The Sun Finally Rises for the Lakers

Sun Yue played his first NBA regular-season game with Lakers on Sunday, filling in for Luke Walton, who was warming the bench due to an illness. Walton was suffering flu-like symptoms so Lakers’ coach Phil Jackson offered the roster spot to Sun over DJ Mbenga. Sun looked nervous during his first active stint playing this season and scored four points in his 5:14 of play. After the game, against the Milwaukee Bucks at Staples Center, he told the L.A. Times in fairly good English, “I feel different. (Usually) I’m already on the go now.” He’s right, he 6-9 guard  from China is usually the first one out of the locker room.

The Lakers first acquired Sun in 2007 with a second-round pick (40th overall) but he didn’t sign until Aug. 25 of this year and the crowd was happy about it: “I think we were both happy tonight. We both have a great night. I think it was a fantastic night for me, but also a fantastic night for the fans. I showed them something. At least I’m not making them disappointed tonight,” Sun told the Times.Despite the buzz about Sun’s first game, he said he was “excited but not nervous.” Sun will most likely play a few games on the Lakers’ NBA Development League team, the D-Fenders.

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