USA TODAY Sports

Former Chicago Bulls 1st-Round Pick Signs With Team In Australia

Originally posted on Fastbreak on FanNation
By Ben Stinar | Last updated 7/29/23

Denzel Valentine had a stellar college career for Michigan State and was the 14th pick in the 2016 NBA Draft by the Chicago Bulls.

Earlier this month, the Sydney Kings (a team in the NBL) announced that they had signed the 29-year-old (h/t Alberto De Roa of HoopsHype).

Via sydneykings.com: "The Sydney Kings are set to have one of the competition's most dangerous backcourts in NBL24 after announcing the exciting signing of former NBA lottery pick Denzel Valentine."

Valentine played four seasons for the Bulls and helped them make the NBA playoffs during his rookie season in 2017.

In addition to the Bulls, he has also spent time with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Utah Jazz.

His career averages are 7.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists per contest while shooting 39.4% from the field and 36.0% from the three-point range in 256 regular season games.

According to Olgun Uluc of ESPN Australia, Valentine's contract with the Sydney Kings is for one year..

Via Uluc on July 22: "Denzel Valentine has signed a one-year deal with the Sydney Kings, sources told ESPN."

The Kings have won the NBL Championship in each of the previous two seasons, so adding Valentine will give them an excellent chance to complete a three-peat.

Last year, he played in the G League and averaged 13.0 points, 7.3 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.0 steals per contest while shooting 41.7% from the field and 38.8% from the three-point range in 21 regular season games (he also appeared in 17 Showcase Cup games and one G League playoff game).

This article first appeared on Fastbreak on FanNation and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: