Only a small club of players from Asian national teams has reached the NBA, and it runs from a Hall of Famer to pioneers who logged a handful of games.
1Rui HachimuraJapanese forward drafted ninth overall by the Washington Wizards in 2019, the first Japanese player taken in the NBA draft's first round, later traded to the Los Angeles Lakers.1000pts
2Yao MingChinese center taken first overall by the Houston Rockets in 2002, an eight-time All-Star inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame in 2016.611pts
3Wang ZhizhiChinese center who became the first player from China in the NBA when he debuted for the Dallas Mavericks in 2001, later playing for the Clippers and Heat.517pts
4Yi JianlianChinese forward picked sixth overall by the Milwaukee Bucks in 2007 who also played for the Nets, Wizards and Mavericks.423pts
5Yuta WatanabeJapanese forward who played six NBA seasons from 2018 to 2024 for the Grizzlies, Raptors, Nets and Suns.423pts
6Hamed HaddadiIranian center who became the first player from Iran in the NBA with the Memphis Grizzlies in 2008 and later played for the Phoenix Suns.423pts
7Jordan ClarksonGuard who won the NBA Sixth Man of the Year award with the Utah Jazz in 2021 and has played for the Philippines at the 2018 Asian Games and the 2023 FIBA World Cup.310pts
8Yuta TabusePoint guard who became the first Japanese-born player to appear in an NBA game, playing four games for the Phoenix Suns in November and December 2004.0pts
Photo credits
- Rui Hachimura — All-Pro Reels, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Yao Ming — Keith Allison from Baltimore, USA, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Wang Zhizhi — daisybj Cropped by User:Noble Story, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Yi Jianlian — Keith Allison from Owings Mills, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Yuta Watanabe — 内閣官房内閣広報室, CC BY 4.0
- Hamed Haddadi — Behnam Tofighi, CC BY 4.0
- Jordan Clarkson — PhilipRomano, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Yuta Tabuse — User:STB-1, CC BY-SA 3.0
