Brooklyn is about to learn how southern China hoops: rising Guangxi-born basketball star Cui Yongxi has signed a two-year two-way deal with the Brooklyn Nets. 21-year-old Cui, who also goes by the English name Jacky, joined the Portland Trail Blazers in the NBA Summer League this year, and previously played for the Guangzhou Loong Lions in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA).
His contract allows him to represent both the Brooklyn Nets and their G League development team, the Long Island Nets. While Cui is expected to spend time in Long Island, it’s also possible he’ll be called up to the NBA during the regular season.
Cui has said he aims to develop as a “3-and-D” player who can make 3-point shots and contribute to defence.
1.99 meters tall, Cui has already played for China’s men’s national basketball team. He represented his country in the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup and 2022 Asian Games, helping China win bronze in the latter.
If Cui makes it into an NBA game, he will be only the eighth athlete from the Chinese mainland to play in the league. The only current NBA player with Chinese citizenship is the Golden State Warriors’ Kyle Anderson, whose great-grandfather was a Chinese immigrant to Jamaica. Anderson was naturalized in 2023. Before that, the last time a Chinese national was in the NBA was Zhou Qi’s 2017 to 2018 stint at the Houston Rockets.
Cui may be poised for potential superstardom, but he’s not the only basketball player in his family. He’s claimed that his sister is “more talented” than him, and his father Cui Guangming, who went viral in China last year for still being able to dunk at age 48, is known as a formidable street ball player.
Banner image via Dahua Tiyu Quan.
