Asians in the NBA Who Aren't Named "Yao"

It is a well-known fact that while many East Asians hold baseball closest to their hearts (esp. those in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan), Asian Americans love them some bball. So, as a supposed Asian American, I thought I should share a couple of news items about Asians in the NBA who are not named "Yao."

1)

Rich Cho, first Asian American GM in the NBA, signs on as GM of Charlotte Bobcats. A quick turnaround, considering he was only very recently fired by the Portland Trailblazers.

Cho acknowledged he "didn't see it coming" when the Blazers fired him. President Larry Miller said it was because of "chemistry issues," believed to be with owner Paul Allen. Cho declined to address the issue, saying he didn't want to "dwell on the past."

Cho will move from one celeb-owner to another: the Bobcats are owned by Greatest Ever and Known Asshole Michael Jordan.

2)

Pre-LeBrowndown II: Revenge of the Mavs, ESPN had a lengthy and interesting profile of the first Asian American head coach in any of America's Big Four sports (one day, MLS, one day...), Erik Spoelstra of the always-the-bridesmaid-never-the-bride Team LePippen... I mean, Miami Heat The mystery guest has arrived. Spoelstra is Filipino American. From angry asian man, where I saw the piece first:

The piece follows Spoelstra's beginnings growing up in Portland and playing basketball in college, to working his way up through the Miami Heat organization as a young man, before being named head coach in 2008. Consensus seems to be clear -- the guy works his ass off, and the work has paid off.

Didn't pay off in a ring, though! Just kidding. Don't be too hard on our Pinoy brother; LeBrondown II was entirely the King's fault.

3)

The Great Yellow Hope, (sometimes) Golden State Warrior Jeremy Lin, gets a profile on Hyphen Magazine's blog: Jeremy Lin's Rookie Season with the Golden State Warriors. It was a rough start, but things are looking up for the Bay Area-native:

I thought that it was pretty neat that Lin was getting a lot of attention, but as a fan, I worried that it might be too much for a third-string rookie point guard. It seemed like that it had an effect on him early in the season. Lin underperformed and was sent to the Developmental League on a few occasions during the season to focus on improving his game.

It took a while, but Lin was able to bounce back. When he was called back up to the roster in late March, Lin saw increased playing time. During the team’s final regular season game, he broke out with his best performance.

Against the Portland Trailblazers, Lin logged in a season-high 24 minutes while recording 12 points, five assists, five rebounds and two steals in the winning effort. He had come a long way to get this point, and it was a great way to end an incredible journey.

Lin appeared in 29 games overall in his debut year with the Warriors. His minutes increased towards the end of the season, and he started playing with the team’s second unit. He will have to carry over that momentum into an impressive summer to show the Warriors’ coaching staff that he’s ready to be a valuable role player.

The story also has a link to an interview Hyphen did with Lin last year.