Zhou Qi was born into poverty, the son of parents whose names are unpopular, but he has braved his humble beginnings to create the rarest of incidents – a Chinese who was drafted into the National Basketball Association (NBA). His story is unique and shows his determination to succeed at all costs and rise to the top of the sport we have all come to love. Let us dive into the life of Zhou Qi and learn more about him.
Zhou Qi’s Bio, Age
Zhou Qi is a Chinese basketball player who is currently successful in the NBA. He was born in China at a place called Xinxiang in Henan province, his date of birth is dated January 16, 1996. Qi is a very big sportsman, a gene that seems to be abundant in the family, as his parents are also tall. While his father is 1.80 m tall, the mother of Qi is 1.80 m tall. He is the only child of his parents, and it is not sure what educational background he has to make a poor home.
His obvious talents did not catch the eye of scouts and other observers until 2011, when he represented his country, China, at the TBF International U-16 (basketball) tournament. His great performances meant that China would finish the tournament as the winner. At the age of 15, he led his team to victory over the German team in the semi-finals with an outstanding 41 points, 28 rebounds, and 15 blocks. And as if that wasn’t enough, he continued in the final against Turkey (which was the host country) and picked up where he left off against the German team, scoring 30 points, 17 rebounds, and 8 blocks, enough to win the title and earn him the MVP crown.
Furthermore, Zhou Qi showed that his performance in the U-16 tournament was no coincidence when he entered the Albert Schweitzer Tournament next year, 2012, and his average was 16.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 4.2 blocks, consolidating his place as one of the best teenage players in international basketball. His exploits would lead him to leave his youth club, the Liaoning Jaguars, and join a professional basketball team in 2014 in the form of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) Xinjiang Flying Tigers.
Career
The move from Zhou Qi to Xinjiang Flying Tigers caused some controversy. At first, there was a rumor that he turned down offers from colleges in the United States to offer him scholarship packages (a move that was seen by the local media as a better chance for his career), but he turned them down to be able to play for the Tigers. Again, there were rumors that a 3-year contract worth $744,000 made him the highest-paid player on the Tigers teams. But although the rumors spread more and more in the course of the controversies, the club vehemently denied all accounts.
In his last season with the Tigers, the 2016-17 season, he led the team to its first championship victory ever before buying out his remaining contract to participate in the 2016 NBA Draft. Zhou Qi was the first Chinese to participate in the NBA Draft in nine years, and he was ranked 43rd by the Houston Rockets, but would not sign a professional contract until July 2017, and although he made his rocket debut with a win over the Dallas Mavericks in October of the same year, he was assigned to their NBA G-League subsidiary, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.
International Career
Qi began his international basketball career with the youth squads. As already mentioned, he entered the basketball scene in 2011 as a 15-year-old with amazing performances in the U-16 national team. However, he would make his debut with the senior national team at the 2014 Asian Games, which were held in South Korea. Qi was also part of the team that hosted China and won the FIBA Asian Championship 2015, where he earned a place at the FIBA Asian Championship 2015 All-Star Five with 16 points and 14 rebounds. He is also part of the basketball team that represented China at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Zhou Qi Net Worth
Houston Rockets’ power forward is a rising star in the NBA, and don’t take that for granted, because he has everything in his arsenal to reach the height he hopes to reach in the game. He signed a four-year rookie contract worth about $5.6 million with a guaranteed sum of about $820,000. His annual salary is well over the $1 million mark but is in no way close to the franchise top earners like James Harden, who earns $28 million, and Chris Paul, who has an annual income of $24 million.
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Family Life
When searching for a parent or relative of Zhou Qi on the Internet (Google search), the name “Zhou Jianwei” is displayed, but it is not clear who the above is – whether it is the father or mother. There is no further detailed information about who his parents or other relatives are, but what we do know is that he is an only child and has no siblings.
On the relationship front, no lady (or man) is mentioned in his life in a romantic way. His social media sites do not give any information, so we assume that he is currently focusing on his career and hopes to make something out of it.
Zhou Qi Body Measurements – Height, Weight
Zhou Qi rises so high and with a height of 2.16 m (7 ft 2 in) is one of the tallest players in the NBA. His weight is measured at 95 kg (210 pounds), his wingspan is 7-7¾, while his standing range is 9-6½.
