Japanese B League team Nagasaki Veruka officially announced that it has officially signed former NBA player Stanley Johnson!

Japanese B League team Nagasaki Veruka officially announced that it has officially signed former NBA player Stanley Johnson! The high-ranking rookie with the 8th pick in the first round in 2015, finally failed to realize her talent after eight seasons in the NBA and left the American basketball world in disgrace.

Stanley Johnson was once a five-star high school student in the United States. He was selected by the Detroit Pistons with the 8th pick in 2015. He averaged 8.1 points and 4.2 rebounds per game in the rookie season, and performed well on the defensive end. However, his offense has not been able to grow steadily, with his shooting percentage being below 40% for a long time, and even set an embarrassing record of 0 of 13 shots in the opening game in 2017, becoming the worst performance in the NBA after introducing a 24-second timing.

After moving around in his career, Johnson has never been able to gain a foothold. In the 2022-23 season, he briefly shone with the Lakers, scoring 15 points and 5 rebounds in a single game, showing value on the defensive end, but in the end he has not been retained for a long time.

Last season, he played for the Turkish League Effis, and was cut in just 17 games. He then returned to the NBA Development League, contributing 15.2 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game to the South Bay Lakers, but his shooting percentage was only 41.5%.

Why did the genius with high rankings eventually fall overseas?

The shooting ability is too poor: the NBA career three-point shooting percentage is only 29.8%, far lower than the modern forward requirements.

Inadequate offensive stability: The Development League performed ups and downs, and once scored only 12 points in 4 of 16 shots in a single game.

Defense did not meet expectations: Although it was known for its defense, its horizontal movement speed declined in the later stage and could not adapt to the NBA rhythm.

Nazaki Viruka did not announce the details of the contract, but referring to the salary of NBA players in the Japanese league, the annual salary is expected to be between $500,000 and $1 million, far lower than his NBA salary during the NBA. Netizens joked: "The gap is too big from defending James to playing in the Japanese league!"

Johnson's trip to Japan has just begun. If the performance of the Development League can be continued, he is expected to be the core of Nagasaki Viruka and may even attract the attention of other Asian leagues.

For fans, seeing this forward who had flew in the NBA field and continued to pursue his basketball dream in a foreign country may also be a different touch - the persistence of professional players has never been limited to the glory in the spotlight.