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Chinese players Zeng Fanbo, Zhang Zhenlin and Guo Haowen on NBL radars

Star Xia

The Australasian basketball revolving door continues with the ongoing trend, which is resulting in Asian talent who want to reach the NBA attracted to the NBL’s short season, a similar playing style to the NBA and the high volume of pro scouts that keep an eye on the league. In contrast, a growing number of Aussie talent, focused on maximizing their earnings by playing overseas, are making the move abroad to play for Asian teams.

The 2021/22 season saw players like Zhou Qi (South East Melbourne), Chuanxing Liu (Brisbane) and Kai Sotto (Adelaide) all spend a year in Australia in the hope of attracting attention from the NBA.

The opposite side of the coin saw a number of players from Australia’s national program, Nick Kay, Angus Brandt and Rhys Vague all spend time in Japan.

This month we saw the trend continue as Aussies Brock Motum inked a deal with Japanese club Levanga Hokkaido this week, and Jo Lual Acuil agreed to play in China if his NBA plans don’t work out.

— レバンガ北海道 (@levangakousiki) July 15, 2022

So what crop of Asia talent could be making their way to the NBL to replace them? What Asian players have their sights on the NBA and might see playing in the NBL, a much more NBA-friendly league in terms of style and length

Three Chinese players spent time in the NBA summer league and, although they caught the attention of the NBA teams, will instead look for somewhere to play in 2022-23 where they can develop their game while the NBA teams keep an eye on them.

Zeng Fenbo, Zhang Zhenlin and Guo Haowen are three names believed to be on the radar of multiple NBL teams.

Fanbo, a 211cm centre, committed to Gonzaga before changing his mind to sign with the G-League Ignite team alongside Aussie talent Dyson Daniels. While Daniels inked a deal with the New Orleans Pelicans, Fenbo came away from his G-League experience without an NBA spot.

Currently, he is a part of the Indiana Pacers squad under an exhibit 10 contract, similar to that which Mitch Creek signed with Brooklyn in 2018, but these deals are essentially one-year, non-guaranteed minimum contracts that more than often result in sending players to their G-League team or leaving them in a situation where they need to sign with an international team in August, a tough time to find a roster spot.

Zhang Zhenlin, a talented forward standing at 2.08cm, played two years at the University of Tulane before two seasons in the Chinese Basketball Association with Liaoning. Zhenlin spent last month playing with the Phoenix Suns, alongside Aussie Duop Reath, Dejan Vasiljevic and the aforementioned Lual Acuil.

Lastly, Guo Haowen, the leading scorer of the 2018 FIBA under-18 World Cup, pulled out of the 2021 NBA draft at the last minute, believing the difference in playing ability between international players and himself was too great to be drafted at the time. The high scoring, 2.03cm wing is purely focused on finding an NBA opportunity and spending four months developing his game in the NBL is believed to be something he is considering.

All three Chinese players have currently shown they are focused on finding opportunities to play outside of China and the CBA. Fanbo continues to train with the Pacers, and to date, Zhang Zhenlin and Guo Haowen have decided not to return to their CBA teams, Liaoning and Shanghai, respectively.

Fanbo, who saw a number of opportunities in summer league, clocking up 14 minutes of playing time in his first game, adding 4 points and 2 steals before seeing limited opportunities to play in the remaining games. With Indiana’s coaching staff communicating that while Fanbo has solid basic skills and outstanding outside shooting ability, he has a number of skills he needs to develop.

Zhenlin played in all four of the Sun’s summer league games, clocking up mostly ‘junk time’ opportunities. In what was dubbed the ‘Chinese Derby’ where Phoenix faced the Mavericks, Zhang scored 9 points in 7 minutes (hitting 7 from 8 free throws) against Guo Haowen, who scored 9 points in 15 minutes of playing time for Dallas.

Zhenlin, who was openly optimistic about his NBA future after summer league, would benefit a great deal from spending a year in the NBL and using that as a springboard for another NBA chance.

“Although my chances are relatively few, I think I still have a chance. As long as I can seize these opportunities, I can go a step further.” said Zhenlin.

All three players would qualify as locals in the NBL under the Special Restricted Player rule. This opportunity would give these three Chinese stars the ability to access better training development and competition closer to the NBA standard.

Another benefit China’s talent sees within the NBL is its schedule. Being only 28 games, this would allow them to earn more money than the G-League, play against better talent than the CBA or G-League and ensure they minimize their chances of injury during the most important season of their career. With this season being viewed by China’s three NBA prospects as their most crucial season, having access to the improved medical support NBL teams have access to is also a big part of the decision-making process.

With the Summer League now in the rearview window and NBA rosters being finalized between now and October, it will be interesting to see how many of the Chinese National team end up playing big parts in the Australian national league.

 

Star Xia (2 Posts)

A social media blogger who has been introducing Aussie basketball to China for decades,


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