American basketball player Kyle Anderson to represent China at FIBA World Cup

This comes after the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) announced that Anderson had obtained Chinese citizenship through naturalisation.

The 29-year-old forward from New York is the latest elite athlete to gain Chinese nationality through naturalisation and the first basketball player to do so.

FIBA allows teams to have one naturalised player on their roster.

“(Anderson) obtained Chinese nationality this morning and met Yao Ming, chairman of the Chinese Basketball Association,” the CBA said in a post on its official Weibo account.

The governing body posted a photo of a beaming Anderson standing with its chairman, former NBA star Yao Ming.

“I’m so happy to announce that I will be representing China at the World Cup,” said Anderson in a video posted to his Weibo account.

“Really proud and honored to wear the team China jersey.”

Anderson averaged 9.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game in his first season with the Timberwolves. He was a first-round NBA draft pick in 2014 after playing two seasons at UCLA.

It is unclear if Anderson has renounced his original nationality.

China has strict rules that usually prevent dual nationality for its citizens.

The citizenship could also enable Anderson to represent China at the Olympic Games in Paris next year.

Chinese media reported Anderson’s maternal grandmother was born in Jamaica to a Chinese father and Jamaican mother.

China has naturalised a series of foreign-born athletes in recent years in a bid to strengthen its frequently underperforming national teams.

Other athletes who were naturalised include several Brazilians who moved to China in the hopes of playing international football.

Former Arsenal and Brentford midfielder Nico Yennaris, who was born in England, became the first overseas-born player to be called up for China’s national team in 2019.

(With inputs from agencies)

Updated: 24 Jul 2023, 11:20 PM IST