Zhou Qi

Zhou Qi
周琦

No. 9 – Xinjiang Flying Tigers
Position	Center
League	Chinese Basketball Association
Personal information
Born	(1996-01-16) 16 January 1996 Xinxiang, Henan, China
Nationality	Chinese
Listed height	7 ft 2 in (2.18 m)
Listed weight	218 lb (99 kg)
Career information
NBA draft	2016 / Round: 2 / Pick: 43rd overall
Selected by the Houston Rockets
Playing career	2014–present
Career history
2014–present	Xinjiang Flying Tigers
Career highlights and awards
2× CBA blocks leader (2015, 2016)
Medals Men's basketball Representing  China FIBA Asia Championship 2015 Changsha

Zhou Qi (Chinese: 周琦; pinyin: Zhōu Qí, pronounced [ʈʂóu̯ tɕʰǐ], JOE chee; born January 16, 1996) is a Chinese basketball player who has spent his professional career with the Xinjiang Flying Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association. He was selected by the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association with the 43rd pick in the second round of the 2016 NBA draft.

Early life

Zhou first gained international notice during the 2011 FIBA U-16 World Championship in Turkey, where he first recorded a considerably unprecedented triple-double of 41 points, 28 rebounds, and 15 blocks in a 94-90 semifinals victory against Germany. He then followed up that performance with a showing of 30 points, 17 rebounds, and 8 blocks in a close 67-66 victory against the host nation in the championship round. Later that year, Zhou would lead the U-16 Chinese National Team to the Asia U-16 Championship. During the final game against South Korea, he recorded another triple-double with 43 points, 19 rebounds, and 12 blocks in a blowout 92-52 victory. A year afterwards, Zhou would participate with the Chinese national team in the 2012 Albert Schweitzer Tournament. During the event, Zhou would average 16.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 4.2 blocks in 28.2 minutes of action per game.^[1] He would also participate in the 2012 FIBA Under-17 World Championship in Lithuania, the 2013 FIBA U-19 World Championship in the Czech Republic, and the 2015 Nike Hoop Summit.

Professional career

CBA career

Before beginning his CBA career, Zhou was scouted by multiple U.S. universities as a potential center for their teams. However, he would end up signing a three-year deal worth US$744,000 to play for the Xinjiang Flying Tigers. Early on his rookie year with Xinjiang, he was coming off the bench for starter Tang Zhengdong. Later on, Zhou ended up taking the starting center role from Tang. In his rookie season, he led the entire league in blocks, averaging 3.29 per game. He also averaged 14.06 points on 69.6% shooting and 6.97 rebounds with 29.1 minutes of play in 31 games played. During his second season with Xinjiang, he averaged 15.8 points, 9.8 rebounds, and a league high 3.5 blocks per game in 42 games total. It was also around this time that he would have an extended deal to let him stay in Xinjiang for the next five years. However, after the international deadline for 2016 NBA draft participants came and went, Zhou announced that he would have a $675,000 buyout on his contract with Xinjiang that would allow him to enter the NBA in 2017 by whichever team drafts him.^[2]

NBA

After his second season with Xinjiang, Zhou declared for the 2016 NBA draft.^[3] He was the first Chinese player in over a decade to be invited for the NBA draft combine. Zhou also became one of 13 international underclassmen to enter their names officially for that draft. During the draft combine, he measured over 7'1.25" without shoes (7'2.25" with shoes) and had the longest wingspan at 7'7¾" and standing reach at 9'4.5".^[4] Zhou's wingspan was the second-longest recorded in draft combine history, behind Rudy Gobert, who recorded 7'8½". Though initially considered a potential lottery selection earlier in the 2015-16 season,^[5] Zhou was projected to be a late first round or early second round selection heading into the 2016 draft. During his time before the draft began, Zhou worked out with only the following teams under their training camps: the Boston Celtics, Memphis Grizzlies, Phoenix Suns, and Los Angeles Clippers.^[6][7][8] The reason why he limited his workouts to only four teams was because of his training for the 2016 Summer Olympics for the Chinese national team. Zhou would get selected by the former team of Yao Ming, the Houston Rockets, in the second round with their 43rd selection.^[9] Between Zhou Qi being selected by the Rockets and Wang Zhelin being selected by the Memphis Grizzlies at Pick 57, the 2016 NBA draft marked the second time that two Chinese prospects would be selected in an NBA draft (the first time being in 2007 with Yi Jianlian and Sun Yue being taken that year). Zhou would also be the first Chinese prospect to officially be drafted in the NBA since 2007.

International career

Zhou made his debut with the Chinese National Team during the 2014 Asian Games at Incheon, South Korea. He returned for the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship in Changsha, China. Zhou would prove himself as a valuable contributor for the Chinese national team, as he led China to a close 76-73 victory over South Korea in the first round with team high 21 points and adding 8 rebounds. ^[10] Zhou also helped China secure the championship against the Philippine team with a double-double performance of 16 points and 14 rebounds as they went on to finish the tourney undefeated.^[11] He was the second-best shot blocker throughout the tournament, averaging two blocks a game. He was one of the three Chinese players that were named onto the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship All-Star team and earned the honor as the best center in the tournament.^[12] As a result of his consistent performances, Zhou became a part of the Chinese National Team for the 2016 Olympics. He is the third highest paid athlete in the CBA as of 2015 after Sun Yue and Yi Jianlian, respectively.^[13]

Age controversy

In 2016, questions were asked about his age. Zhou claims that he had turned 20 years old in January 2016 as his official age suggest. Some sources have cast doubt on that assertion due to the Chinese Basketball Association's habit of allowing their players to enter the NBA draft from the age of 22 as with Wang Zhizhi, Yao Ming, Yi Jianlian and fellow 2016 NBA draft compatriot Wang Zhelin. Some even put his age between 24 or 25 years old, such as former NBA and CBA player Bobby Brown's translator, though the player himself did not wholly support the claim.^[14]

References

External links

• NBA Draft profile
• DraftExpress profile