The Los Angeles Clippers logo
Getty
INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 23: A detailed view of the Los Angeles Clippers logo at center court before the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Intuit Dome on March 23, 2025 in Inglewood, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images)
There is now only one week to go until the 2025 NBA Draft, and workouts are happening all over the league. It is almost the free agency period, too, with the signing window opening in ten days. And due to the Indiana Pacers’ win in Game Six last night, the NBA Finals are still ongoing.
With so much going on around the league, and so much anticipation building for what is widely expected to a “crazy” offseason of player movement, there is a lot to be getting involved in. For fans of the Los Angeles Clippers, though, the news is a little slower.
A report from Malaysian sports TV channel SUKAN rtm – itself first reported by a Reddit user, enclosing supporting screen shots – states that the Clippers are currently working out a player named Chun-Hong Ting (陈俊宏; nicknamed “Mei Mei” or 美美), a 29-year-old wing most recently with a Malaysian team called the Negeri Sembilan Matrix. If this name is not one you have heard of before, fear not – this is not your fault.
Who Is Chun-Hong Ting?
Malaysian basketball is in no way a significant powerhouse on the world stage. The standard of defence is, to put it bluntly, underwhelming.
That said, Mei Mei is one of the country’s basketball power brokers, and often regarded as the best player Malaysia has ever produced. A two-time Malaysian league MVP, in the short 12-game 2025 Malaysian league season, Ting averaged 13.5 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.9 steals in 30.3 minutes per game, shooting 29.3% from the field (an unusually low mark for him), while reportedly being best known for his defensive intensity.
Ting further made history when he became the first Malaysian player to ever join an overseas professional team as an Asian import player when he joined the Macau Black Bears of the East Asia Super League (EASL), an intra-continental competition featuring teams from multiple nations. Ting also played earlier this year with the NS Golden Deer in the Asian Champions League finals held in Dubai, would have signed in Australia previously were it not for a visa issue, and is setting new standards for the nascent Malaysian basketball industry.
None of this, of course, adds up to the CV of an NBA player. Even if his level of play was competitive, Ting’s age (born in May 1996) and his physical profile (an unathletic 6’3 or 6’4 with the skill set of a defence-first wing) are almost insurmountable options. He is not with the Clippers to make the roster.
He is, however, there to make some history.
Clippers Exploring The Niche Asian Markets
Ting’s is not the only name to be linked to the Clippers from the more far-flung parts of the Asian sporting world. Also this week, the Clippers were reported to have gone even nicher and worked out a 32-year-old 5’11 Nepalese guard, Bijay Burja, for a workout of his own. Rest assured that Nepalese basketball is even less impactful on the world stage than its Malaysian counterpoint.
You know your NBA season is over when headlines linking your team to 29-year-old Malaysian League players are not only true, but also the hottest news of their week. The Clippers are not competing for anything, and nor would they with Ting on the team.
Nevertheless, it pays to foster relationships in new markets. The Nepalese basketball market may be very small, but there is money to be made in Malaysia. And while there are no NBA-caliber Malaysian players, Ting does not need to have a chance of making the roster to be worthy of getting a workout with the franchise. It is simply business.
Or, of course, it is all a ruse. If so, it is a good one.