Vonleh, a former player for the Boston Celtics, describes the Chinese squad as the “worst” ever and claims he is still owed money for bonuses and salaries.
NBA journeyman Noah Vonleh has opened up on his nightmare playing basketball in China, saying he had not been paid by Shanghai Sharks and revealing team officials tried to break into his hotel room during the league’s All-Star break.
The 28-year-old took to social media to blast the Chinese Basketball Association side and its officials for trying to rush him back from injury too soon, and wrongfully terminating his contract.
In a lengthy statement on Instagram, Vonleh said the Sharks were the “worst organisation” he had ever played for during his career. Neither the Sharks nor the CBA have responded to his comments.
“[The Sharks are] very unprofessional,” the former New York Knicks player wrote. “They still owe me my play-off bonus from the 2021-22 season. They also still owe me the remaining balance of my salary for the 2023-24 season.
“The Sharks tried to rush me back many times and told team doctors and doctors outside of the team to lie to me and tell me I’m OK to play. I sent my MRI results to doctors in the [United] States and they had different opinions and confirmed I wasn’t ready to return to play.”
Vonleh, who played with eight NBA teams across as many seasons in his career, said the Sharks terminated his contract in February, and sent warnings to the player’s Chinese agents accusing the 6ft 10 inch former first-round pick of missing team practices, only for security footage to prove that was untrue.
According to Vonleh, things came to a head during the CBA All-Star Weekend in Xiamen in March, with Sharks general manager Liu Peng reportedly ordering people to try and break into the former Charlotte Hornet’s hotel room while he was sleeping.
View this post on Instagram A post shared by Noah Vonleh (@nvonleh)
“There were six people coming to my room trying to break in and grab me out the room,” Vonleh wrote in post, alongside a picture purportedly showing a device used by those trying to get in. “They [were] using weapons to try and break in and threatening me, saying all kind of things.”
Last in the NBA with the Boston Celtics in the 2022-23 season, Vonleh has deleted all his Instagram posts, except those relating to the Sharks incident.
Basketball fans on social media have been divided by the revelations, with one Weibo user from Beijing suggesting Vonleh had effectively ended his playing career in China by posting the incident online.
“This is not only slandering against the club but also China,” he said. “If they had owed you money from the 2021-22 season, how could you still join them for the 2023-24 season?”
“He should go to Fiba if there’s any truth to these,” a comment from Shandong read. “CBA hasn’t become a lawless place yet, right?”
The Sharks are no strangers to controversy. In April last year, they were accused of match-fixing in the first round of their CBA playoffs series against Jiangsu Dragons.
Both teams were fined 5 million yuan (US$727,135), some officials banned for years, the clubs kicked out of the competition and their results this season erased.