Keeping It Heel
Fansided

UNC Basketball: Ty Lawson reportedly headed back to China

By Blake Cockrum

BEIJING, CHINA - NOVEMBER 02: Ty Lawson #3 of ShanDong Hi-Speed in action during the 2017/2018 CBA League match between Beijing Ducks and ShanDong Hi-Speed at Shougang Basketball Center Gymnasium on November 2, 2017 in Beijing, China. (Photo by XIN LI/Getty Images)
BEIJING, CHINA - NOVEMBER 02: Ty Lawson #3 of ShanDong Hi-Speed in action during the 2017/2018 CBA League match between Beijing Ducks and ShanDong Hi-Speed at Shougang Basketball Center Gymnasium on November 2, 2017 in Beijing, China. (Photo by XIN LI/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Former UNC basketball standout Ty Lawson, who was kicked out of the Chinese Basketball Association in 2020, is reportedly headed back to China.

Former North Carolina Tar Heels star Ty Lawson is on the move yet again, this time to a place that we never thought we’d see him return to. According to multiple reports over the past few days, Lawson is heading to Taiwan (China) where he will play for the Taichung Wagor Suns of the T1 League.

Known simply as the Taichung Suns before a name change in November of 2021, the Suns are one of six teams in the T1 League, a league that is considered next in line to the Chinese Basketball Alliance (CBA) and the P. League+ (PLG). The Suns and the T1 League were both founded in 2021.

It’s a surprise development considering the way things ended for Lawson the last time he was in China. It was then that he was in the midst of a successful run with the Fujian Sturgeons, but was dropped from the team and subsequently kicked out of the CBA (Chinese Basketball Association) and reportedly banned for life due to social media posts that were deemed inappropriate and detrimental to the team.

After that, Lawson spent time playing professionally in Greece and Tunisia, but never with any one team for very long. Simply put, things just haven’t gone very well for Lawson following what many would consider a promising NBA career cut short by bad decisions and poor off-court behavior.

He was one of the NBA’s best young point guards six years into his career prior to his departure from the Denver Nuggets. He then split the following season with Houston and Indiana before a year with the Sacramento Kings. He was out of the league the following year, and the only time he saw on an NBA court after that was a short run with the Washington Wizards in the 2018 NBA Playoffs.

As always, we wish Lawson the best and hope that he finds success and longevity at his latest stop.

dark. Next. Former Tar Heels propel their teams to victories

Check back with Keeping It Heel for all the latest on UNC basketball alumni across the globe.

Home/UNC Basketball