Harlem Globetrotters signs first-ever Puerto Rican Player.

The World Famous Harlem Globetrotters have signed the first Puerto Rican-born player in the team’s storied history, inking 6-8 dunking sensation Orlando “El Gato” Melendez. El Gato, a native of Ponce, Puerto Rico, and a former North Carolina Tar Heel, will join four other Globetrotter rookies as the team opens training camp in New York on Monday, Sept. 29.

El Gato joins fellow rookie Trevor “Tiny” Lawrence – born in Jamaica – as part of a group of only 18 players to be born outside of the 50 United States among the Globetrotters’ 650-plus alumni. The seven-foot Lawrence, who grew up in Las Vegas, played his college ball at New Mexico State.