The past, present, and future of Chinese Players in the NBL
August 4, 2022
Liu Chuanxing
- Nationality: CHN
- Date of Birth: 30/07/99
- Place of Birth: Puyang (China)
- Position: CTR
- Height (CM): 225
- Weight (KG): 130
- Junior Assoc: None
- College: None
- NBL DEBUT: 3/12/21
- AGE AT DEBUT: 22
- LAST NBL GAME: 23/04/22
- AGE AT LAST GAME: 22
- NBL History: Brisbane 2022
- Championships: 0
- None
BIO: Liu Chuanxing was born in Puyang (China).
NBL EXPERIENCE
Liu Chuanxing made his NBL debut with the Brisbane Bullets at 22 years of age. He went scoreless in his first NBL game.
On September 7, 2021, Liu signed a two-year deal with Brisbane as a Special Restricted Player. He became the tallest player in league history, surpassing Sam Harris who was measured at 7 ft 5 in (2.25 m). He joined a Bullets team who had just announced that Andrej Lemanis would vacate his role as head coach after five seasons. After considering assistant coach and former Bullets player CJ Bruton for the role, they instead brought in former Sydney Kings assistant James Duncan as the team’s new head coach.
The Bullets were also forced to re-tool their roster, making several changes to key personnel. While import Lamar Patterson returned, the Bullets lost Vic Law to Perth, and with BJ Johnson signing a NBA deal with Orlando, they were unable to retain him either. Local bigs Matt Hodgson (to Perth), Harry Froling (to Illawarra) and development player Callum Dalton (to Melbourne) all headed elsewhere, looking for better opportunities.
Brisbane re-signed Tyrell Harrison (two-year deal) and Jason Cadee (two-year deal) and filled the remaining gaps with international flavour, signing Chuanxing Liu (China), Jack Salt (New Zealand), Deng Deng (South Sudan), Next Star Tom Digbeu (France) and import Robert Franks (USA).
In the opening game of the season, the Bullets fell short against the JackJumpers in Tasmania (74-83). While the overtime loss didn’t end the team’s season, it set the tone for the Bullets, who saw single-digit losses pile up against the league’s top team’s all season.
As the competition hit the halfway mark, Brisbane’s record was 5-9, and with injuries to Harrison (elbow) and star guard Nathan Sobey (knee), Brisbane struggled to find any rhythm during the second half of the season with the duo missing 11 and 16 games respectively.
Robert Franks (18.2 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 1.6 assists) was the Bullets high scorer in 13 games, and leading vote getter for the Leroy Loggins MVP Award (Club MVP). While leading the team in scoring, he shot 50% from the field and 76% from the free-throw line and finished fifth in the league for points per game.
Patterson (16.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.0 steals), Sobey (16.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 3.5 assists), and Jason Cadee (10.4 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 4.9 assists) were the only other players scoring in double figures.
This season new head coach James Duncan wanted the Bullets to be better defensively, at the start of the season the 44-year-old would have been impressed with how his team was playing defensively. However, Brisbane wasn’t able to maintain it, and its defence fluctuated throughout the year, it finished the year as the worst defensive team, conceding 89.3 points per game and finishing first for turnovers, averaging 14.6 per game.
Although the Bullets did show small glimpses of potential under the reigns of new coach Duncan, Brisbane would miss the finals for the third straight year, finishing in eighth place (10-18). Liu would appear in 23 games for the Bullets, averaging 2.9 points, 1.6 rebounds, and 0.2 assists.
Liu Chuanxing played one season in the NBL. He averaged 2.9 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 0.2 assists in 23 NBL games.
HIGHLIGHTS:
Dan Boyce is a die-hard Sydney Kings fan who grew up in Melbourne during the roaring 90's of Australian Basketball and spent far too much time collecting Futera NBL Basketball cards.
NBL TOTAL STATISTICS
| SEASON | AGE | TEAM | TEAM RECORD | GP | MINS | PTS | REB | AST | OR | DR | STL | BLK | TO | PF | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% | FTM | FTA | FT% | TS% | EFG% | HS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-22 | 22 | Brisbane | 10-18 (8) | 23 | 137.0 | 67 | 40 | 5 | 22 | 18 | 5 | 1 | 13 | 25 | 25 | 45 | 56% | 0 | 1 | 0% | 17 | 24 | 71% | 59% | 56% | 10 | Totals | 23 | 137 | 67 | 40 | 5 | 22 | 18 | 5 | 1 | 13 | 25 | 25 | 45 | 55.6% | 0 | 1 | 0.0% | 17 | 24 | 70.8% | 60% | 56% | 10 |
NBL PER GAME STATISTICS
| SEASON | AGE | TEAM | TEAM RECORD | GP | MINS | PTS | REB | AST | OR | DR | STL | BLK | TO | PF | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% | FTM | FTA | FT% | TS% | EFG% | HS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-22 | 22 | Brisbane | 10-18 (8) | 23 | 6.0 | 2.9 | 1.7 | 0.2 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.6 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 2.0 | 56% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0% | 0.7 | 1.0 | 71% | 59% | 56% | 10 | Total | 23 | 6.0 | 2.9 | 1.7 | 0.2 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.6 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 2.0 | 55.6% | 0.0 | 0.0% | 0.0 | 70.8% | 60% | 56% | 10 |
CAREER HIGHS
| POINTS | REBOUNDS | ASSISTS | STEALS | BLOCKS | TURNOVERS | TRIPLE DOUBLES | 10 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
|---|
FIBA EXPERIENCE
Liu made his international debut for China at the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers. In a game against Chinese Taipei, he logged 16 points and nine rebounds.
The following month, Liu suited up for the national team at the 2020 FIBA Mens Olympic Qualifying Tournaments, where he only played in one game.
| Season | Team | PTS | AST | STL | BLK | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 34% | 27% | 37% | 38% | ||||||
| 2 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| Total | 25 | 45 | 55.6% | 0 | 1 | 0.0% |
NBA TOTAL STATISTICS
| YEAR | AGE | TEAM | POS | GP | GS | MINS | PTS | TRB | AST | ORB | DRB | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | FG | FGA | FG% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | FT | FTA | FT% | TS% | EFG% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-22 | 22 | Brisbane | 10-18 (8) | 23 | 137.0 | 67 | 40 | 5 | 22 | 18 | 5 | 1 | 13 | 25 | 25 | 45 | 56% | 0 | 1 | 0% | 17 | 24 | 71% | 59% | 56% | 10 | Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE
- China - Qingdao (2018-2021)
Related
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