Chinese player He Tianju (Xinhuanet file photo)
Chinese player He Tianju will attend the NBA Summer League at the invitation of New Orleans Pelicans, it was confirmed on Tuesday.
He's club Liaoning published the letter of invitation from the NBA franchise Tuesday which said He will train from July 3 to 8 while games will be played in Las Vegas, Nevada, between July 11 and July 21.
Pelicans' director of player personnel David Booth said He had impressed him in a scout trip to China.
"I became familiar with Tianju He from a recent scout trip to China at the beginning of January. I have observed him on several occasions and think that it would be a great experience for him as a player to be involved with our summer league team," said Booth in the letter.
He, 24, helped his team to the runners-up position in the 2014-2015 CBA league and was voted the starting forward in 2015 CBA All-Star game.
NBA Summer League has a rich history of showcasing the NBA's future stars. Stephen Curry of Golden State and Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder, the last two winners of NBA Most Valuable Player Award, competed in Las Vegas before their rookie seasons, as did 2014-15 NBA Rookie of the Year Andrew Wiggins of the Minnesota Timberwolves, whose first game at NBA Summer League 2014 (where he played for the Cavaliers) was the second-most-viewed NBA Summer League telecast of all time.
It has been years for Chinese players to carve out a place in the world's top basketball league NBA and by far the most successful is former Houston Rockets center Yao Ming.
This trip could be the very first step for He to knock on the door of NBA like former Dallas Mavericks forward Wang Zhizhi and former San Antonio Spurs center Bateer.
