.
1. Yao Ming
Born: September 12, 1980, Shanghai, China
NBA career: Houston Rockets
Top of our 9 best Asian NBA players ever, Yao Ming spent 9 years in the NBA, having played in All Star games in 8 of those 9. Some say that he is one of the best centers ever to play the game, but injuries stopped him from proving that. In the last 5 years, he played only 75 games, most of his time being spent in recovery from various injuries.
