China’s basketball prodigy Zhang Ziyu has already made waves in the international basketball scene as a teenager. She left the basketball world in awe with her record-breaking performance on Wednesday, June 26.
At just 17 years old, the young player stands at a towering 7-foot-3 and is enjoying her moment in the spotlight as the FIBA Under-18 Women’s Asia Cup in Shenzhen is currently underway.
The International Basketball Federation, more commonly known as FIBA from its French name, Federation Internationale de Basketball, has kept a firm eye on the dunking dynamo since her international debut on Monday.
Chinese news outlets reported that Zhang touched a height of 5-foot-2 when she was a first-grader and measured 6-foot-9 by the time she was in the sixth grade.
The FIBA Under-18 Women’s Asia Cup in Shenzhen is currently underway, and all eyes are on Zhang Ziyu, the Chinese team’s prodigy
Image credits: NextGen Hoops / Instagram
Image credits: FIBA / Twitter
The internet was amazed to see the teenage titan and her slam dunk spectacle on the court.
“This looks like an adult playing basketball with first graders. We need a height limit or something!” one comment said, while another added, “Watching her defenders jump like it was going to make a difference.”
“And apparently she’s 17? That’s crazy tall for any young adult!” wrote another.
The dunking dynamo was called “a cheat code” and set a new record during Wednesday’s match against Japan
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Zhang Ziyu is 𝐇𝐄𝐑 😤
17-year-old center (2,20cm/7’3”) registered 19 points and 7 rebounds on a perfect shooting (9/9) in her FIBA debut 🇨🇳#U18AsiaCup pic.twitter.com/10XKaDESYL
— FIBA (@FIBA) June 24, 2024
“Zhang Ziyu is a cheat code,” read a tweet shared by NextGen Hoops, the social media account set up by FIBA to showcase the next generation of basketball players.
During Monday’s game, host team China easily cruised to victory against Indonesia, with the final scoreboard reading 109-50. Zhang scored 19 points on 9-for-9 shooting in just 13 minutes while towering over all the other opponents on the court.
The rising star put up a stellar performance on Tuesday as well. The Chinese team took on New Zealand, ending the game with a 90-68 win. However, it was Wednesday’s performance that proved the teenager was taking the basketball world by storm.
“I can easily reach the basket. But basketball is definitely more than that. I have to learn a lot,” said the towering teenage titan
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Zhang steered China to a victory against Japan with a final score of 97-81 during Wednesday’s match. The 7-foot-3 phenom broke the tournament’s all-time scoring record, as she racked up 44 points, together with 14 rebounds, 5 assists, and a pair of steals.
The towering talent insisted that her height is not enough to play the sport she is effortlessly making a mark in.
“There are some things we can’t control. I regard it as a gift to me,” she said in an interview with FIBA, as quoted by the Daily Mail.
“I can easily reach the basket. But basketball is definitely more than that. I have to learn a lot,” she added.
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