Fredette, who was named the CBA’s International MVP Tuesday, has carried the Sharks to a 2-1 lead in the best-of-5 first-round series with the Shenzhen Leopards even though he missed the first game for the birth of his first child.

He has been the catalyst for a Sharks’ turnaround that saw them go from 18-20 in 2015-16 to 30-8 and a tie for second in the regular-season standings in ’16-17. During his time in China, Fredette rekindled Jimmermania as he captivated fans with massive scoring performances, including a 73-point night in the final game of the regular season.

Along the way, Fredette has averaged 37.3 points a night on 48.1 percent shooting from the floor, including 41.1 percent from beyond the arc while taking more than 1,000 shots in 37 games. That translates into an effective field-goal percentage of 56.7. He also showed a clutch stroke at the free-throw where he connected on 246 of 265 free throws (92.8 percent).

While the competition is clearly not the same as the NBA, putting up those numbers on a winning team will be difficult for NBA teams to ignore.

There will be naysayers that argue that he is doing what every other American guard does in China or that he never produced during his time in the NBA, but neither stance has much weight.

While 10 American guards finished in the top 10 in scoring in the CBA this season, only Errick McCollum finished ahead of Fredette as he averaged 37.5 points on 47.8 percent shooting from the floor, including 38.2 percent from beyond the arc. Impressive numbers no doubt, but Fredette shot better across the board while handing out more assists (4.3 to 3.7) and committing fewer turnovers (3.9 for McCollum to 3.5 for Fredette).

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