Wang Zhizhi (, pronounced ; born 8 July 1977) is a Chinese former 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 is currently the head coach of the

Bayi Rockets The Bayi Rockets () was a professional basketball team based in Nanchang, Jiangxi, China, which played in the South Division of the Chinese Basketball Association. On 20 October 2020, Chinese Basketball Association announced that Bayi Rockets h ...

, the team with which he spent his domestic career in the

Chinese Basketball Association The Chinese Basketball Association (), often abbreviated as the CBA, is the first-tier professional men's basketball league in China. The league is commonly known by fans as the CBA, and this acronym is even used in Chinese on a regular basis ...

(CBA). He also played in 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) for 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 ...

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league's Western Conference. The Clipper ...

, and

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Southe ...

, becoming China's first player to compete in the NBA.

Early life

The son of two former basketball players, Wang Zhizhi started playing basketball at the age of 8, and when he was 14 his parents signed him up for the

People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, ...

, considering the PLA to have the best coaching and facilities in China. He grew up watching weekly NBA game broadcasts on television in Beijing, idolizing

Hakeem Olajuwon Hakeem Abdul Olajuwon (; ; born January 21, 1963), nicknamed "the Dream", is a Nigerian Americans, Nigerian-American former professional basketball player. From 1984 to 2002, he played Center (basketball), center in the National Basketball Ass ...

and

Charles Barkley Charles Wade Barkley (born February 20, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player who is a television analyst on TNT. Nicknamed "Sir Charles", "Chuck", and "the Round Mound of Rebound", Barkley played 16 seasons in the Natio ...

. Although Wang was born in 1977, when processing his travel documents, authorities instead represented his birth year as 1979 so that he could participate longer in

youth athletics Youth sports is any sports event where competitors are younger than adult age, whether children or adolescents. Youth sports includes school sports at primary and secondary level, as well as sports played outside the education system, whether ...

competitions.

Early CBA career

Wang signed his first professional contract with the

in 1994. When the

staged its first season in 1995–96, Wang was one of the youngest players in the league, but he soon became a starter and key member on the star-studded squad. From 1995–96 until his departure for the

after the 2000–01 season, he and the import-less Bayi Rockets won the first six CBA championships, but the team's dynasty was upended by

Yao Ming Yao Ming (; born September 12, 1980) is a Chinese basketball executive and former professional player. He played for the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) and the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Associat ...

and the

Shanghai Sharks The Shanghai Sharks () are a Chinese Basketball Association team based in Shanghai. It is best known outside China as the club that developed Yao Ming before he entered the National Basketball Association. With Yao on the team, the Sharks made ...

as soon as Wang left for the NBA.

NBA career

To the surprise of almost all Chinese basketball officials and reporters, the

of the

selected Wang with the 36th pick in the second round of the 1999 NBA draft. Dallas' assistant general manager

Donnie Nelson Donn Charles Nelson (born September 10, 1962) is an American basketball executive who previously held general manager and president of basketball operations roles for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is the s ...

had grown an interest in Wang ever since he spotted him in a 1993 game in Russia. Once Wang's agent Xia Song learned about Wang's real date of birth, which made him 22 and automatically eligible for the draft, he contacted Nelson and started arranging for his client to join the NBA. Xia was in Dallas on draft night, and had a proof of Wang's age through his old military identification. Unprepared and confused, the

refused to allow their only center to leave for the National Basketball Association, at least immediately. After long periods of negotiations, Wang was finally let go by his team and the Chinese basketball officials to pursue his NBA dream, two years after he was drafted. He became the first ever Chinese player to play in the National Basketball Association. Wang arrived in Dallas after winning his last CBA championship title when there were fewer than ten games left in the 2000–01 season. Despite some adjustment difficulties, Wang managed well by averaging 4.8 points per game and 1.4 rebounds per game, making the team's playoff roster. Two days after Dallas were eliminated from the playoffs, Wang hurried back to China to play in the 2001 East Asian Games according to an agreement formed between the Chinese authorities and the Dallas Mavericks. However, Wang still had one obligation to fulfill before being allowed to return to the National Basketball Association. His former club Bayi requested that he stay in China to play in the 2001 National Games in November 2001. Wang returned to Dallas after barely defeating

's Shanghai team by one point in the final, but he found that he had a lot of catching up to do as other players already had two months of preparation and training. Wang's contract with Dallas expired after the 2001–02 season. With his future up in the air, he decided that he would spend the summer in the United States, rather than returning to China for training, as the Dallas Mavericks had promised the Chinese basketball officials. Wang fired his agent Xia Song when the latter suggested otherwise, and following the advice of his American-born Chinese friend Simon Chan, moved to Los Angeles without telling either Dallas or his Chinese side about his intentions. During his stay, Chinese basketball officials faxed two letters to him urging him to return to China as soon as possible to train with the

Chinese national basketball team The China men's national basketball team (nickname ''Team Dragon'') represents the People's Republic of China in international basketball tournaments. The national team is governed by the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). Based on the numb ...

. A major blow to all parties involved was an article by Jodie Valade that appeared in ''

The Dallas Morning News ''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885 by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ''Galvesto ...

