Sun Yue (basketball)

Sun Yue (simplified Chinese: 孙悦; traditional Chinese: 孫悅; pinyin: Sūn Yuè [swə́n yɤ̂]; born November 6, 1985) is a Chinese professional basketball player who is playing for the Beijing Royal Fighters in the Chinese Basketball Association.

Sun Yue
孙悦
No. 9 – Beijing Royal Fighters
PositionShooting guard / Small forward
LeagueChinese Basketball Association
Personal information
Born (1985-11-06) 6 November 1985
Cangzhou, Hebei, China
NationalityChinese
Listed height6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight215 lb (98 kg)
Career information
NBA draft2007 / Round: 2 / Pick: 40th overall
Selected by the Los Angeles Lakers
Playing career2002–present
Career history
2002–2008Beijing Olympians
2008–2009Los Angeles Lakers
2008–2009→Los Angeles D-Fenders
2009–2013Beijing Olympians
2011–2017Beijing Ducks
2019–currentBeijing Royal Fighters
Career highlights and awards
  • 2× CBA champion (2014, 2015)
  • NBA champion (2009)
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing  China
FIBA Asia Cup
2005 Doha
2009 Tianjin
2011 Wuhan
Asian Games
2006 Doha
2010 Guangzhou
This is a Chinese name; the family name is Sun.

CBA career

Sun Yue signed his first professional contract with Chinese Basketball Association side Beijing Olympians in 2002 at the age of 17. In 2004, Sun was selected to the Chinese national under-20 team, but when Beijing refused to release him to play, the team was banned from playing in the Chinese Basketball Association. After touring in Taiwan, the team moved to play in the American Basketball Association. In Sun's first season in the American Basketball Association, he scored 9.5 points per game and seven rebounds per game with 6.7 assists per game. Sun also had his first triple-double of his career with 12 points, 12 rebounds, and 14 assists[1] and was named to the All-ABA second team. In the following season, Sun improved his numbers, making the All-ABA first team with 13.5 points per game and six rebounds per game with 10.5 assists per game. Sun rejoined the Beijing Olympians after he was released by the Los Angeles Lakers in 2009.

After playing several more seasons with the Beijing Olympians (remaining with the club until its eventual disbanding in 2013), Sun then signed with the Beijing Ducks of the Chinese Basketball Association in 2013. He played a vital role in helping Beijing win their second CBA championship title during the 2013-14 season. Not only that, but he also provided a useful role in helping Beijing repeat as champions a year later.

NBA career

After originally entering the 2006 NBA Draft but subsequently withdrawing,[1] Sun decided to enter the 2007 NBA Draft and was taken by the Los Angeles Lakers as the 40th overall pick.[2] With Sun being drafted alongside Yi Jianlian that year, it marked the first time in NBA draft history that two China-born players were drafted in the same year. That feat would not be repeated until 2016. It would also be the first time in modern NBA history that a Chinese basketball player would be drafted outside of the CBA. However, Sun stayed with the Beijing Olympians for another year before signing with Los Angeles in August 2008.[3]

Only a few days after his arrival in the United States, Sun suffered from a bout with mononucleosis and had to be hospitalized.[4] After recovering from his illness, Sun finally made his debut on 7 December 2008 against the Milwaukee Bucks, scoring four points in five minutes of play.[5][6]

Sun played in a total of ten regular season games and averaged 2.8 minutes and 0.6 points per game before being assigned to the Lakers' D-League affiliate, the Los Angeles D-Fenders.[5][7] He played six games with the team, averaging 0.7 points and 0.2 assists per game.[8] Sun then suffered a left ankle sprain during practice with the D-Fenders and missed the remaining D-League games.[9]

Sun eventually recovered and traveled with the Lakers as a member of their playoff roster, but he was not activated. Since he was a member of the team when the Lakers ultimately won their championship, he did receive a ring and was crowned as an NBA champion. He is the first ethnic Chinese player to win an NBA championship.[5] Following the death of Kobe Bryant in 2020, Sun posted a tribute to Bryant on his Weibo account, writing: "After I came to the Lakers, I was lucky to be your teammate. This is the dream of many people."[10]

Sun was waived by Los Angeles on 31 July 2009.[11][12] He then joined the New York Knicks, but was waived on 7 October 2009, before the next season started, due to a stress fracture in his knee.[13] He did not play for two seasons until returning to the CBA in the 2013–14 season.

