IECO Green Warriors imports Richard Howell and Sam Logwood will have their work cut out for them.
After 14 seasons in the NBA, where he became known as one of the league’s top big men, Al Jefferson is now taking his talents to the other side of the globe, as he will be joining the Xinjiang Flying Tigers of the CBA.
The 6-foot-10 Jefferson signed with the ball club last July after being waved by the Indiana Pacers in the same month, and will make his debut in the Asia League’s Terrific 12 tournament in Macau, China from September 18 to 23.
Jefferson entered the NBA straight out of high school in 2004, and he was the 15th overall pick of the Boston Celtics. He would go on to play for the Minnesota Timberwolves, Utah Jazz, Charlotte Hornets, and the Pacers.
The Mississipi native had his breakout with the Timberwolves, but it was only in 2014 with the Hornets where he would be named to the All-NBA Third Team along with LaMarcus Aldridge, Goran Dragic, Paul George, and Damian Lillard.
The 33-year-old won’t be the only former NBA player in the Terrific 12, though.
Marreese “Mo” Speights, who spent 10 seasons in the NBA playing for six different teams, will also see action in the six-day tournament as he is set to join another Chinese ball club in the Guangzhou Long Lions.
Speights, the 16th overall pick by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2008 NBA Draft, last played for the Orlando Magic just last season. And just like Jefferson, the 31-year-old forward-center signed with the Long Lions back in July.
The Florida product has proven himself as a winner in the NBA, as he was among the players that helped the Golden State Warriors capture the NBA title back in 2015 at the expense of LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
