After nearly a decade without seeing any new Chinese players enter the league, the NBA drafted two athletes from China over the weekend — Zhou Qi and Wang Zhelin.
Zhou, a 20-year-old 7'2" center from Xinjiang, was selected by the Houston Rockets as the 43rd overall pick, while Wang, a 22-year-old 7'0" center from Fujian, was chosen by the Memphis Grizzlies at 57th.
ESPN reports that Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey used Hall of Famer Yao Ming as an intepreter during his congratulatory phone call with Zhou, who Chinese fans have nicknamed the "big devil king."
Zhou will likely start playing for the Rockets next year, according to terms stipulated in a buyout agreement with his current team, the Xinjiang Flying Tigers. Given his average of 15.8 points and 60.3 percent shooting per game in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) last year, Morey is eager to have him on board soon, telling ESPN:
“He has as high an upside as anyone in the draft. He’s a skilled, high-basketball-IQ player. He can shoot the ball, rebound the ball, block shots, very mobile for his size. When he makes the NBA, he will have one of the top two or three wingspans in the league, so he has potential on both ends.”
Wang's selection to the Grizzlies, meanwhile, came as a bit of a surprise to both basketball analysts and fans alike. Wang told Chinese media that he had no idea he was being drafted and was even asleep when the selection was announced. He told a reporter that he first heard about the news on WeChat.
Wang averaged 21.6 points per game and a shooting percentage of 60.7 percent last season with the CBA's Fujian Sturgeons.
Zhou and Wang become the first Chinese players to be drafted in the NBA since 2007, when Yi Jianlian and Sun Yue were selected. They are also just the sixth and seventh Chinese nationals (after Yao, Sun, Yi, Wang Zhizhi and Mengke Bateer) ever to enter the league. Following Yao Ming's retirement in 2011 and Yi Jianlian's return to the CBA in 2012, there hasn't been a Chinese player in the NBA since.
From Left to Right: Yao Ming, Yi Jianlian, Sun Yue, Mengke Bateer and Wang Zhizhi
Basketball fans have taken to Weibo to express their excitement about Chinese players entering the league for the first time in almost a decade (translations via the AFP):
"After 10 years of waiting, finally there's hot young blood ready to challenge the NBA... Here's fuel to add to the fire for our new hope Zhou Qi to enter the NBA and achieve his basketball dreams!"
Another wrote: "No matter how the draft turns out, I'm still very much looking forward to seeing Chinese faces in the NBA once again -- this wait has truly been too long."
Zhou and Wang will both play on the Chinese national team at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio.
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