Kyle Anderson to wear ‘lucky’ No 1 jersey for China at Basketball World Cup
- NBA star – who is a newly naturalised Chinese citizen – says his relatives ‘told me that 1 is a very special number in China’
- Minnesota Timberwolves forward, 29, made his debut this month as China continue their World Cup preparations
Kyle Anderson has chosen to wear the “lucky” No 1 jersey for China at the Basketball World Cup – but only if his new fans will give him their blessing.
NBA star Anderson – or Li Kaier, which he has taken for his Chinese name – wore the No 5 during his first season in Minnesota, but has now swapped with Anthony Edwards ahead of the new campaign, after both realised they preferred each other’s number.
With current No 1 Xiao Zeng out injured for China, Anderson – who wore the No 1 at the Memphis Grizzlies between 2018 and 2022 – has taken the opportunity to inherit his favourite shirt on his new national team.
“In many important moments of my basketball career, I have worn the No 1 jersey to meet challenges, and it has brought me infinite strength and motivation,” Anderson wrote in a post on Chinese social media platform Weibo on Thursday.
“The new NBA season is coming, and I will put on the familiar No 1 jersey again. In the Chinese national team, I just learned that the current No 1 jersey can be chosen.