These Asian American NBA stars are stealing the spotlight in the conference finals
Read and share the stories of Issue #213 today, May 20, 2026.
Today’s stories feature a conference finals stage where four Asian American players, most of them Filipino, are claiming their grandmothers’ homelands on national television. We then have a Los Angeles mayoral hopeful facing controversies ahead of the primary, a verdict showing how far Beijing has reached into a New York neighborhood, a stranger’s words turning a dated stereotype into a weapon and a national study revealing what Asian students quietly endure abroad.
We also cover a man’s explanation for throwing a rock at a seal in Hawaii, a fight Tony Leung lost with Marvel and North Korean players competing on South Korean soil for the first time in eight years.
Featured
Asian American NBA stars are lighting up the conference finals
Three of the four teams left in the NBA conference finals carry players of Asian American heritage. Filipino American rookie Dylan Harper, who was thrust into San Antonio’s starting lineup, just did something no player since Larry Bird has managed in a conference finals game.
The numbers were historic. But what these players keep reaching for off-court is the part worth staying for.
What else we’re tracking
Barbecue proposal, defunding questions test Nithya Raman's LA mayoral run
Nithya Raman, who would be Los Angeles’ first South Asian mayor if elected, is taking fire from multiple directions weeks before the June 2 primary. Interestingly, the math of the race is where her real chance, or her real problem, lives.
Bronx man convicted of running secret Chinese ‘police station’ in NYC
A federal jury found Lu Jianwang, 64, guilty of acting as an illegal agent of Beijing, the latest verdict in a widening string of such cases. For Chinese American communities watching, the conviction reopens a bind far older than this trial.
Man robbed, attacked California woman because she’s Asian
An East Bay woman was knocked down and robbed outside a San Leandro restaurant. When her attacker allegedly explained to police why he had picked her, prosecutors added a hate crime enhancement.
Asian students face mockery, exclusion at Australian universities, national study finds
The largest study of its kind found racism woven through Australia’s universities, with Asian and international students mocked for accents and doubted in classrooms. Many stayed silent, fearing for their grades or visas. What the report found about who pays the bills cuts deeper still.
Man who threw rock at endangered seal in Maui says he was ‘protecting turtles’
A Washington state man faces federal charges after a viral video showed him hurling a rock toward an endangered Hawaiian monk seal near Lahaina. His attorney says he mistook the seal for a threat to sea turtles, but words he had said leave many unconvinced.
Tony Leung says Marvel rejected his idea to modernize his ‘Shang-Chi’ character’s fighting style
Tony Leung wanted Wenwu, a warrior alive for a thousand years, to fight like all those centuries had taught him something. Marvel said no. The Hong Kong actor has opened up about the clash.
North Korean women’s soccer club returns to South Korea for first time in 8 years
For the first time in eight years, North Korean athletes competed on South Korean soil, a rare flicker of contact between two countries whose ties have largely frozen. The coach said the team came only to play. No flags flew and no anthems played, and the silence around the match said as much as the result.
Why read Issue #213?
This issue is about being seen and the suspicion that arrives with it. The same week brings rookies claimed as heroes and a community read as a security threat. A candidate’s heritage is historic and scrutinized at once. Students half a world away are courted for their money, then doubted in their own seats. These stories make the case that visibility is rarely a gift handed over clean. As we see it, it comes attached to a question about whether you belong, and the second half tends to follow the first.
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The Rebel Yellow is supported in part by funding from The Asian American Foundation (TAAF). Funders do not influence story selection, reporting, or editorial decisions. All editorial content is independently produced by The Rebel Yellow team.