Mengke Bateer (simplified Chinese: åŸå…‹å·´ç‰¹å°"; traditional
Chinese: åŸå…‹å·´ç‰¹çˆ¾; pinyin: Mèngkè BÄ tè'Ä›r, pronounced
[mə̂ŋkʰɤ̂ paÌ tʰɤ̂àɚ]; born November 20, 1975), commonly
referred to simply as Bateer in China, is a retired Chinese Inner
Mongolian professional basketball player. A tall and imposing presence
at the center position, he played parts of three seasons in the NBA,
winning the NBA Finals during one of them. However, he spent the
majority of his career competing in the Chinese Basketball Association
for the Beijing Ducks as the winner of CBA finals and later with the
Xinjiang Flying Tigers before ending his career with the Sichuan Blue
Whales in the lesser National Basketball League. Mengke scored a total
of 8 points with the Toronto Raptors on his last season in the
NBA.Mengke Bateer is a member of the predominant ethnic minority group
residing in China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Like many other
ethnic Mongols, he does not have a family name, and his full name is a
composition of two words: Mönkh (Eternal) and Baatar (Hero). In
Mandarin, he is simply referred to as Ba Te Er. He is also sometimes
affectionately called "Da Ba" (大巴), with Da translating into
English as "big", and Ba representing the first character of his name
in Mandarin.At 210 cm and 132 kg, Bateer was a strong center widely
respected as an accomplished screen-setter and passer, despite being
severely hindered over the years by a lack of speed. His prowess as a
passer was put on full display during one of his earliest NBA games
when he dished out six assists against the Chicago Bulls on March 30,
2002.As of his official retirement in 2015, Bateer holds two notable
distinctions. He is the only Chinese basketball player to have played
in the NBA without being selected in any NBA draft. He is also the
first Chinese basketball player, and one of only two overall, to have
been on an NBA championship-winning roster, as he was a member of the
San Antonio Spurs when they won the NBA championship in 2003. The only
other Chinese player to accomplish this is Sun Yue, who was a member
of the Los Angeles Lakers when they won the NBA championship in 2009.
Bateer was also the first player of Asian descent to win an NBA title.
Chinese: åŸå…‹å·´ç‰¹çˆ¾; pinyin: Mèngkè BÄ tè'Ä›r, pronounced
[mə̂ŋkʰɤ̂ paÌ tʰɤ̂àɚ]; born November 20, 1975), commonly
referred to simply as Bateer in China, is a retired Chinese Inner
Mongolian professional basketball player. A tall and imposing presence
at the center position, he played parts of three seasons in the NBA,
winning the NBA Finals during one of them. However, he spent the
majority of his career competing in the Chinese Basketball Association
for the Beijing Ducks as the winner of CBA finals and later with the
Xinjiang Flying Tigers before ending his career with the Sichuan Blue
Whales in the lesser National Basketball League. Mengke scored a total
of 8 points with the Toronto Raptors on his last season in the
NBA.Mengke Bateer is a member of the predominant ethnic minority group
residing in China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Like many other
ethnic Mongols, he does not have a family name, and his full name is a
composition of two words: Mönkh (Eternal) and Baatar (Hero). In
Mandarin, he is simply referred to as Ba Te Er. He is also sometimes
affectionately called "Da Ba" (大巴), with Da translating into
English as "big", and Ba representing the first character of his name
in Mandarin.At 210 cm and 132 kg, Bateer was a strong center widely
respected as an accomplished screen-setter and passer, despite being
severely hindered over the years by a lack of speed. His prowess as a
passer was put on full display during one of his earliest NBA games
when he dished out six assists against the Chicago Bulls on March 30,
2002.As of his official retirement in 2015, Bateer holds two notable
distinctions. He is the only Chinese basketball player to have played
in the NBA without being selected in any NBA draft. He is also the
first Chinese basketball player, and one of only two overall, to have
been on an NBA championship-winning roster, as he was a member of the
San Antonio Spurs when they won the NBA championship in 2003. The only
other Chinese player to accomplish this is Sun Yue, who was a member
of the Los Angeles Lakers when they won the NBA championship in 2009.
Bateer was also the first player of Asian descent to win an NBA title.
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