Former NBA No. 1 pick Anthony Bennett set to join the KBL: Reports

Anthony Bennett wears a Canada jersey in a photo shared on his personal Instagram account [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Former NBA overall No. 1 draft pick Anthony Bennett of Canada looks set to join the Goyang Sono Skygunners.

Korean media reported Saturday that the former NBA star has signed with the Skygunners, although the club has yet to announce the signing.

The 30-year old power forward was the first overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers and became the first-ever Canadian to be drafted as number one.

His career in the NBA, however, failed to take off.

After showing an unimpressive performance with the Cavaliers in 2013, he moved around the league to teams including the Minnesota Timberwolves, Toronto Raptors and Brooklyn Nets, but failed to shine at any team until the Nets released him in 2017, finishing his NBA career with a 4.4-point average per game in 151 games in total.

He then joined Fenerbahce of Turkey in 2017, but failed to establish himself as a key player there and ended up joining the Northern Arizona Suns of the NBA G League — a minor league under the NBA — later that year.

Moving to the minor league did not turn out to be a success either, as Bennett moved around a number of teams in the league until he opted to play overseas again in 2021 by signing with Hapoel Jerusalem in Israel.

He struggled in Jerusalem, averaging 6.3 points in 12.9 minutes per game, and was waived by the team and transferred to the Taiwanese league.

Things picked up in Taiwan with the Hsinchu JKO Lioneers, where Bennett averaged 22.6 points in 17 games last season.

Once Bennett joins the Skygunners, he will become the first-ever NBA draft No. 1 pick to play in the KBL.

The Skygunners are a franchise rebuilt under new ownership from the former Goyang Day One Jumpers, who were expelled from the KBL earlier in the year. Under Sono's ownership, the Skygunners have now rejoined the league and will play next season.

Despite financial troubles throughout the 2022-23 season that ultimately led to that expulsion, the then-Jumpers finished the regular season in fifth place on the 10-team table and reached the playoffs.

The Skygunners reinforced their squad in the summer by signing power forward Jarrod Jones and shooting guard Joshua Torralba.

Jones will likely lead the team’s attack next season over Bennett, as he has already proved himself in the KBL with the Suwon KT Sonicboom last season, averaging 18.1 points in 32 games.

The financial trouble will not likely be an obstacle for the club this season, as parent company Sono International General Manager Lee Ki-wan said during a press conference on July 21 that he will pay all membership fees to the KBL up front in one payment to prove how serious the new owners are at turning things around.

The Goyang club were on the verge of missing the entire 2022-23 season for not paying the first part of the membership fee until three days before the season began.

The squad will begin training next month under head coach Kim Seung-gi at Vivaldi Park — owned by Sono — in Gangwon before the upcoming 2023-24 season starts on Oct. 21.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]