The Tribune

By JONATHAN BURROWS

Tribune Sports Reporter

jburrows@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMIAN guard Franco Miller Jr is headed to China as he enters the next chapter of his professional basketball career after signing with the NingBo Rockets of the Chinese Basketball Association.

The 27-year-old Miller joins NingBo after a summer in which he continued to establish himself as one of The Bahamas’ most important players on the international stage. The signing was reported on September 4. 

The move gives Miller another opportunity to build on the progress he has made since leaving the collegiate ranks, having already played professionally in Spain and the NBA G League while also hooping with The Bahamas’ senior national team in hopes of FIBA qualification.

Miller spent the 2025-26 season with the Santa Cruz Warriors, the NBA G League affiliate of the Golden State Warriors. He appeared in 29 regular-season games, averaging 9.1 points, 2.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 21.1 minutes per game. He shot 35.6 per cent from the field, 28.7 per cent from three-point range and 73.5 per cent from the free-throw line. 

His strongest performance of the G League season came in the Warriors’ regular-season finale in March, when Miller exploded for a career-high 35 points against the Texas Legends. He knocked down seven three-pointers and added five assists and two steals. 

Miller’s international production has been even more significant. With The Bahamas continuing its push through the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 Americas Qualifiers, Miller has averaged 17.6 points, 2.9 rebounds and 5.3 assists through seven games in the current qualifying campaign. He has already delivered several major performances during the campaign, including 32 points and six assists against Jamaica in February and 19 points, seven rebounds and seven assists against Puerto Rico in March.

More recently, he scored 13 points against Panama in The Bahamas’ 100-82 victory during Window 4. That recent international form has helped raise Miller’s profile as he moves into another professional opportunity.

Miller began his professional career in Spain with Fibwi Palma during the 2024-25 season before making the move to the G League. During his lone season in Spain, he averaged 10.5 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 31 games, according to RealGM. 

He also spent his collegiate career between Ole Miss and Florida Gulf Coast, where he developed into a point guard capable of creating his own offence while also handling significant playmaking responsibilities.

Now, Miller will take that experience to NingBo, where he will join a Rockets team looking to improve on a 2025-26 season in which it finished 12th in the Chinese Basketball Association with a 21-23 record. 

The move represents another step forward for Miller, whose path has taken him from Freeport to the United States college system, professional basketball in Europe and the G League, and now to one of the world’s most competitive basketball markets.

More importantly, it comes at a time when Miller has become a central part of The Bahamas’ plans on the international stage.

With the World Cup qualifiers continuing, his move to China gives the Bahamian guard another opportunity to develop his game while taking on a larger professional challenge.