NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY

Welcome to another edition of The Layup Drill. This time around, we look at the first Vietnamese NBA player to win a championship, the return of Kaitlyn Chen to the Bay, a quick exit for an WNBA executive, the NBA and NHL Drafts, an up and coming UFC fighter, and a  major upset in 3 on 3 women’s basketball.

The Oklahoma City Thunder won the NBA Championship with a Game 7 victory over the Indiana Pacers. It was the first title for the Thunder since moving from Seattle. Thunder center Jaylin Williams became the first person of Vietnamese descent to win an NBA Championship. The 6-9, 23-year-old from Arkansas was drafted by the Thunder in 2022. His mother was born in Saigon, South Vietnam and moved to the United States in 1975 after the Vietnam War.  After the successful season, the Thunder signed him to a new 3-year, $24 million contract extension.

Golden State Valkyries guard Kaitlyn Chen during a WNBA preseason basketball game against the Los Angeles Sparks in San Francisco, Tuesday, May 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Weeks after cutting her, the Golden State Valkyries of the WNBA re-signed Kaityn Chen. The UConn draftee was a surprise cut on the last day of training camp. She then signed with the 3×3 Basketball Association (3XBA) for a team in Spokane. However, on June 15, the team re-signed Chen on an emergency contract which allowed the Valkyries to sign her due to the fact players on the team were still competing in EuroBasket, a tournament in Europe.. Notably, when the players came back from EuroBasket, cuts were made by Chen was not one of them. This could mean that she has impressed enough to remain with the team. In 4 games back with the Valkyries, she has played over 20 minutes in 3 of them. She averages 4 points and 2 rebounds in the 4 games.

Photo from LinkedIn

The WNBA’s popularity is at one of its highest and the number of teams continues to expand. The Golden State franchise started this year and will be joined in the future with teams in Toronto, Portland, Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia. The Portland franchise will begin in 2026 and while there is still time for the team to organize for its debut, the organization has decided to part ways with its president of business operations, Inky Son. In a joint statement with the owners of the organization, it was Son’s decision to leave the organization. Son was hired in April 2025. A veteran of the fashion industry, where she held an executive position at Calvin Klein, Son transitioned into sports. First, with Major League Baseball and then as Chief Administrative Officer for National Basketball Players’ Association, Son took the job in April and is no longer with the team after just two months. The departure came just before Portland was to reveal its brand identity. There were reports of a “rocky rollout” for the debut of the team and difficulties of making a connection with the organization.

The NBA and NHL Drafts took place in June with interesting results in both.

San Antonio Spurs first round NBA basketball draft pick Dylan Harper arrives for a news conference at the team’s facility in San Antonio, Saturday, June 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

First, with the second pick in the NBA Draft, the San Antonio Spurs picked Rutgers University guard Dylan Harper. Harper, the son of former NBA player Ron Harper, is half Filipino— his mother was born in the Philippines. Harper is tied for the highest drafted Filipino American as Jalen Green was drafted by the Houston Rockets with the number 2 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. Notably, Green was traded from Houston to Phoenix as part of a deal for the Rockets to receive former Seattle Supersonics forward Kevin Durant.

Portland Trail Blazers’ Yang Hansen, of China, responds to a question Portland Trail Blazers’ Yang Hansen, of China, responds to a question as Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups, left, looks on during a news conference on Friday, June 27, 2025, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)as Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups, left, looks on during a news conference on Friday, June 27, 2025, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

In a surprise, the Portland TrailBlazers selected 20-year-old center Yang Hansen from China. He became the third Chinese player to be drafted in the first round of the NBA Draft. Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian were the other two players from China picked in the NBA Draft.

“I know (Portland) is rainy, and the scenery here is really nice,” Yang said in Mandarin Chinese. It was Yang’s 20th birthday on the day of the NBA Draft. The Blazers gave him a birthday cake and a card upon his introduction at his first press conference two days later.

Simon Wang

The NHL Draft took place a day after the NBA Draft. Simon Wang was the highest-drafted player born in China when the San Jose Sharks took him with the first pick in the second round. The defenseman stands 6-foot-6 and weighs 215 pounds. He first became a fan of hockey when he attended the NHL China Games in 2018 and became fascinated by the sport.  He recalls his first hockey game was when he was 10 and went to a Los Angeles Kings game as part of a family trip. Although he laughs about falling asleep during the game, he wanted to pursue it. His family moved from Beijing to Toronto when he was 12 to pursue the dream of playing hockey. Wang’s birth name is Haoxi but he will go by Simon.

“It’s simpler for North Americans,” he said at his first news conference as an NHL player.

Aidan Park

The most interesting story of the draft is that of 19-year-old Aidan Park. A Hermosa Beach, California native, who played collegiate hockey at the University of Michigan was going to hang out at the NHL draft to support his friend Ryker Lee. But, Lee was drafted by the Nashville Predators in the first round on the first day of the draft. Lee flew to Nashville to meet his new team leaving Park alone for day two. With the draft being so close by in Los Angeles, Park thought it would be fun to go to the second day since it was so close to his home. Unknown to Park, who attended the second day of the draft in a hoodie and shorts, he was drafted in the seventh round by the Edmonton Oilers. Surprised, Park enjoyed his moment to come up on stage and be recognized as one of the drafted players in the NHL.

23-year-old Joshua Van’s ascent in the UFC has been dramatic. In late June, Van defeated the number 1 contender to the UFC flyweight championship to earn a shot at a title fight. Van is the first fighter of Burmese descent to fight in the UFC.

Van was born in Myanmar in 2001. He has five siblings. His family moved to Malaysia due to military and political conflict. At 12, his family moved to Houston, Texas. Van did not know any English when he moved to the U.S. and was bullied in school. As a result, his parents enrolled him in martial arts classes. Van picked up mixed martial arts as a sport and made his amateur debut in December 2020 at the age of 20. He was undefeated as an amateur fighter. He was picked up by the Ultimate Fighting Championships in 2023.

Joshua Van kicks Brandon Royval in a flyweight fight at UFC 317, Saturday, June 28, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Since then, Van the 5-5 Burmese fighter has made his mark on the 125 pound, Flyweight division in the UFC. Going 8-1 in the UFC, he has moved up the ranks quickly. Van put on a “Fight of the Night” performance against the then number 1 contender Brandon Royval this past June and earned the victory. With the victory, Van “jumped” the line of contenders and is likely to fight the champion, Alexandre Pantoja in the near future for the UFC belt.

The Mongolian women’s 3 on 3 basketball team scored an impressive upset of the United States in the FIBA 3×3 World Cup. Under this format, games are fast-paced as they last 10 minutes long or until a team scores 21 points. The underdog Mongolian team was ranked 10th going into the tournament and had to “win” in the “Play-In” round to make it to bracket play. Team USA was the fifth-ranked team in the world.  The US swept pool play by beating its 4 opponents.

The Mongolian team used 2 point shots (normally shots made behind the 3-point line in basketball as 3×3 goes by 1 points for every shot inside the line) to keep the Americans from catching them. Mongolia’s Khulan Onolbaatar hit 4 2-pointers to lead her team. They also defended well against the U.S. to earn the victory.

Jason can be reached at newstips@nwasianweekly.com