Why Wilson Chandler left Nets for opportunity to play in China
Wilson has had a lengthy NBA career, starting things in with the Knicks before joining the Denver Nuggets, then the Philadelphia 76ers and Los Angeles Clippers. It all came full circle last season when he returned to New York to play in Brooklyn for the Nets last season. All told, he’s logged 12 years in the league.
But Chandler took his talents outside of the NBA at one point. In the middle of his seven-year stint with the Nuggets, the forward played for the Zhejiang Guangsha Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association.
And after a year in Brooklyn — before getting the chance to play with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving as a healthy duo — Chandler is back in China with the Lions.
“People ask me, ‘Why did you go to China? You could have possibly won a ring if you stayed with the Nets with KD and Kyrie both being healthy and having Caris (LeVert) and Spencer (Dinwiddie) and all the other guys on the team,'” Chandler said on The Realm Podcast. “But I felt like I needed a change. I felt like I needed peace of mind, to get away. Being here makes you appreciate things.
“I think I just needed that change of environment and that change mentally, just to find peace within myself and get away and be here and just focus on being happy and being happy playing basketball. Loving the sport, not playing for a paycheck. Not playing for family. Not playing for fans and stuff. That was the biggest thing for me. I’m honestly happy with my decision.”
