Former NBA guard O.J. Mayo will play in China when play resumes in that country following a stoppage for the coronavirus.
The Liaoning Flying Leopards of the Chinese Basketball Association announced yesterday that Mayo is in Shenyang, the team’s home base, and will sign a contract after he spends time in quarantine and passes a physical.
The Chinese Basketball Association suspended play amid the outbreak in that country on Feb. 1. The league is expected to return in mid-April with all teams based in one or two cities and without fans in the stands, ESPN reported.
Mayo, 32, was drafted No. 3 overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2008. He was sent to the Memphis Grizzlies in a draft-day trade that shipped Kevin Love to Minnesota.
He has been out of the NBA since the end of the 2015-16 season after being banned for violating the league’s anti-drug policy.
In 547 NBA games (325 starts) with the Grizzles, Dallas Mavericks and Milwaukee Bucks, Mayo averaged 13.8 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game.
Since leaving the NBA, Mayo has played internationally, including stops in Puerto Rico and Taiwan and China’s second-tier league.
—Field Level Media