'' which hinted that Wang, who had not yet stated his intentions, might consider defecting to the United States. China sent two military officials who had known Wang very well to go to the United States for a final negotiation. During a press conference, Wang stressed that the relationship between him and the Chinese was like one between "a son and a mother", and the conflict was all a big misunderstanding. He was ultimately dismissed from the Chinese national team for failing to return to China for practice in 2002. Wang signed with the

in 2002 and after a season with them, he was placed on waivers. The

decided to sign Wang to a multi-year contract after picking him up. He became a free agent at the end of the 2004–05 season after playing for two seasons with Miami, over which he played 34 games and averaged 2.5 PPG.

Later CBA career

Following the 2004–05 season, Wang returned to China to rejoin Bayi in the Chinese Basketball Association, but would not be activated by the Rockets until the 2006–07 season. The impact of his return was immediate, as in March 2007, he led Bayi to their eighth CBA title. Wang was named

CBA Finals MVP The Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) Finals MVP is the annual award that is handed out at the end of each Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) playoff finals series to the most valuable player of that season's CBA Finals. The award was first d ...

for the second time in his career as the Rockets beat the

Guangdong Southern Tigers Guangdong Hongyuan Southern Tigers () or Guangdong Southern Tigers, also known as Guangdong Dongguan Bank () for sponsorship reasons, are a Chinese professional basketball team owned by the Guangdong Winnerway (Hongyuan) Group. The team is one o ...

in the championship series. He announced his retirement at the end of the 2013–14 season, but briefly returned to the court the next year, after Bayi went 0–7 in their first seven games. On July 12, 2016, Wang officially finalized his retirement from professional basketball. He had already become an assistant coach for the Rockets in 2015, and took over as head coach prior to the 2018–19 season.

National team career

Wang became the first ever Chinese player to be invited to play for the international squad against the best American high school players in the prestigious

Nike Hoop Summit The Nike Hoop Summit is an international men's basketball all-star game sponsored by Nike, held once a year since 1995, except from 2001–2003, which features the USA Basketball Men's Junior Select Team against a World Select Team of internationa ...

. He started the game and scored six points and six rebounds. He was then offered a basketball scholarship from John Thompson to play for

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

. Wang was included in the

for the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

, where he averaged 11.1 points per game and 5.6 rebounds per game, helping the team to finish as 8th place overall. After leading the Chinese national team to the 1999 FIBA Asia Championship title, Wang again starred for China in the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

, averaging 13.5 points per game and 5.0 rebounds per game. On 10 April 2006, following weeks of rumors from the Chinese media, Wang returned to China from the

after being expelled from the national team for four years due to conflicts with Chinese officials. He publicly apologized for his past mistakes and stated that he wanted to represent his national team in the 2006 FIBA World Championship as well as the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

. Over a period of four weeks in the lead-up to the

2006 FIBA World Championship The 2006 FIBA World Championship was the 15th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's national teams. The tournament was hosted by Japan and held from 19 August to 3 September 2006. It was co-organised by ...

, he was a significant contributor to the Chinese national team in the absence of injured

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 ...

player

, scoring 4.3 points per game and 2.6 rebounds per game in eight matches before suffering a torn ligament during an exhibition against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in July 2006. Wang recovered in time to play in the tournament and averaged 8.2 points per game and 3.5 rebounds per game.

Career statistics

CBA statistics

Regular season and Playoffs combined

NBA statistics

Regular season

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Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

, 5 , , 0 , , 7.6 , , .421 , , .000 , , .800 , , 1.4 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 4.8 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 55 , , 0 , , 10.9 , , .440 , , .414 , , .737 , , 2.0 , , 0.4 , , 0.2 , , 0.2 , , 5.6 , - , align="left" , , align="left" , L.A. Clippers , 41 , , 1 , , 10.0 , , .383 , , .348 , , .724 , , 1.9 , , 0.2 , , 0.2 , , 0.2 , , 4.4 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

, 16 , , 0 , , 7.1 , , .370 , , .286 , , .900 , , 1.1 , , 0.1 , , 0.2 , , 0.3 , , 3.0 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 19 , , 0 , , 4.8 , , .472 , , .667 , , .583 , , 1.0 , , 0.3 , , 0.2 , , 0.1 , , 2.3 , - , colspan="2" align=center, Career , 136 , , 1 , , 9.2 , , .417 , , .387 , , .735 , , 1.7 , , 0.3 , , 0.2 , , 0.2 , , 4.0

Playoffs

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2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

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, 5 , , 0 , , 4.6 , , .375 , , .500 , , 1.000 , , 0.4 , , 0.2 , , 0.2 , , 0.2 , , 2.0 , - , align="left" ,

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

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, 8 , , 0 , , 5.5 , , .438 , , .500 , , .500 , , 1.0 , , 0.4 , , 0.0 , , 0.1 , , 2.5 , - , align="left" ,

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

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, 3 , , 0 , , 2.3 , , .000 , , .000 , , .000 , , 0.0 , , 0.3 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , - , colspan="2" align=center, Career , 16 , , 0 , , 4.6 , , .417 , , .500 , , .667 , , 0.7 , , 0.3 , , 0.2 , , 0.1 , , 1.9

References

External links

Expelled star Wang makes humble return to China
(

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

)
Stats at Basketball-reference.com

Wang wants spot on Chinese National Team
(

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...