Zhou Qi ( ; born 16 January 1996) is a Chinese professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player who last played for the

South East Melbourne Phoenix The South East Melbourne Phoenix are an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria. The Phoenix entered the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL) in the 2019–20 ...

of the National Basketball League (NBL). He has been a regular member of the China men's national basketball team since 2014, winning a gold team medal in the

2015 FIBA Asia Championship The 2015 FIBA Asia Championship was the 28th and last edition of the FIBA Asia Championship in men's basketball in Asia. It was organised by FIBA Asia. At the FIBA Asia Congress held in Doha, Qatar, the Central Board awarded the hosting rights to ...

and the

2018 Asian Games The 2018 Asian Games ( id, Pesta Olahraga Asia 2018 or ''Asian Games 2018''), officially known as the 18th Asian Games and also known as Jakarta-Palembang 2018 or Indonesia 2018, was a Asia, continental multi-sport event that was held from 18 A ...

. A center, Zhou started his professional career playing for the

Xinjiang Flying Tigers The Xinjiang Guanghui Flying Tigers () is a professional basketball team based in Ürümqi, Xinjiang, China. The team play its home games at the Hongshan Arena, which has a capacity for 3,800 spectators. The club joined the Chinese Basketball ...

of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). In 2016, he entered the NBA draft and was selected 43rd overall by the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA). He played a total of 19 games across two seasons with the Rockets before being waived in 2018. Zhou returned to the Flying Tigers of the CBA soon after. In 2021, he joined the Phoenix in the Australian NBL.

Early career

Zhou Qi attended Fuxin Basketball School from 2005 in Fuxin, Liaoning, China. Zhou first began appearing on scouting reports when he guided China to an unlikely youth team title in Turkey at the

TBF International Under-16 Tournament The TBF International Under-16 Tournament, or TBF Under-16 Basketball World Cup, is an international boys' youth age basketball tournament that is contested between the best Under-16 age national teams in the world. The tournament takes place eve ...

in 2011. At age fifteen, Zhou put up 41 points, 28 rebounds, and 15 blocks in China's semifinal win over Germany, and then went for 30 points, 17 rebounds, and 8 blocks in the final against the host nation. A year later at the

2012 Albert Schweitzer Tournament The 2012 Albert Schweitzer Tournament was the 26th edition of the Albert Schweitzer Tournament. 16 teams featured the competition, held in Mannheim and Viernheim from April 7–14. Group stages First Round In this round, the 16 teams were alloc ...

, a traditional testing ground for the best teenage players in international basketball, Zhou reinforced his reputation as one to watch by averaging 16.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 4.2 blocks in 28.2 minutes per game. In January 2014, Zhou left his boyhood team, the Liaoning Jaguars, to join the

. However, he was unable to play for Xinjiang until the 2014–15 season due to being underaged.

Professional career

Xinjiang Flying Tigers (2014–2017)

Although there were rumors that several U.S. college teams were courting him, the teenager decided to stay in China, and his move to the cash-flush Xinjiang team caused a firestorm of speculation within the local media. Initially, it was claimed Zhou had accepted a three-year, $744,000 deal that would have made him better paid than most of the Tigers' roster at the time, and the club was forced to publicly deny those stories. In 2015–16, Xinjiang lost in the semifinals of the CBA playoffs. Zhou led the CBA in blocked shots in each of his first two seasons at 3.3 and 3.2 per game, respectively, while shooting 65 percent from two-point range in 73 total games. In June 2016, Zhou reached an agreement with Xinjiang that would allow him to buy out his contract and join the NBA in 2017. After much back and forth, Zhou's representation in China and the U.S. secured a buyout that would allow him out of his contract at the conclusion of the 2016–17 season for the maximum league mandated amount permitted, which is $675,000. In 2016–17, Zhou averaged 16.0 points and 10.0 rebounds while shooting 58.6% from the floor. He also ranked second in the CBA in blocks (2.3 bpg) and was named Defensive Player of the Year. Zhou hit 20 3-pointers in 2016–17 after having 10 his first two seasons combined. He also helped Xinjiang win its first championship in 2016–17.

Houston Rockets (2017–2019)

After his second season with Xinjiang, Zhou declared for the 2016 NBA draft. He had the longest wingspan during the 2016 NBA Draft Combine at 7'7¾" (2.33 m). On 23 June 2016, he was selected with the 43rd overall pick by the

. On 6 July 2017, Zhou signed with the Houston Rockets. He made his NBA debut on 21 October 2017, playing eight minutes in the fourth quarter of the Rockets' 107–91 win over the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference (NBA), Western Conferenc ...

, posting three rebounds and one block. On 1 November 2017, Zhou scored his first NBA points, finishing with three points against the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

. During his rookie season, Zhou had multiple assignments to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official List of developmental and minor sports leagues, minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development ...

. On 17 December 2018, the

waived Zhou.

South East Melbourne Phoenix (2021-2022)

On 8 September 2021, Zhou signed a two-year deal with the

of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL) as a Special Restricted Player, with the second year being a player option. On 27 September 2022, Zhou recommitted to the Phoenix for the

2022–23 NBL season The 2022–23 NBL season was the 45th season of the National Basketball League since its establishment in 1979. A total of ten teams contested in the 2022–23 season. Australian broadcast rights to the season are held by ESPN in the second sea ...

. On 19 December 2022, he left the team and returned to China for family reasons.

National team career

Zhou made his debut with the senior Chinese national team during the

2014 Asian Games The 2014 Asian Games ( ko, 2014년 아시아 경기대회/2014년 아시안 게임, Icheon sip-sa nyeon Asia gyeonggi daehoe/Icheon sip-sa nyeon Asian Geim), officially known as the 17th Asian Games ( ko, 제17회 아시아 경기대회/제17회 ...

in Incheon, South Korea. He returned for the

Changsha, China Changsha (; ; ; Changshanese pronunciation: (), Standard Mandarin Standard Chinese ()—in linguistics Standard Northern Mandarin or Standard Beijing Mandarin, in common speech simply Mandarin, better qualified as Standard Mandarin, ...

, where he helped China win the championship with a win over the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

in the final. Zhou had 16 points and 14 rebounds in the championship game. He was subsequently named to the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship All-Star Five. Zhou later competed in the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

with the Chinese national team.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

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Playoffs

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NBL

Regular season

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References

External links

Zhou Qi
at nbl.com.au
Zhou Qi
at cbaleague.com

at archive.fiba.com
NBA Draft profileDraftExpress profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zhou, Qi 1996 births Living people Basketball players at the 2014 Asian Games Basketball players at the 2016 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 2018 Asian Games Basketball players from Henan Centers (basketball) Chinese expatriate basketball people in the United States Chinese expatriate sportspeople in Australia Chinese men's basketball players Houston Rockets draft picks Houston Rockets players National Basketball Association players from China Olympic basketball players of China People from Xinxiang Rio Grande Valley Vipers players South East Melbourne Phoenix players Xinjiang Flying Tigers players Asian Games gold medalists for China Asian Games medalists in basketball Medalists at the 2018 Asian Games 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup players