Confirmed! A New York Knicks player will compete in the Asian Games! He scored 24 points in a single quarter, stunning the Chinese men's basketball team.

Here comes the "Big Demon"...

Former NBA Sixth Man of the Year Jordan Clarkson has publicly stated that he will join the Philippine men's basketball team for the Nagoya Asian Games this September.

At the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games, the Philippine men's team edged China 77-76 in the semifinals and then defeated Jordan 70-60 in the finals to claim their first-ever Asian Games gold medal. This year, they are clearly determined to retain the gold and are fielding a full-strength squad.

Speaking of Clarkson, he has been a nightmare for us. In the final round of the 2023 FIBA World Cup classification games for places 17-32, he exploded for 34 points (scoring 24 in the third quarter alone) to lead the Philippines to a 96-75 blowout victory over China. After that game, China fell into the 29-32 classification round and even missed out on the 2024 Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

However, Clarkson is now 33 years old and will turn 34 soon. Whether he can still dominate in FIBA competition as he did before remains a question mark.

This guy played for the New York Knicks this NBA season. In the regular season, he appeared in 72 games (only 1 start), averaging 17.8 minutes, 8.6 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game, with shooting percentages of 45.1% from the field and 32.7% from three. In the playoffs so far, he has played 14 games, all off the bench, averaging 11.8 minutes, 5.4 points, and 1.8 rebounds per game, with shooting splits of 47.5% and 15.4%.

Next, Clarkson will accompany the Knicks in the NBA Finals. Their potential opponents are the defending champion Thunder (3) or the super young Spurs (3).

Interestingly, U.S. media outlet Clutch Points recently reported that a Filipino-descent player has already secured this year's NBA championship ring. Here are the details:

Jordan Clarkson (Knicks), 25% Filipino heritage;

Mike McCain (Thunder), 10% Filipino heritage;

R.J. Harper (Spurs), 50% Filipino heritage.

Indeed, the future Philippine men's basketball team will see NBA players who are younger and more capable than Clarkson. Among them, 2025 second overall pick Harper has already expressed his willingness to play for the Philippines in FIBA events, even though his talent might one day earn him a spot on the U.S. Dream Team.

In short, both the current and future Philippine men's basketball teams should not be underestimated. The Chinese men's basketball team will once again face a formidable opponent.