Chinese basketball player Yongxi ‘Jacky’ Cui aiming to enter rare NBA territory with Brooklyn Nets

Nets player Yongxi ‘Jacky’ Cui has a chance to make history as just the eighth-ever Chinese-born player to appear in the NBA.

Cui, who went undrafted this year after departing the Guangzhou Loong Lions, signed a two-way contract with the team and will hope to spend time between the Nets’ main roster and their G-League affiliate, the Long Island Nets, if he survives training camp cuts.

The 21-year-old called the opportunity a ‘dream come true’ as he addressed the media at Nets media day on Monday.

‘In China right now you have too many students who want to play the basketball, but you start on your homework… you’re not supposed to play professional [basketball],’ he said.  

Cui suggested that playing pro basketball was not viewed as a realistic future by many back in his home country, where his father, Mingguang Cui, made his name as a street basketball player.

Cui, who went undrafted signed a two-way contract with the Nets earlier this month

Notably, Nets owner Joe Tsai was born in Taiwan, which mainland China considers to be a territory.

Cui was asked if he had met Tsai yet but he said he had not.

The last Chinese-born player to appear in the NBA was Zhou Qi, who appeared for the Rockets in 2018.

New York-born Kyle Anderson is still in the league and became a naturalized Chinese citizen last year.

Fans will be most familiar with former Rockets star Yao Ming – and to a lesser extent ex- Net Yi Jianlian – as the biggest Chinese names to have graced the NBA.

Cui, whose signing was announced on September 20, competed with the Blazers’ Summer League squad in July and has previously played with the Chinese national team at the FIBA World Cup.