Former NBA No. 1 overall pick Anthony Bennett is to join the P.League+’s Kaohsiung Steelers, the team said on Wednesday.
The announcement came just one day after the club said it had parted ways with former ASEAN Basketball League World Import Most Valuable Play Anthony Tucker.
The 28-year-old 2.03m tall Bennett was the talk of the NBA when the Cleveland Cavaliers chose him as the first overall pick in the 2013 draft, but the Canadian power forward failed to live up to expectations, drifting between four teams over four seasons before dropping out of the NBA in 2017.
Photo: AFP
After one season with the Cavaliers, Bennett played for the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Toronto Raptors and the Brooklyn Nets, appearing in 151 NBA games, and averaging just 4.4 points, 3.1 rebounds and 0.5 assists in 12.6 minutes per game.
The Toronto native also played in the NBA’s G League, before playing in Turkey for Fenerbahce’s EuroLeague championship squad in 2017.
After two more seasons in the G League, he joined Hapoel Jerusalem of the Israeli Basketball Premier League in October last year, but was released last month after just eight appearances, averaging 6.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 0.9 assists in 13 minutes per game.
Despite his nomadic career, the Steelers said they have high hopes for Bennett as the organization is second to last in the six-team league with a 4-6 record.
In a statement, the Steelers said that Bennett has excellent personal offensive skills, and speed and power for high scoring efficiency.
Bennett is undergoing mandatory quarantine and the earliest fans would be able to see him on the court would be next month, the team said.
Tucker was one of the most popular players in the region due to his prolific scoring and playmaking ability.
The 32-year-old American joined the Steelers last year, but left due to what the club said was an inability to integrate with the team’s style of play.
He played six games for the Steelers and posted an average of 20.17 points, 8.83 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game.
“I’m relaxin’ my feet is up, I’m leavin’ you haters like when Shaq left the Lakers just to Heat it up,” Tucker wrote on Instagram on Tuesday with a photograph of himself at the beach with the sun in the background, which fueled rumors that he might next join the T1 League’s Taichung Wagor Suns.
The rumors were confirmed on Wednesday when the Suns issued a statement officially welcoming Tucker to the club.
Greek swimmer Kristian Gkolomeev was the only athlete to “beat” a world record on Sunday at the Enhanced Games, winning the men’s 50m freestyle at the divisive competition where athletes were free to take performance-enhancing substances. His time of 20.81 seconds — which is not considered official — came in the final event of the night in Las Vegas, sparing the blushes of organizers who made claims that multiple world records would be surpassed due to a sophisticated doping regime. Gkolomeev, who was wearing a synthetic “supersuit” long banned at events such as the Olympics, outpaced Australia’s Cameron McEvoy’s 20.88 set in
Fred Kerley is competing unaugmented against drug-fuelled athletes at this weekend’s Enhanced Games and still hopes to race in the 2028 Olympics, the suspended former 100m world champion said on Friday. Arguably the biggest name at the divisive event in Las Vegas, where doping is permitted, the US sprinter said he had chosen not to take any of the banned substances including testosterone and steroids that his competitors have been using. “I don’t need it. God gave me fast feet for a reason. And I’m here to showcase my talent,” Kerley said. Kerley last September became the first US competitor and first track
The manager of the Yomiuri Giants, one of Japan’s most popular baseball teams, resigned yesterday after he was arrested for allegedly physically attacking his teenage daughter. Shinnosuke Abe allegedly grabbed the 18-year-old and forced her to the floor at their home in central Tokyo on Monday evening, reported national broadcaster NHK and Kyodo News, citing unnamed police sources. “Leaving like this really means I’m causing you a lot of trouble, and I feel truly sorry about that,” Abe told a hastily arranged news conference, his eyes red with tears. The former star catcher, who is among baseball-obsessed Japan’s most recognized sports figures,
VICTORY ABROAD: The team took home a fistful of medals and secured spots for the autumn’s Asian Games, scheduled for September in Nagoya Taiwan’s women’s team captured the overall title at the Asian Taekwondo Championships in Mongolia on Sunday, finishing with two golds, one silver and one bronze medal. The strong showing, led by gold medalists Wang Chieh-ling and Chang Jui-en secured the full quota of available spots for Taiwan at the Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, in September. Wang opened Taiwan’s medal run by winning gold in the women’s under-46kg class on Thursday, the first day of competition. Liu Yu-yun later earned a silver in the under-49kg class. On the final day on Sunday, Chang won Taiwan’s second gold medal in the under-62kg event, and
RSS