Report: ‘The Lonely Master’ Jimmer Fredette Expected To Return To Shanghai Sharks
Jul 29, 2020, 4:10 PM | Updated: 4:22 pm
Jimmer Fredette #32 of Shanghai Bilibili Sharks shoots the ball during the 2018/2019 Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) League tenth round match between Beijing Beikong Fly Dragons and Shanghai Bilibili Sharks at Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium on November 11, 2018 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Visual China Group via Getty Images/Visual China Group via Getty Images)
(Photo by Visual China Group via Getty Images/Visual China Group via Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Hey, 2020 hasn’t been a great year. But you know what can cheer everyone up? Jimmer Fredette dropping buckets in China.
The former BYU basketball star and NBA player is reportedly expected to rejoin the Shanghai Sharks on a $1.6 million contract, according to Sportando.
Fredette played with the CBA’s Sharks from 2016 to 2019 where he was a walking bucket averaging 37 points per game in his previous three years in China.
Sources: Jimmer Fredette expected to sign a $1.6M deal with Shanghai Sharks https://t.co/vDrpwlerxT
— Sportando (@Sportando) July 29, 2020
Because of Fredette’s high-scoring performances in the CBA, he earned the nickname “Jimo Dashen” which is Chinese for “The Lonely Master.” In one game with the Sharks in 2018, Fredette dropped 75 points and it earned headlines here in the basketball media here in the United States.
The performances in the CBA earned Fredette another shot in the NBA where he signed with the Phoenix Suns. That move didn’t lead to a role in Phoenix’s rotation forcing Fredette to make another move.
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Jimmer Fredette with Panathinaikos
Last season, Fredette played in the EuroLeague for Greece’s Panathinaikos. The owner for Panathinaikos fulfilled a dream by landing Fredette to a two-year contract. In one pandemic shortened season, Fredette averaged 12.9 points and hit 41 percent of his three’s in EuroLeague play.
COVID-19 cut short the EuroLeague, forcing teams to cut back salary. Fredette, one of the highest-paid players on Panathinaikos’ roster was let go allowing him to return to China to play for the Sharks.
Jimmer Fredette is expected to sign a $1.6M deal with the Shanghai Sharks where he has played from 2016 to 2019, a source tells @Sportando.
— Emiliano Carchia (@Carchia) July 29, 2020
Fredette appeared in 27 games including 24 starts during the 2019-20 EuroLeague season. He averaged 12.9 points on 52.5 percent shooting in just over 21 minutes per contest.
Jimmer Fredette with Shanghai Sharks
After playing in the NBA and G League from 2011-2016, Fredette signed his first international deal with the Yao Ming’s Shanghai Sharks. He played for the Sharks from 2016-19.
In each of his three seasons with the Sharks, the BYU great averaged more than 36.9 points per contest in 118 games.
Fredette was named a CBA All-Star in all three seasons with Shanghai.
In 2017, he won CBA International MVP.
