PBA: Shabazz Muhammad to make San Miguel debut vs Magnolia

FILE – Shabazz Muhammad #15 of the Minnesota Timberwolves goes up for a shot against Draymond Green #23 of the Golden State Warriors at ORACLE Arena on April 5, 2016 in Oakland, California. Ezra Shaw/Getty Images/AFP

MANILA, Philippines—San Miguel is officially changing imports after it activated former NBA veteran Shabazz Muhammad to replace Orlando Johnson midway through the 2021-22 PBA Governors’ Cup.

Reports had already circulated that Muhammad was set to replace Johnson in the Beermen’s lineup but it only became official Saturday.

Muhammad will be available to play for San Miguel on Sunday against conference leader Magnolia at Ynares Center in Antipolo.

Johnson played just three games for the Beermen after he replaced original import Brandon Brown midway through the conference.

Muhammad, the 13th overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, played five seasons in the NBA. He averaged 9.0 points and 2.8 rebounds in 278 games in the NBA.

He was supposed to be Meralco’s reinforcement for the conference but he never got to suit up with the Bolts after the former UCLA standout wasn’t able to leave the United States due to a personal emergency.

San Miguel is looking to improve on its 5-3 standing. It went 2-1 with Johnson as its import.

After a celebrated high school and collegiate career, the 29-year-old Muhammad spent much of his time in the NBA with the Minnesota Timberwolves before playing 11 games for the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2018 season.

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