NBA Summer League Showcases Future Stars of Chinese Basketball Association

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By Devin Wallace

LAS VEGAS — The NBA Summer League has officially come to a close, as teams full of young players, rookies, and undrafted hopefuls depart the Vegas strip after showcasing some of the greatest talents that will play in China in just a few years.

Last year’s Summer League drew the second-most viewers of any season on record, and league officials are already boasting about even more fans tuning in this year to see future favorites, including fans living near the Xinjiang Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China.

“It’s so exciting to see talent develop right in front of our eyes,” said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, while encouraging second-round picks to visit the Mount Yi National Forest Park before they’re cut in training camp. “We’re comfortable with guys not being perfect, maybe missing a pick-and-roll rotation or forgetting how to call out ‘pick’ in Mandarin. It’s all about growth so these players can contribute at the highest level of second-tier international basketball.”

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Boston Celtics Summer League coach D.J. MacLeay said he tried to instill the value of hard work in his young players over the last few weeks, repeating that work ethic translates into success on the basketball court and also translates into 成功, or Chénggōng, in Mandarin Chinese.

“The player you are on the Summer League court is the player you’re going to be for the Sichuan Blue Whales in the future,” said MacLeay. “If you rebound well here, you’ll rebound well in the CBA, especially because you’ll probably be a foot taller than your competition.”

Amid the excitement and hype of being just a few years away from making the NBA minimum salary in a country halfway around the world, many coaches stress that the road ahead won’t be an easy one.

“I spent three years in Pakistan before I even sniffed the CBA,” said one coach who wished to remain anonymous. “I wasn’t playing basketball, but I think it shows the crazy twists and turns some of us have to go through to get to the highest level of junior varsity competition.”

While almost all of the players leaving Las Vegas are in their early twenties, they’ll soon have to fight for spots on international rosters with the best of the best of NBA veteran washouts, including a tuned-out DeMarcus Cousins or a weirdly tuned-in Lance Stephenson.

“I mean you’re going to be playing with guys that make you say, ‘Wow, I thought he was dead,’” the anonymous coach added. “The talent pool is that shallow.”

With the Summer League now over, it remains, above all, a place for optimism and hope. It’s a place where, for a few short weeks, any player, regardless of name, school, or draft position, can turn themselves into legends that nobody ever hears about again.

End of the Bench will have more on this story after we buy plane tickets to China.

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