Vietnamese American standout guard signs with NBA's Oklahoma Thunder; 4 other hopefuls keep dreams alive

NBA

Vietnamese American Jaylen Williams will play for the Oklahoma City Thunder next season.

Of the five Asians and Asian Americans prospects eligible for the NBA draft last Thursday, only guard Jalen Williams was picked up by one of the professional basketball teams.

The Oklahoma City Thunder selected the Vietnamese/Creole player with the overall No. 12 pick in the National Basketball Association 2022 draft. He played three years with the University of Santa Clara where he averaged 18 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.2 assists.

Four other Asian or Asian American players went undrafted by any of the NBA teams but hold out dreams for playing for the top basketball league in the world.

UCLA guard Johnny Juzang signed a two way deal with the Utah Jazz, which didn't have a pick in the two rounds of the draft. A two-way deal allows the  6-feet, 6-inch Vietnamese American player to play with the Jazz or its G-league affiliate. If he plays for the Jazz, he'll likely team up with Filipino American Jordan Clarkson, one of the star players for the Jazz the last two seasons.

The Indiana Pacers also signed Fanbo Zeng to an Exhibit 10 deal Saturday, according to The Indianapolis Star. An Exhibit 10 deal is a one-year, minimum-salary contract that counts toward a team's 20-man offseason roster limit, but doesn't count against the cap unless the player makes the regular season roster. The 6-foot 11 froward, Considered one of the top basketball prospects from China since Yao Min, Zeng has been playing with the G-league Ignite.

Kai Sotto from the Philippines and currently playing in the Australian pro team from Adelaide, wasn't picked up by any of the NBA teams. The 7-foot 2 center worked out for several teams before the draft. He hopes to be accepted to the NBA Summer League to further show off his skills to scouts. Otherwise, Adelaide said they would be willing accommodate the 20-year old Sotto if he chooses to return to the 36ers.

Also going undrafted was South Korean player Lee Hyun-jung. The 21-year-old had declared for the draft in April after completing his junior season with the Davidson College Wildcats. A foot injury suffered during a workout a week before the draft probably hurt the chances of the 6-foot 7 wing. He hopes to play for a G-league team.

The NBA draft saw 58 players with experience on college, foreign teams or G-league experience were drafted by the 29 teams participating held in Brooklyn last June 24. Utah was the only team not drafting players because they traded way their spots for veteran players.

Asian and/or Asian American players are still a rarity in the National Basketball League. Jalen Williams will join four active players of Asian descent on NBA rosters, including: Jordan Clarkson of the Utah Jazz, Jalen Green of the Houston Rockets, Yuta Watanabe of the Toronto Raptors and Rui Hachimura of the Washington Wizards.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow @DioknoEd on Twitter.