Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Mengke Bateer
Mönkhbaatar, commonly known by his Chinese name Mengke Bateer (simplified Chinese: 孟克巴特尔; traditional Chinese: 孟克巴特爾; pinyin: Mèngkè Bātè'ěr, pronounced [mə̂ŋkʰɤ̂ pátʰɤ̂àɚ]; born November 20, 1975), is a Mongolian-Chinese former professional basketball player. As a center, he played parts of three seasons in the NBA, winning the NBA Finals with the San Antonio Spurs in 2003; Bateer is one of two players born in China to win an NBA championship, the other being shooting guard/small forward Sun Yue, who won the 2009 NBA Finals with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Bateer spent the majority of his career competing in the Chinese Basketball Association for the Beijing Ducks and Xinjiang Flying Tigers before ending his career with the Sichuan Blue Whales in the lesser National Basketball League.
Bateer hails from China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Like most Mongols, he does not have a surname and only goes by the name Mönkhbaatar (lit. 'Eternal Hero'). Chinese fans also sometimes refer to him affectionately as "Da Ba" (大巴), with Da meaning "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 for his play as a screen-setter and passer. While his effectiveness was often limited by a lack of speed, he recorded six assists against the Chicago Bulls on March 30, 2002.
As of his official retirement in 2015, Bateer holds three notable distinctions: he was the only Chinese player to have played in the NBA without being selected in any NBA draft until Cui Yongxi signed with the Brooklyn Nets in 2024; he was the first player of Asian descent to win an NBA championship; and he was the first Chinese player to have been on a title-winning roster, taking part in the San Antonio Spurs' triumphant 2003 season. His compatriot Sun Yue also accomplished this achievement as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers when they won the NBA championship in 2009. Coincidentally, Bateer and Sun would win the 2014 CBA championship for the Beijing Ducks together, making them the first, and so far only, Chinese players to win both the NBA and CBA finals; a feat matched only by American player Eric Moreland in 2022.
Bateer was also the first-ever Chinese player to start an NBA game when he joined the Denver Nuggets in 2002. Yao Ming would become the second Chinese player to do so later in that year and Wang Zhizhi, despite being the first-ever Chinese player to join the league, did not start in a game until years later.
Brought up through the youth ranks by the Beijing Ducks, Mengke Bateer made his debut for China's national basketball team prior to the 1994 Asian Games, at the age of 18. Three years later, although a regular member of the playing rotation, he was removed from the national squad due to "disciplinary problems" as reported in the media. Often presented to the public as a filial son, Bateer would attempt several times over the course of his career to leave his teams, and return to his family.
While training with China's national team in 1999, Bateer was invited to play in a pre-draft tournament held in Phoenix, where he suffered from jet lag and did not impress the scouts in attendance. He also made a brief appearance at another pre-draft venue, in Treviso, Italy. But he would have to wait several more years to play in the NBA, staying with the Ducks from the 1997–98 CBA season through the 2001–02 season, and earning MVP honors at the 2002 CBA All-Star Game.
Hub AI
Mengke Bateer AI simulator
(@Mengke Bateer_simulator)
Mengke Bateer
Mönkhbaatar, commonly known by his Chinese name Mengke Bateer (simplified Chinese: 孟克巴特尔; traditional Chinese: 孟克巴特爾; pinyin: Mèngkè Bātè'ěr, pronounced [mə̂ŋkʰɤ̂ pátʰɤ̂àɚ]; born November 20, 1975), is a Mongolian-Chinese former professional basketball player. As a center, he played parts of three seasons in the NBA, winning the NBA Finals with the San Antonio Spurs in 2003; Bateer is one of two players born in China to win an NBA championship, the other being shooting guard/small forward Sun Yue, who won the 2009 NBA Finals with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Bateer spent the majority of his career competing in the Chinese Basketball Association for the Beijing Ducks and Xinjiang Flying Tigers before ending his career with the Sichuan Blue Whales in the lesser National Basketball League.
Bateer hails from China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Like most Mongols, he does not have a surname and only goes by the name Mönkhbaatar (lit. 'Eternal Hero'). Chinese fans also sometimes refer to him affectionately as "Da Ba" (大巴), with Da meaning "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 for his play as a screen-setter and passer. While his effectiveness was often limited by a lack of speed, he recorded six assists against the Chicago Bulls on March 30, 2002.
As of his official retirement in 2015, Bateer holds three notable distinctions: he was the only Chinese player to have played in the NBA without being selected in any NBA draft until Cui Yongxi signed with the Brooklyn Nets in 2024; he was the first player of Asian descent to win an NBA championship; and he was the first Chinese player to have been on a title-winning roster, taking part in the San Antonio Spurs' triumphant 2003 season. His compatriot Sun Yue also accomplished this achievement as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers when they won the NBA championship in 2009. Coincidentally, Bateer and Sun would win the 2014 CBA championship for the Beijing Ducks together, making them the first, and so far only, Chinese players to win both the NBA and CBA finals; a feat matched only by American player Eric Moreland in 2022.
Bateer was also the first-ever Chinese player to start an NBA game when he joined the Denver Nuggets in 2002. Yao Ming would become the second Chinese player to do so later in that year and Wang Zhizhi, despite being the first-ever Chinese player to join the league, did not start in a game until years later.
Brought up through the youth ranks by the Beijing Ducks, Mengke Bateer made his debut for China's national basketball team prior to the 1994 Asian Games, at the age of 18. Three years later, although a regular member of the playing rotation, he was removed from the national squad due to "disciplinary problems" as reported in the media. Often presented to the public as a filial son, Bateer would attempt several times over the course of his career to leave his teams, and return to his family.
While training with China's national team in 1999, Bateer was invited to play in a pre-draft tournament held in Phoenix, where he suffered from jet lag and did not impress the scouts in attendance. He also made a brief appearance at another pre-draft venue, in Treviso, Italy. But he would have to wait several more years to play in the NBA, staying with the Ducks from the 1997–98 CBA season through the 2001–02 season, and earning MVP honors at the 2002 CBA All-Star Game.