The tallest domestic player in Vietnam's professional basketball league: from 'zero' to 'hero'

Nguyen Huynh Phu Vinh and Saigon Heat are getting closer to the fourth consecutive Vietnam Professional Basketball Association (VBA) championship title when they lead Nha Trang Dolphins 2-1 in the VBA 2023 finals. The tallest shooter in Vietnam's basketball world is also a leading candidate for the title of best domestic player in VBA 2023. Few people know that he had an unfavorable starting point but had an amazing journey to rise.

Chàng nội binh cao nhất giải bóng rổ chuyên nghiệp Việt Nam: từ 'zero' đến 'hero' - Ảnh 1. — Nguyen Huynh Phu Vinh (right) has a height that surpasses that of the Vietnamese basketball players.

“In 2017, when I was 19 years old, I started pursuing professional basketball. Everything at that time was like zero to me because my physical strength, physique, muscles, skills... were all weak. Realizing many shortcomings, over the past 5 years, I have constantly tried to practice and learn from my teachers, brothers and teammates to improve," Nguyen Huynh Phu Vinh shared.

Chàng nội binh cao nhất giải bóng rổ chuyên nghiệp Việt Nam: từ 'zero' đến 'hero' - Ảnh 2. — Phu Vinh (red shirt) has the advantage of outstanding height.

The 1998-born shooter revealed that it was not until last year when he played for the Vietnamese basketball team competing at the 31st SEA Games in Hanoi that he confidently performed dunks that were usually only seen in tall foreign players.

Chàng nội binh cao nhất giải bóng rổ chuyên nghiệp Việt Nam: từ 'zero' đến 'hero' - Ảnh 3. — Starting slowly, Nguyen Huynh Phu Vinh progressed very quickly.

Remember in VBA 2016, Nguyen Huynh Phu Vinh was registered for Cantho Catfish but did not play a single minute. It was not until 2017 that this pitcher was given the opportunity to play but with very modest statistics. This center only played a total of more than 53 minutes and scored an average of 0.9 points and 1.9 rebounds. In 2018, Phu Vinh won the VBA championship with Cantho Catfish Club and then transferred to play for Saigon Heat Club. After nearly 7 years of striving, this pitcher is the number one candidate for the domestic player title of VBA 2023 when leading the scoring index with an average of 14.6 points and 9.1 rebounds.

Chàng nội binh cao nhất giải bóng rổ chuyên nghiệp Việt Nam: từ 'zero' đến 'hero' - Ảnh 4. — Nguyen Huynh Phu Vinh is the only player to win 4 VBA seasons.

In the Vietnamese basketball team, Nguyen Huynh Phu Vinh participated in all 3 consecutive SEA Games (2019, 2021, 2022) and many other international tournaments. In addition to his solid defense, the tallest center of the Vietnamese basketball team has increasingly improved his offensive ability. He was once in the top 10 players with the most points in a match (28 points) in the 2025 FIBA Asia preliminary round held at the end of last year.

Chàng nội binh cao nhất giải bóng rổ chuyên nghiệp Việt Nam: từ 'zero' đến 'hero' - Ảnh 5. — Nguyen Huynh Phu Vinh

With his current progress, Nguyen Huynh Phu Vinh deserves to be the most worth-watching domestic player in Vietnamese basketball. From zero, the Western-born shooter has established himself as a leading player in the Saigon Heat club and the national team.

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