Nets' New Addition Cui: 'Just the Beginning'

The 21-year-old tells all in a recent article.

Cui Yongxi / fiba.basketball

Chinese basketball star Cui Yongxi has taken the first step towards his NBA dream. On Friday, the 21-year-old agreed to a two-way contract with the Brooklyn Nets, paving the way for Cui to become the first mainland Chinese player on an active roster since Zhou Qi.

In an article released by the South China Morning Post, the newest Net remained humble amid this exciting moment in his career.

"There is still a long way to go," he said. "I have to start from the development league and then improve my skills and experience. Only then can I slowly move to the NBA bench and maybe [get] NBA rotation. I don’t know how far I will go, but first of all, I have to take each step well, I think that is the key.”

Cui's move to the United States follows two seasons with the Guangzhou Loong Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association. He flashed in 99 appearances for the Loong Lions, tallying 14.1 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.7 steals per game. Cui's points, rebounds and steals averages were all team-highs in 2023-24.

The 6-foot-5 guard-forward credits his love of basketball to the late Kobe Bryant after witnessing the Mamba bury a dagger 15 years ago.

"I didn’t fall in love with the game until the 4th grade in elementary school when I saw Kobe making a buzzer-beater," he said. "It was in 2009, the Lakers played against the Heat, and the last shot of Kobe shocked me.”

With Brooklyn's rotation already thin at the guard spot, Cui's elevation to the Nets' active roster seems inevitable — and it may happen sooner than expected.

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