AIf the Chinese women’s youth basketball team takes the court this week for the U-18 Asian Cup in Shenzhen, it is impossible to miss a powerful weapon in its arsenal: 17-year-old Zhang Ziyu, who at 2.10 meters – 3 towers over everyone on the court.
Getting taller than any WNBA player of all timeshe was called “Cheat code” It is “unguardable” by social media users and compared to Yao Ming, the 7-foot-tall retired Chinese basketball legend, and Victor Wembanyama, last year’s 7-foot-tall first-round pick from France in the NBA draft.
It’s not hard to see why Zhang is attracting attention: in her international tournament debut, she is already recording impressive statistics, shooting 9 by 9 score 19 points in 13 minutes off the bench as China cruised to a 109-50 victory against Indonesia on Monday and helping China beat New Zealand 90-68 on Tuesday.
She’s scored a combined 55 points in her two games so far this week — and barely had to jump.
Women’s basketball has received a wave of global attention, helped in no small part by Caitlin Clark, the Indiana Fever guard and WNBA sensation fresh off a record-setting college career. Now, Zhang is having her own moment in the spotlight.
Born to professional basketball players, Zhang was 1.70 meters tall when he was a first-grader and by the sixth grade had grown to a height of 1.80 meters, according to the state-owned company. Global Times.
Zhang’s performance in China’s youth leagues has seen her gain steady popularity domestically as the sport’s rising star – especially in 2021, when filming of the literally remarkable 14-year-old in China’s Under-15 National Basketball League China went viral– but she shot to international fame this week when video montages of her at the Asian Cup generated millions of views and lots of reactions on social media.
“What the hell am I seeing?” Spanish sports journalist Luis Vallejo posted in X in response to a video by Zhang. “No, this is not AI,” another user posted. Others are already anticipating her potential WNBA career when she turns 20 in a few years.
Viewers in his home country also continue to enjoy Zhang’s dominance on the court. On Chinese microblogging site Weibo, the thread “Zhang Ziyu is very strong” has more than eight million views. “This is intimidation. There’s no way to play ball now,” says one publish.
For his part, Zhang remains humble about his rise. “I consider it a gift to me,” she said of her height, in comments published by International Basketball Federation. “I can easily reach the basket. But basketball is definitely more than that. I have to learn a lot.”
This story originally appeared on Time.com read the full story
