Zhou Qi and Wang Zhelin become first Chinese players drafted for nine years, but both face an uphill battle to play in the NBA.
A year ago, ice hockey player Song Andong was touted as China’s next big sporting star after being drafted by the NHL’s New York Islanders, then swiftly promoted as one of the faces of China’s 2022 Winter Olympic Games bid campaign. This spring, it is the turn of two Chinese basketball players, Zhou Qi and Wang Zhelin, who were drafted by the NBA’s Houston Rockets and Memphis Grizzlies, respectively.
Zhou Qi at the NBA draft combine
While Song was something of a trailblazer as the first China-born player to be drafted into the NHL, several other Chinese players have previously played in the NBA, with Yao Ming‘s massive footsteps creating a daunting path for Zhou and Wang to follow. In fact, while their draft success gained significant attention back home as the quest for the next Chinese NBA star continues, in the US they were simply seen as two of a very international draft class. This CNBC article, for example, lists 11 countries from which players were drafted without mentioning China.
In contrast to other drafts which have multiple rounds – Song, for instance, was chosen in the sixth round, in the 172nd spot – the NBA has just two rounds of 30 players, making it much harder to be selected. By the time Zhou Qi was taken with the 43rd pick, players from 15 other countries had already been called. Another four nationalities were added before Wang Zhelin’s turn came at No.57.