David Palmer, the bj-league's 2006-07 MVP, has returned to the Osaka Evessa after a two-year absence, the team has announced.
The 201-cm forward played in the NBA Development League in the 2007-08 season, appearing in 37 games for the Dakota Wizards and averaging 7.9 points per game. He sat out last season.
Palmer was one of the Evessa's most versatile all-around players during their first two title seasons (2005-06 and 2006-07).
With Palmer flourishing in his role as Osaka's super sixth man, the Evessa had a league-best 29-11 record in the regular season in 2006-07.
In the championship game against the Takamatsu Five Arrows, Palmer came off the bench and scored 10 first-quarter points. He finished with a season-high 33 points in Osaka's 16-point triumph, pulled down eight rebounds and was instrumental in the hustle department, too, diving for loose balls and playing intense, never-run-out-of-energy defense.
After the game, Evessa coach Kensaku Tennichi offered this assessment of Palmer: "He's our scorer. And at the same time, he's a good player. He's the core of our core players."
How valuable was Palmer for Osaka in his last season in Japan?
He scored 17.4 ppg and finished the season with 34 straight games of 10 or more points.
Before turning pro, Palmer, 27, attended Yuba City (Calif.) High School, American River College in Sacramento, Calif., and Southern Utah University.