With the 2018 NBA Draft around the corner and the Portland Trail Blazers holding the 24th selection in the first round, we’re looking at a number of prospects who might fall into that area. Today we stray from that path and take a look at the top Chinese prospect, Abudushalamu Abudurexiti. For those of you that have yet to come across a name similar to this, it is pronounced Ah-BOO-Doo-Shah-LAH-Moo Ah-BOO-Doo-Rex-EE-Tee. There is not a ton of information out there on him, and he’s not a highly touted prospect, but he’s definitely intriguing.

Abudushalamu Abudurexiti - Xinjiang, China

• Height: 6’8”
• Weight: 187
• Wingspan:
• Shoots: Right
• Position: SF
• Age: 21
• Projected draft range: Undrafted

2017-18 Statistics (42 games)

• PPG: 6.9 | Per 40: 14.5
• RPG: 4.1 | Per 40: 8.6
• APG: 0.7 | Per 40: 1.47
• STL: 0.6 | Per 40: 1.26
• BLK: 0.3 | Per 40: 0.7
• FG%: 49.1%
• FT%: 77.7%
• 3P%: 35.2 (25/71)

2017-18 Season

Abudushalamu Abudurexiti, or Abadu, entered the 2017-18 season with high expectations after his team, the Xinjiang Flying Tigers, won the Chinese League championship the previous year while he started 12 games and averaged 3.1 points and 1.6 rebounds in limited minutes. Abadu’s minutes jumped in 2017-18, as did his production, but hardly to that of an NBA player. That didn’t stop NBA scouts from eyeballing the 6’8 forward.

Strengths

Abudurexiti has great size and length, but his most appealing trait is his ability to shoot the three and with NBA range.

Weaknesses

Abudurexiti plays the three in the CBA, but he will have problems with the quickness of NBA guards and forwards. He is not mobile enough to defend a wing and not strong enough to guard a power forward. Quickness, movement and strength will all be traits that need to be improved if Abadu is going to find a role at the NBA level.

Overall Assessment

This is a stash-and-wait player if he gets drafted at all. Most ex-NBA players that end up in China dominate statistically in every way. I watched Andre Emmit score 60 points in China. Abadu’s teammate, ex-Washington Wizard and Brooklyn Net Andray Blatche, is currently averaging over 24 and 11. That is the type of production that normally comes from NBA talent in China. Abudurexiti is nowhere close to that yet.

Overall Fit

There has been some hype around Abudurexiti coming into the draft but the odds of him getting drafted are slim to none. He’s received a few workouts although Portland is not one of them. It’s safe to say that if Abudurexiti makes it to the NBA, it will not be for the upcoming season. That said, he has gotten a lot of hype lately, mostly because of his name. If you would like to sound like an NBA draft guru, scroll back to the top of this page and memorize how to pronounce Abudushalamu Abudurexiti. It’s not as hard as it looks. People will be discussing him for the weeks building up to the draft, get yourself in the know.