Bonzi Wells makes China debut with 48 points

2008/12/22 12:40 pm 12:40 pm12:40 pm12:40 pm 0 comments

Author:

Stuart Leung

Bonzi Wells made his debut in China last night, and his numbers were impressive for his new club Shanxi Zhongyu of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA).

The former-Houston Rocket scored 48 points, pulled down 11 rebounds, and had 7 steals in a 107-106 tight win over Tianjin Ronggang.

“I never thought that today I would score 48 points,” Wells humbly told the local media. “That is not my normal style.” Despite trying to sound humble, Wells put on a dominating performance.

It’s worth mentioning that Wells had to shoot 37 times to get his 48 points, which included 15 three-point attempts (5-15).

And you would think an NBA player wouldn’t be nervous before a game in a league that is generally believed to be a couple levels below the NBA, but Bonzi admitted to being a bit anxious before the game, “I was really nervous before the game and I was only thinking about turning my nerves into energy,” Bonzi said through a Chinese translator.

Shanxi is currently seventh place in the CBA with a 9-7 record. However expectations are much higher for the three-year old club with the addition of the 32-year old Wells, whom averaged 12.5 points and 4.6 rebounds during his 10-year NBA career. With Olumide Oyedeji, another ex-NBA player, Zhongyu is expected to become an elite team in the 16-club Chinese league.

The CBA’s regulations only allows for two foreign players on each club’s roster. Shanxi had to release Donta Smith, another ex-NBA player, to make room for Wells to sign with the team. In Donta Smith’s last game with Shanxi before being replaced by Wells, he scored 41 points.

In addition to Wells, Oyedeji, and Donta Smith, there are a number of ex-NBA players playing in the CBA including Rodney White, Priest Lauderdale, Kirk Snyder, Awvee Storey, David Harrison, Dontae Jones, Amal McCaskill, Donnell Harvey, Chris Porter, and of course Wang Zhizhi and Mengke Bateer.

Links and Resources: CBA Season 2008-09 (Interbasket Discussion Thread), Bonzi Wells scores 48 in China basketball debut (ABS-CBN News Online), Bonzi Wells joins Shanxi Zhongyu of Chinese League (Interbasket)

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