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Tacko Fall returning to China as he lands another contract in the CBA
After failing to latch on to an NBA team after his Summer League stint, 7-foot-6 center Tacko Fall is returning to China to play for the Nanjing Monkey Kings in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). This is what the affable big man revealed to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium.
Flourishing in China
Fall had hopes of carving out an NBA career after doing well at UCF for four years. However, he went undrafted but ended up signing with the Boston Celtics. He later moved on to the Cleveland Cavaliers, where he stayed for two seasons. The big man spent most of his time playing in the G League. In total, he played in just 37 games in his three seasons in the Association and averaged 2.2 points and 2.4 rebounds.
Not long after, he went to China and played for the Xinjiang Flying Tigers, where he made an immediate impact, averaging 13.8 points, 10.1 rebounds, and 3.3 blocks per game in 33 games.
Played for Milwaukee
Fall then tried his luck with the Bucks’ Summer League squad, where he played all five games and averaged 6.4 points, 4.4 boards, and 1.6 blocks per game. However, his efforts were apparently not enough to land him an NBA deal. And so, it’s back to China for Fall, where he said he’s developed his leadership skills.
"I think it pushed me out of my comfort zone a lot," Fall said. "Playing in the league, I was always trying to make my mark, trying to earn minutes, my first couple of years trying to earn a spot. Then you go to China, and you're like the main guy, everything's focused on you. So it really made me step into being more of a leader, getting out of my comfort zone of doing things I didn't know I could do."
