Women's Fastbreak On SI

Chinese Phenom Zhang Ziyu Wows Basketball World!

Robin Lundberg

FIBA Instagram

Chinese basketball player Zhang Ziyu is a viral phenomenon already. Her size first caught the eyes of fans given she stands at 7'3, despite only being 17-years-old. But now her highlights are being shared as well. Zhang scored 44 points to set a FIBA U18 Asia Cup record while hitting 20 of 22 shots from the floor against Japan. China won the game 97-81.

That performance continued the run of dominance she has displayed since making her debut for Team China. Zhang scored 19 points in just 13 minutes in her first game on a perfect 9-9 shooting. She followed that up with 36 points in the next contest, dominant wins for China over Indonesia and New Zealand respectively.

Zhang has understandably drawn comparisons to former NBA star Yao Ming and incredibly she is only few inches shorter than the former Houston Rockets player. She is still years away from being WNBA eligible but obviously must be on everyone's radar. Because no matter where she is standing, she stands out on the court.

Zhang told FIBA she considers her height to be a gift. But to her credit she knows her stature can not be the only path to success in basketball previously stating

"I can easily reach the basket. But basketball is definitely more than that."

According to Chinese state media both of her parents played basketball professionally in China. However, given her prodigious size, wherever she decides to hoop, Zhang Ziyu will be watched on an international stage.

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Robin Lundberg

ROBIN LUNDBERG

Robin Lundberg is a media veteran and hoops head who has spent the bulk of his career with iconic brands like Sports Illustrated and ESPN. His insights have also been featured on platforms such as Fox and CNN and he can currently be heard hosting shows for Sirius XM and on his burgeoning YouTube show. And now he brings his basketball expertise to Women's Fastbreak on SI!

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