Yao Ming persuaded him to naturalize earlier this year
Kyle Anderson has made history as the first naturalized player in Chinese basketball history. The New York native, who plays in the National Basketball Association (NBA), made his Chinese national team debut on Friday against Italy.
Kyle Anderson, 30, an active player in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and a recent naturalized Chinese citizen, made his debut for the Chinese national team on Friday.
According to the Hong Kong South China Morning Post, Anderson played for the Chinese national team in the final of the Trentino Cup four-nation invitational in Italy on Friday against Italy. Playing about 20 minutes, Anderson scored 11 points and grabbed six rebounds. China lost to Italy 61-79.
Anderson wore a red Chinese national team jersey with the number 32 on the back and the word “LIKAIER” written on it. According to local Chinese media, “Kai’er” is the Chinese spelling of Kyle, and “Li” is the surname of Anderson’s maternal great-grandfather. “My maternal great-grandfather was from here (Shenzhen, Guangdong),” Anderson told China’s Xinhua news agency last month. My roots are in China,” he said.
Anderson, a 6-foot-9 forward/guard from New York City, is in his ninth season in the NBA after being selected by San Antonio with the 30th overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft.
Yao Ming, who played in the NBA during his playing days, was instrumental in Anderson’s naturalization in China. Yao Ming, who serves as the president of the Chinese Basketball Association, invited Anderson to China earlier this year to convince him to naturalize, 스포츠토토 and within a week, he was approved. “Anderson is the first naturalized player in Chinese basketball history and will have a good impact on the Chinese national team,” Yao told China Daily Mail.