National team career

Sun competed in the NBA Summer League with the Chinese national basketball team in the summer of 2007. This was seen as a chance for the Chinese national team to gain further experience against international competition in preparation for the 2008 Summer Olympics, which Sun would also compete in. He also participated in the 2007 Stanković Continental Champions' Cup and played a vital role in the wins against Venezuela and New Zealand. Sun earned a silver medal in the 2009 FIBA Asia Championship after China finished as runners-up in the tournament. He earned a gold medal in the 2011 FIBA Asia Championship as his side won against Jordan.[14][15][16]

Career statistics

CBA statistics
Year Team GP RPG APG FG% FT% PPG
2013–14 Beijing 49 5.1 4.0 .456 .721 13.7
2014–15 Beijing 49 3.9 3.7 .480 .846 11.1
Career 98 4.5 3.9 .468 .784 12.4

NBA statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high
 †  Won an NBA championship

Regular season
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2008–09† L.A. Lakers 1002.8.273.000.000.0.2.1.10.6
Career 1002.8.273.000.000.0.2.1.10.6
gollark: ... sonasers? Anyway.
gollark: GTech™ auditory lasers.
gollark: It works as a wall replacement ish because I have some code for identifying two sessions on the same IP.
gollark: Or so you can talk to people in your datacentre if you're bored.
gollark: Or in larger buildings which still have a LAN.

References
  1. "Yue Sun 2007 Draft Profile". NBA.com. Archived from the original on April 20, 2012. Retrieved February 11, 2009.
  2. "Yi, Sun Picked in NBA Draft". china.org.cn. June 29, 2007. Archived from the original on February 17, 2011. Retrieved February 12, 2009.
  3. Hine, Chris (August 9, 2008). "Lakers agree to terms with guard Sun Yue, 2007 second-round pick". LA Times. Archived from the original on October 1, 2012. Retrieved February 12, 2009.
  4. Bresnahan, Mike (September 26, 2008). "Lakers rookie Sue Yue has mononucleosis". LA Times. Archived from the original on May 4, 2011. Retrieved February 12, 2009.
  5. Los Angeles Lakers Where Are They Now?: Catching Up with Sun Yue Archived December 3, 2019, at the Wayback Machine. Bleacher Report. May 29, 2012.
  6. "Chinese star Sun Yue makes NBA debut for Lakers". Bangkok Post. December 8, 2008. Retrieved February 12, 2009.
  7. Turner, Broderick (March 6, 2009). "Lakers send Sun Yue to D-League". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 10, 2009. Retrieved March 8, 2009.
  8. "NBA Development League: Sun Yue Playerfile". Nba.com. November 6, 1985. Archived from the original on March 11, 2009.
  9. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on July 12, 2012. Retrieved May 20, 2009.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. "Kobe Bryant: China's tributes led by ex-Lakers teammates as China mourns NBA star". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on January 27, 2020. Retrieved January 27, 2020.
  11. "Sun Yue Stats - Basketball-Reference.com". Basketball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on October 27, 2017. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
  12. "Page Not Found - Los Angeles Times". Archived from the original on November 15, 2019. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
  13. Alan Hahn (October 7, 2009). "Yue, Pruitt among four waived by Knicks". Newsday.com. Archived from the original on October 11, 2009. Retrieved October 8, 2009.
  14. "FIBA ASIA - China book place in London in front of record TV audience". Fiba.com. Archived from the original on December 7, 2011. Retrieved December 19, 2011.
  15. "26th FIBA Asia Championship : News Details". Wuhan2011.fibaasia.net. Archived from the original on November 8, 2011.
  16. "26th FIBA Asia Championship - Wuhan, China". Wuhan2011.fibaasia.net. Archived from the original on July 22, 2012.
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