Sun Yue
Encyclopedia
Sun Yue while the prefecture-level administrative region in total has a population of 7,134,053...
, Hebei
Hebei
' is a province of the People's Republic of China in the North China region. Its one-character abbreviation is "" , named after Ji Province, a Han Dynasty province that included what is now southern Hebei...
) is a Chinese
Chinese people
The term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:*People with Han Chinese ethnicity ....
professional basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
player. He is currently playing for the Beijing Olympians
Beijing Olympians
Beijing Aoshen Olympians or Beijing Olympians or Beijing Aoshen are a professional basketball team that formerly played in the Chinese Basketball Association and now play in the West Coast Pro Basketball League. They have also played in the American Basketball Association. Some sources refer to...
. He became the fifth Chinese
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
player to play in the NBA
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
.
Beijing Aoshen (2002–2008)
Sun started playing with the Beijing OlympiansBeijing Olympians
Beijing Aoshen Olympians or Beijing Olympians or Beijing Aoshen are a professional basketball team that formerly played in the Chinese Basketball Association and now play in the West Coast Pro Basketball League. They have also played in the American Basketball Association. Some sources refer to...
, which was the only privately owned club of the CBA
Chinese Basketball Association
The Chinese Basketball Association , often abbreviated to the CBA, is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in China.The league is commonly known as the CBA, and this acronym is often used even in Chinese...
, in 2002 at the age of 17. In 2004, Sun was selected to the Chinese national under-20 team, but when his team refused to release him to play, the CBA banned the Olympians from playing in the CBA. After touring in Taiwan, the team moved to play in the ABA. In Sun's first year in the ABA, the 2005-06 season, his final numbers included 9.5 points per game, 7 rebounds per game, and 6.7 assists per game. Sun also had his first triple-double of his career, with 12 points, 14 assists, and 12 rebounds, and was named to the All-ABA 2nd team. In the following year, Yue improved his numbers, making the All-ABA First Team with averages of 13.5 points per game, 6 rebounds per game, 10.5 assists per game, 1.9 steals per game, and 2 blocks per game.
Los Angeles Lakers/D-Fenders (2008–2009)
After originally entering the 2006 NBA draft2006 NBA Draft
The 2006 NBA Draft was held on June 28, 2006 at the Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City and was broadcast in the United States on ESPN. In this draft, National Basketball Association teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players,...
, but subsequently withdrawing, Sun entered the 2007 draft
2007 NBA Draft
The 2007 NBA Draft was held on June 28, 2007 at the WaMu Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. It was broadcast on television in 115 countries. In this draft, National Basketball Association teams took turns selecting amateur U.S...
. At a pre-draft camp in Orlando, Sun was measured as having a 34" vertical leap, a 5.1% body fat ratio, and a time of 10.68 seconds in lane agility, and he was taken by the Lakers in the second round, 40th overall. However, Sun stayed with the Olympians for another year, before signing with the Lakers in August 2008. But only a few days after he arrived in the US in September, Sun suffered from a bout of mononucleosis
Infectious mononucleosis
Infectious mononucleosis is an infectious, widespread viral...
(glandular fever), and had to be taken to the hospital. After recovering from his illness, Sun finally made his NBA regular season debut on December 7, 2008 against the Milwaukee Bucks
Milwaukee Bucks
The Milwaukee Bucks are a professional basketball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. They are part of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was founded in 1968 as an expansion team, and currently plays at the Bradley Center....
, recording 4 points in 5 minutes of play. He played in 10 games, and scored a total of 6 points in 28 minutes, before being assigned on March 6 to the Lakers' National Basketball Development League affiliate, the Los Angeles D-Fenders
Los Angeles D-Fenders
The Los Angeles D-Fenders are a NBA Development League team based in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 2006, the team is owned by the Los Angeles Lakers, which became the first National Basketball Association franchise to own a D-League team...
