As I watched Johnny Juzang lead a fourth quarter comeback amongst a smattering of third-string NBA players, many of whom won’t ever play a single regular season game, inspiration hit me.
Yes. Inspiration
struck around 7:19 p.m. (PT) on a Tuesday evening amid a meaningless 20-point preseason blowout.
I couldn’t help but find myself glued to my laptop, haphazardly picking at the dinner my wife had just worked hard to prepare for us. Something special was happening in this game. We were witnessing a rare occurrence of something I’ve often fantasized myself to be: An Asian NBA player dominating a game.
On my favorite team.
Sometimes columns write you.
Though Juzang played so well that he got himself subbed out of the game for a deeper bench warmer (The Timberwolves would have surely won had he stayed in), it hardly phased me. My brain was already replaying times when similar emotions had been evoked in the past. As aforementioned, this was rare occasion, but not the first.
What does an Asian basketball player playing for my favorite basketball team mean to me?
Let’s prime this with a quick history about the Minnesota Timberwolves and the country of Asia. The Wolves played two regular season games against the Sacramento Kings in Tokyo, Japan to open the 1999-2000 season. It wasn’t until 18 years later when Minnesota traveled to China for a pair of preseason games in 2017. Most recently, they played Abu Dhabi 2023.
The end.
I may have been raised in the United States, I know there are populations of people who’s exposure to basketball were significantly shaped by the Wolves presence in Asia.
Let’s focus back on what’s happened on the court during the 36 years of Timberwolves existence. Juzang’s explosion had me pondering about what were some of the most memorable moments of Asian players, whatever percentage Asian they are, that have happened while they were in a Wolves jersey?
Wolves Sign Taiwanese Jet Chang to Summer League
To start, I’ll fully acknowledge my own bias here. Back when the majority of current Wolves fans weren’t Wolves fans, the Timberwolves signed some cool names to summer league camp. My ears perked up as soon as I heard that Tsung-Hsien “Jet” Chang (張宗憲), who was born and raised in Taiwan before playing division II college ball in Hawaii, made the Minnesota’s 2012 Las Vegas Summer League team.
Sure, he didn’t participate in any of the actual games, but it was still a big moment for Taiwanese Timberwolves fans like myself. I got a glimpse of hope that an Asian player could one day suit up for my favorite basketball team.
Clutch Steal by Chinese-Jamaican Kyle Anderson Defeats Defending Champions
It took a whole decade to pass before any other player of Asian descent dawned a Timberwolves jersey. In 2022, new President of Basketball Operations, Tim Connelly, signed Kyle Anderson. There had not been a lot shared about Kyle Anderson’s ancestry, but in 2023, he explored his roots. Anderson obtained Chinese citizenship ahead of the 2023 FIBA World Cup, connecting back to his great grandfather who was Chinese.
It’s hard to pick just one moment for Li Kaier (李凯尔), as he was an integral part of those early Rudy Gobert, Karl-Anthony Towns teams. In just two seasons, Anderson became third in Wolves franchise history in total triple-doubles (3). However, one of the moments I was most proud of him was when he picked off a Draymond Green pass, leading to a clutch assist for the go-ahead trey ball by Towns.
This is just a microcosm of who Anderson is as a player. Or should I say, Li.
Dramatic Comeback in OKC Spearheaded by Samoan-African Rob Dillingham
Is Samoa technically a part of Asia? No. But often times, Pacific Islanders may or may not be rightfully lumped together with Asians as it pertains to Western acknowledgement of ethnicities. I can get into a deeper academic dive into this topic, but that’s not why we’re here.
For the purpose of this piece, I’ll add recent lottery pick, Rob Dillingham, to this list.
The 20-year-old hasn’t been quite what many had expected him to be in his young career thus far (See: Yesterday’s game), but he did have moments during his rookie season. The one that I’ll always remember is when he helped lead a late charge against the soon-to-be-crowned NBA champion, Oklahoma City Thunder. He may not have had the signature game-winning block that Anthony Edwards had, but like Anderson, Dillingham made a ton of crucial plays to help pull the Wolves get an opportunity to steal a win against a champion-level team.
Vietnamese-Creole Johnny Juzang Goes Berserk in Preseason
Is that Troy Brown Jr.? That’s not Matt Ryan, is it? Wait, is that Sean Kilpatrick’s music? No, no, and no. This, is one Mr. Johnny Juzang. A flame thrower that has shot 9 of 15 (60%) through the first two Wolves preseason games. I know what you’re thinking – None of this counts. But when man’s is canning five straight triples without a miss?
You got to take notice.
Especially as someone who grew up without many basketball skills other than being able to somewhat shoot the ball, there aren’t many other outcomes that would get me more hyped than this. An Asian player, on the Timberwolves, sinking long distance shots with reckless abandon.
So back to the unanswered question of what an Asian basketball player playing for my favorite basketball team means to me.
It means everything.
It means I can see someone living the dream that I literally dream about. Till this day. However uncommon these instances have been, even though these players don’t know of my existence, I am positive they know people just like me around the world are being inspired. Don’t take it from me, as I’m just one of the billions of Asian people in the world who had have hoop dreams.
Take it from one of the few people who’ve actually made it, and will hopefully make it again this season.
