Wang Zhizhi

Wang Zhizhi
Wang Zhizhi
Hanyu Pinyin	Wáng Zhìzhì
Wade–Giles	Wang2 Chih4-chih4
IPA	[wǎŋ ʈʂɻ̩̂.ʈʂɻ̩̂]

Wang Zhizhi
王治郅
Personal information
Born	8 July 1977 (age 46); Beijing, China
Listed height	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
Listed weight	243 lb (110 kg)
Career information
NBA draft	1999: 2nd round, 36th overall pick
	Selected by the Dallas Mavericks
Playing career	1995–2015
Position	Center
Number	16, 15 (NBA); 14 (CBA)
Coaching career	2015–present
Career history
As player:
1995–2001	Bayi Rockets
2001–2002	Dallas Mavericks
2002–2003	Los Angeles Clippers
2003–2005	Miami Heat
2006–2015	Bayi Rockets
As coach:
2015–2018	Bayi Rockets (assistant)
2018–2020	Bayi Rockets
Career highlights and awards
	7× CBA champion (1996–2001, 2007); CBA MVP (2000); 2× CBA Finals MVP (2000, 2007); 4× 1999); 2× 1998);
	Stats at NBA.com
	Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Men's basketball
Representing China
FIBA Asia Cup
Asian Games

Wang Zhizhi (Chinese: 王治郅; pinyin: Wáng Zhìzhì, pronounced [uǎŋ ʈʂɻ̩̂ʈʂɻ̩̂]; born 8 July 1977) is a Chinese former professional basketball player who was the head coach of the Bayi Rockets, the team with which he spent his domestic career in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He also played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Clippers, and Miami Heat, becoming China's first player to compete in the NBA.

Early and personal 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

youth athletics competitions.^[2]

Wang has been married twice.

Chengdu, Sichuan

. They had one private wedding at the end of 2018 followed by a second wedding in May 2019.

Early CBA career

Wang signed his first professional contract with the

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

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 and the Shanghai Sharks

as soon as Wang left for the NBA.

To the surprise of almost all Chinese basketball officials and reporters, the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association selected Wang with the 36th pick in the second round of the 1999 NBA draft. Dallas' assistant general manager Donnie Nelson had grown an interest in Wang ever since he spotted him in a 1993 game in Russia.^[1] 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.^[2] Unprepared and confused, the Bayi Rockets 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.^[5] 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 Yao Ming'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

Chinese national basketball team. A major blow to all parties involved was an article by Jodie Valade that appeared in The Dallas Morning News

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 Los Angeles Clippers in 2002 and after a season with them, he was placed on waivers. The Miami Heat 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

CBA Finals MVP for the second time in his career as the Rockets beat the Guangdong Southern Tigers

in the championship series.

He announced his retirement at the end of 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

Chinese national basketball team for the 1996 Summer Olympics, 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

, 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

France

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

Year	Team	GP	MPG	2P%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1995–96	Bayi	26	N/A	.647	.000	.813	6.8	0.3	0.7	3.4	14.9
1996–97	Bayi	26	N/A	.554	.000	.825	7.3	1.0	1.3	2.7	16.5
1997–98	Bayi	29	N/A	.590	.391	.678	8.8	0.9	1.0	2.7	21.8
1998–99	Bayi	30	N/A	.581	.216	.773	7.8	0.8	1.2	2.5	25.0
1999–00	Bayi	30	N/A	.557	.373	.832	10.0	0.8	3.0	2.6	27.0
2000–01	Bayi	31	N/A	.594	.361	.761	11.7	1.6	1.7	2.1	26.3
2006–07	Bayi	39	N/A	.593	.418	.823	10.2	2.3	1.3	2.1	26.8
2007–08	Bayi	32	N/A	.525	.436	.875	9.0	2.2	1.7	1.8	26.2
2008–09	Bayi	24	N/A	.553	.375	.839	7.6	2.0	0.8	1.5	22.0
2009–10	Bayi	34	N/A	.470	.387	.769	10.2	1.6	1.4	2.1	22.2
2010–11	Bayi	34	N/A	.547	.426	.855	8.7	2.4	1.1	1.4	18.6
2011–12	Bayi	31	28.3	.513	.506	.832	6.3	1.8	1.0	0.8	18.1
2012–13	Bayi	32	31.5	.516	.348	.895	7.1	1.7	1.1	1.3	20.8
2013–14	Bayi	34	27.9	.505	.360	.887	6.0	1.4	0.8	0.9	16.9
2014–15	Bayi	2	12.7	.529	.200	.833	4.0	3.0	0.0	0.0	12.0
Career		434	INC	.549	.395	.816	8.4	1.5	1.3	2.0	22.3

NBA statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field goal percentage	3P%	3-point field goal percentage	FT%	Free throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high

Regular season


Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2000–01	Dallas	5	0	7.6	.421	.000	.800	1.4	0.0	0.0	0.0	4.8
2001–02	Dallas	55	0	10.9	.440	.414	.737	2.0	0.4	0.2	0.2	5.6
2002–03	L.A. Clippers	41	1	10.0	.383	.348	.724	1.9	0.2	0.2	0.2	4.4
2003–04	Miami	16	0	7.1	.370	.286	.900	1.1	0.1	0.2	0.3	3.0
2004–05	Miami	19	0	4.8	.472	.667	.583	1.0	0.3	0.2	0.1	2.3
Career		136	1	9.2	.417	.387	.735	1.7	0.3	0.2	0.2	4.0

Playoffs


Year	Team	GP	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2001	Dallas	5	4.6	.375	.500	1.000	0.4	0.2	0.2	0.2	2.0
2002	Dallas	8	5.5	.438	.500	.500	1.0	0.4	0.0	0.1	2.5
2004	Miami	3	2.3	.000	.000	.000	0.0	0.3	0.0	0.0	0.0
Career		16	4.6	.417	.500	.667	0.7	0.3	0.2	0.1	1.9