Ex-UNLV player Christian Wood making case to stick with Bucks

Christian Wood was ready for his next basketball chapter before he signed a contract with the Fujian Sturgeons in China last year.

The move didn’t feel right for the former UNLV standout after dropping the pen. He never played a game for Fujian.

“I just wanted to come back home,” Wood said. “I think of myself as an NBA player.”

The Chinese club waived Wood, which allowed him to resume his quest of finding a home in the NBA.

Wood joined the Delaware 87ers of the G League last season and averaged 23.3 points and 10.4 rebounds per game. That earned him a spot on the Milwaukee Bucks’ Summer League team.

Wood has arguably been the Bucks’ best player after the first three games in Las Vegas. He opened with a 20-point performance and followed that up with a double-double.

The 2015 undrafted player is averaging 16.3 points and nine rebounds per game with the Summer Bucks.

Wood is confident he’ll get the invite from the Bucks this fall.

“I think the team is loving how I play,” Wood said. “I play on the defensive end, I play on the offensive end, and they’re not really looking for me to score, they know I can do that. So they’re looking for little things on defense and help the guys out.”

Wood showed flashes of potential during his rookie year when he played 17 NBA games with the Philadelphia 76ers. He was a casualty of “The Process” in Philadelphia. He had a short stint with the Charlotte Hornets in 2016-17.

“Going down there (G League) definitely makes you appreciate (the opportunity) a lot,” Wood said. “Coming from the NBA my first year to then going down there, it’s two totally different games. It makes me more hungry to get back.”

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Contact Gilbert Manzano at gmanzano@reviewjournal.com. Follow @GManzano24 on Twitter.