Mengke Bateer

Mengke Bateer (, pronounced ; born November 20, 1975), commonly referred to simply as Bateer in China, is a Chinese Inner Mongolian former professional basketball player. Playing at the center position, he played parts of three seasons in the NBA, winning the NBA Finals during one of them. However, he spent the majority of his career competing in the Chinese Basketball Association for the Beijing Ducks as the winner of the CBA finals and later, with the Xinjiang Flying Tigers before ending his career with the Sichuan Blue Whales in the lesser National Basketball League. Mengke scored a total of 8 points with the Toronto Raptors on his last season in the NBA. Background Mengke Bateer is a Chinese Mongol residing in China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Like most of the Mongols, he does not have a family name, and his full name is a composition of two words: Mönkh (Eternal) and Baatar (Hero). In Mandarin, he is simply referred to as Ba Te Er. He is also sometimes affectionately called "Da Ba" (大巴), with Da translating into English as "big", and Ba representing the first character of his name in Mandarin. At 210 cm and 132 kg, Bateer was a strong center widely respected as an accomplished screen-setter and passer, despite being severely hindered over the years by a lack of speed. His prowess as a passer was put on full display during one of his earliest NBA games when he dished out six assists against the Chicago Bulls on March 30, 2002. As of his official retirement in 2015, Bateer holds two notable distinctions. He is the only Chinese basketball player to have played in the NBA without being selected in any NBA draft. He is also the first Chinese basketball player, and one of only two overall, to have been on an NBA championship-winning roster, as he was a member of the San Antonio Spurs when they won the NBA championship in 2003. The only other Chinese player to accomplish this is Sun Yue, who was a member of the Los Angeles Lakers when they won the NBA championship in 2009. Bateer was also the first player of Asian descent to win an NBA title.