Zhang was taller than the New Zealand team - Photo: FIBA
"Yao Ming's Sister"
"Yao Ming's younger sister" is how many people humorously refer to Zhang Ziyu. Sports fans must still remember the Chinese basketball legend, Yao Ming (Yao Ming) with a height of 2m29.
But Yao Ming is male, his basketball court has never lacked athletes under 1m90, or even 2m tall.
Zhang, at the age of 18, still makes all opponents more surprised when facing girls who are only up to his armpits.
With just over 10 minutes on the field against Indonesia on the opening day of the 2025 Asian Championship, she immediately scored 13 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists, contributing to the 110-59 victory of the Chinese team.
Next, Zhang and her teammates crushed Korea, then New Zealand (the guest team) to secure the top spot in Group A. After the group stage, no one stood out more than this girl in this year's tournament.
She was immediately compared to Yao Ming - Photo: FIBA
Zhang Ziyu was born in 2007 in Shandong Province. Northern Chinese people are famous for being tall, and Zhang was born into a family where both parents were professional basketball players.
She started training at the age of 5, and by the time she was in 6th grade, she was already 2m tall. She quickly became famous in the U15 national tournament, scoring 68 points and 24 rebounds in a national match when she was only 15 years old.
In 2024, at the U18 Asian Championship in Shenzhen, Zhang shocked with an average of 35 points, 12.8 rebounds per game, including records such as 44 points against Japan and 42 points against Australia.
The continental media at that time described Zhang as a "god", causing the youth basketball scene to lose its competitiveness. And now, at the age of 18, the girl from Shandong is 2m26 tall.
Zhang's height of 2.26 m comes from a combination of genetics and professional upbringing. Her father is 2 m tall, while her mother is 1.90 m tall.
Future in WNBA
Right from her appearance, the basketball world quickly called her "The Walking Wall" - a nickname reminiscent of Yao Ming.
International media such as AFP and Hong Kong Free Press have used Yao Ming as a benchmark whenever mentioning Zhang.
On social media, many people have described her as a “cheat code” - a real-life cheat code that opponents on the women’s basketball court cannot resist. Indeed, it is hard to resist when having to compete with a player who is two heads taller than you.
Many experts are concerned that Zhang is still inexperienced in defense and handling situations, and the dominance she has at the moment comes purely from her height.
They reminded that when entering the international tournament, Zhang will have to face opponents who are also 1m90-2m tall. Typically, the Hungarian team has center Hatar who is 2m10 tall, and most of the US team's center forwards are 1m95 tall.
Zhang is too superior to his opponents in Asia - Photo: FIBA
But China coach Gong Luming believes Zhang has great potential for long-term development. And her dominance at the Asian tournament is just the beginning.
Fans are expecting Zhang to quickly follow in Yao Ming's footsteps and develop her career in the WNBA - the American women's professional basketball league, the equivalent of the famous NBA for men's basketball.
However, the WNBA Competition Committee has a minimum age of 20, meaning she will need at least two years of domestic training. Zhang’s next goal will be to aim for the 2026 World Cup, where she will actually face equally tall opponents from the United States and other Western countries.
Zhang is too superior
According to Basketball Asia data, the average height of the Chinese women's basketball team is currently 1m86, which is 40cm shorter than Zhang Ziyu.
This figure for the Japanese team is only 1.77 cm, while that of the Philippines is only 1.66 cm. That means most of the players at the Asian Women's Basketball Championship are two heads shorter than Zhang.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/lang-the-thao-trung-quoc-xuat-hien-co-gai-cao-2m26-20250717224318462.htm
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