A year after being rejected, Hong Kong’s Duncan Reid snapped up in Chinese basketball draft
South China forward caps remarkable season after being selected as the number three pick by Chinese Basketball Association side Zhejiang, having been ignored in 2016 draft
South China forward Duncan Reid, who just helped his club clinch the Hong Kong AI Division championship while winning the MVP award along the way, has been selected by Chinese Basketball Association team Zhejiang as the number three draft pick in Beijing.
The 27-year-old Hong Kong-born player follows in the footsteps of fellow South China player Lo Yi-ting, who played in China’s top-tier competition between 2010 and 2015.
“I’m extremely grateful to have been drafted, I want to thank my coaches, teammates and family for supporting me throughout the past year,” said Reid.
Reid was available in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) draft last year but failed to catch the eye of any of the mainland teams, despite standing at 2.03 metres tall.
“All the hard work since not getting drafted last year has paid off,” he added.
“It will be a tough adjustment as I am transitioning from the centre to power forward position as well as the CBA being the premier league in Asia. But I’m confident that I can contribute at the next level.”
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South China coach Chu Yiu-Ming hopes the player can return to Hong Kong during the off CBA season to play for the club, just like Lo did before.
“I’m unsure of my schedule, but I would like to come back and help South China,” said Reid.
Duncan will become the fifth player from Hong Kong to play in the CBA after Yu Hing-hoi, Poon Chi-ho, Lui Kin-wai and Lo.
