No Asian names in NBA draft this year
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E-mail Shanghai Daily, June 14, 2012
Asian stars have a bright future in the world's top basketball league, a senior NBA official said yesterday, despite the retirement of Yao Ming leaving only two of the continent's players active.
Just two Asians, Yao's fellow Chinese Yi Jianlian and Hamed Haddadi of Iran, played in the 2011-2012 NBA season but there are no names from the continent for the 2012 NBA draft due to be held on June 28.
"I wouldn't say Asia is underrepresented," National Basketball Association senior vice president Kim Bohuny said as the league opened a four-day camp in Tokyo to train young players from the region in cooperation with the International Basketball Federation (FIBA).
"What the NBA would like to do is just really work with FIBA and FIBA Asia to invest in development here," said Bohuny. "You have many talented young players and I really believe that the future of the region is very bright."
Bohuny noted the NBA and the Women's National Basketball Association were working with federations in Asia to develop talent.
Injury-prone Yao, a centre with the Houston Rockets, retired from basketball in July last year after helping boost the NBA's popularity in his native China for a decade.
Around 80 foreign-born players from three dozen countries have played in the NBA this past season, many of whom are from Europe. France alone has nine players active in the NBA.
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