. He played 6 games with the D-Fenders, averaging 9.8 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 3.7 apg, 1.3 spg, and 2.3 bpg. Sun Yue then suffered a left ankle sprain during practice with the D-Fenders and missed the remaining D-League games. He eventually recovered and practiced and traveled with the Lakers during the playoffs, but he was not activated for any playoff games for the Lakers. Sun Yue became the second player from China, but the first Ethnic Han Chinese
Han Chinese
Han Chinese are an ethnic group native to China and are the largest single ethnic group in the world.Han Chinese constitute about 92% of the population of the People's Republic of China , 98% of the population of the Republic of China , 78% of the population of Singapore, and about 20% of the...
, to win an NBA Championship ring after the Los Angeles Lakers
Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California. They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
defeated the Orlando Magic
Orlando Magic
The Orlando Magic is a professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. They play in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association and are currently coached by Stan Van Gundy...
in the 2009 NBA Finals
2009 NBA Finals
The 2009 NBA Finals was the National Basketball Association championship series for the 2008-09 season. The best-of-seven playoff was contested between the Los Angeles Lakers, champions of the Western Conference and defending Western Conference champions, and the Orlando Magic, champions of the...
. The other was Mengke Bateer
Mengke Bateer
Mengke Bateer or Menk Batere , commonly referred to simply as Bateer, is a Chinese professional basketball player, formerly in the NBA. He currently plays center for Xinjiang Guanghui.Bateer is an ethnic minority from China's Inner Mongolia region...
, an ethnic Mongol who was part of the San Antonio Spurs
San Antonio Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio, Texas. They are part of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association ....
championship team in the 2002-2003 season.
Sun was waived by the Lakers on July 31, 2009
and by the Knicks on October 7, 2009. Since Sun Yue was no longer in the NBA, the Lakers said they planned to ship his championship ring to him.
Regular season
|-| align="left" | 2008–09
2008–09 NBA season
The 2008–09 NBA season was the 63rd season of the National Basketball Association . The 1,230-game regular season began on Tuesday, October 28, 2008, and ended on Wednesday, April 15, 2009...
| align="left" | L.A. Lakers
Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California. They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
| 10 || 0 || 2.8 || .273 || .000 || .000 || .0 || .2 || .1 || .1 || 0.6
|-
| align="left" | Career
| align="left" |
| 10 || 0 || 2.8 || .273 || .000 || .000 || .0 || .2 || .1 || .1 || 0.6
Chinese national basketball team
Sun Yue competed in the NBA Summer Pro LeagueNBA Summer League
The NBA Summer League is a period during which NBA teams come together to try out different summer rosters instead of their regular season line-ups. Typically, there is a mix of rookies and some of the younger bench players to see how well some players work with others...
(Held from July 6–13 at Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
) with the Chinese national team
China national basketball team
The Chinese men's national basketball team is the basketball team representing China in international competitions. The governing body of Chinese basketball operations is the Basketball Association of China...
in the summer of 2007. Team China was the only international team in the competition and was competing against 16 other NBA teams. This was seen as a chance for the Chinese national team to gain further experience against international competition in preparation for the 2008 Olympic Basketball Tournament
Basketball at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Basketball contests at the 2008 Olympic Games were held from August 9, 2008 to August 24, 2008. Competitions were held at the Wukesong Indoor Stadium in Beijing, China...
, which Sun would also compete in.
Sun also participated in the 2007 Stanković Continental Champions' Cup Championship and played vital roles in the wins against the Venezuelan national team
Venezuela national basketball team
The Venezuela men's national basketball team represents the Venezuela Basketball Federation in international competitions such as the International Basketball Federation , the International Olympic Committee , the World Championship, the South American Basketball Championship, the Pan American...
and the New Zealand national team
New Zealand national basketball team
The New Zealand national basketball team represents New Zealand in international basketball competitions. It is nicknamed the Tall Blacks, derived from the name of New Zealand's Rugby union team, the All Blacks.-History:...
. He also competed in the NBA China Games with the Chinese national team against the Orlando Magic
Orlando Magic
The Orlando Magic is a professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. They play in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association and are currently coached by Stan Van Gundy...
. Sun Yue ended up with 8 points, 4 assists, and 1 block in 24 minutes in the game against the Magic.
Sun earned a silver medal in the 2009 FIBA Asia Championship along with Washington Wizards player Yi Jianlian and former NBA player Wang Zhizhi as members of the Chinese national team. Sun averaged 6 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.7 assists through the competition.