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Mother in Tears as Timberwolves’ Kyle Anderson Meets His Chinese Relatives

Published 02/15/2024, 10:18 AM EST

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It was only after spending over 20 years in the United States of America that Kyle Anderson, a veteran forward discovered his roots lie in China. In 2018, he made his first trip to the South Asian country. He and his mother had just found out that they have family relatives there. Of course, the anticipation and nervousness grew during the ride to their village.

Anderson’s mom, Suzanne had been trying to search for her family for years. Finally, through Closeup360, she found her way. She had always flirted with the idea of having connections all around the world. Several years ago, she discovered her true lineage. Anderson’s grandmother was born to a Chinese father and a Jamaican mother.

His great-grandfather shifted to the U.S. and they have resided here ever since. When the discovery was made though, Anderson wanted to visit his homeland.

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Kyle Anderson and his mother get emotional when visiting China

Kyle Anderson was born in New York in 1993. He had spent his entire life thinking he was an American. Only when he and his family discovered their Chinese roots did their curiosity pique. Suzanne Anderson recalled certain instances from her childhood. In particular, she felt bothered when she couldn’t answer where she was from.

Even as a child, people told her “you look Chinese” as she detailed. The resettlement of not knowing her roots made her chase after the truth. Eventually, she learned that her grandfather was actually Chinese. Since 2015, she has been on the search of finding her lost family in China. The wait ended when CloseUp360 showed up.

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“I’ve been searching for my relatives for almost four years now and the day is finally here,” she said while anxiously smiling.

Her, Kyle Anderson, and his wife Crystal flew 8000 miles to Shenzhen, China, where their family home and family resided. A large group of their family gathered to receive them. Each of them was given a bouquet of flowers as a warm welcome gift. They then made their way into one of their relative’s homes where they finally met everyone.

The experience was overwhelming. Kyle Anderson even said the hospitality offered meant a lot to him. Suzanne on the other hand was reduced to tears.

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“It’s beautiful. Thank you so much,” she said while wiping off her tears.

Kyle Anderson, after feeling homely during the 2018 trip finally applied for Chinese citizenship. He secured it in 2023 and immediately pledged to play for his country of origin. He took part in the 2023 FIBA World Cup and is all set to represent them during the Paris Olympics later this year.

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It was a truly touching story, and through it, the Anderson family were reunited with their family.

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Written by:

Anuj Talwalkar

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One take at a time

Anuj Talwalkar is a Senior NBA Writer at EssentiallySports, who is marching towards touching 3000 articles. As a writer who specializes in game analysis, post-game pressers, thrilling perspective on players and their performances, he loves merging his passion for writing with the complex human-dramas that unfold everyone on-court. At ES, he is known for his quick coverage of breaking news, an expertise that is now inspiring the junior writers.
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Edited by:

Anuj Jacob