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Former No. 2 overall pick Hasheem Thabeet signs G League contract, per report

October is comeback season in professional basketball, and that extends far beyond the NBA. Former No. 2 overall pick Hasheem Thabeet, who last played in Japan for the Yokohama B-Corsairs during the 2017-18 season, has signed a G League contract, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic

G League contracts are not signed with individual teams, but rather, with the league as a whole. As no NBA team currently holds his rights, he will be assigned to a G League team before the season starts. 

Thabeet first told CBS Sports of his plans to return to basketball in January, and he worked out informally with the New York Knicks during the offseason. He did not land on the training camp roster of any NBA team earlier this fall, but he will now have a chance to prove that he belongs in the league against American competition for the first time since the 2014-15 season when he played for the G League’s Grand Rapids Drive. 

The G League has become an increasingly feasible path to the NBA even for former NBA Draft busts. Anthony Bennett, for instance, earned a non-guaranteed contract from the Houston Rockets this offseason based on his performance in the G League. Injuries forced the Rockets to waive him before he had a chance to earn a regular-season roster spot, but the blueprint is one that Thabeet could theoretically follow. Play well enough against lesser competition to earn a chance in the NBA. 

At 32-years-old, though, Thabeet will have his work cut out for him. Bennett is six years his junior, and even he needed two strong G League seasons to get another look in the NBA. But Thabeet was a No. 2 overall pick for a reason. He has rare size and enough talent to have played in the NBA in the first place. It will be an uphill battle, but if Thabeet plays well in the G League, NBA teams will notice. 

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