The Height of Yao Ming in the CBA 24: Chapter 24: So Terrifying!
The Height of Yao Ming in the CBA December 21—the twenty-seventh day of the winter moon in the lunar calendar—can be regarded as the coldest time of the year.
Outside, the fierce winter wind roared, leaving everything bleak and desolate.
Yet inside the Zuchang Gymnasium, the overwhelming cheers and shouts felt like a warm sun, like the gentle light of early spring, washing over the more than 4,000 people present and warming everyone’s heart.
“Hello to everyone tuning in from home!” “Hello everyone!” “I’m your old friend, Zhang Weiping!” “And I’m Yu Jia!” This matchup was the 14th round of the CBA regular season.
Both teams were top title favorites this year, making this arguably the most anticipated and hottest game of the season.
For this reason, the official broadcast brought in China’s ace commentary duo.
The atmosphere in the building was already fully charged before the ball was even tipped.
After sharing a knowing smile, the senior commentator Zhang Weiping took the lead.
“Yu Jia, before the start of this season, did you ever imagine that the Fujian team could pull off a 12-game winning streak—the only one in franchise history—to temporarily sit alone at the top of the league standings?” “Coach Zhang, you’re making fun of me,” Yu Jia replied, waving his hands repeatedly.
“I believe it’s not just you and me.
Even the most loyal fans of the Fujian men’s basketball team couldn’t have imagined that their home team could actually lead the regular season.” “Yeah, how unimaginable this is!
But if everyone takes a look at the specific data of Wang Zelin, the core of the Fujian team, I’m afraid no one will be surprised anymore.” As Zhang Weiping spoke, both commentators turned their attention to the big screen behind them.
Wang Zelin Birth Year: 1993 (17 years old) Team: Officially joined Fujian Xunxing Men’s Basketball Club for the 2011–2012 season Games Played: 12 Average Minutes: 39.5 Per-Game Stats: 35.4 Points | 19.5 Rebounds | 5.2 Blocks | 1.5 Assists | 2.3 Steals | 2.5 Turnovers Field Goal %: 75.2% League Rank: Currently ranked #1 in Scoring, Rebounding, Blocks, and Dunks for the regular season.
Immediately afterward, the big screen split into two halves.
The left side displayed Wang Zelin’s detailed statistics, while the right side displayed Yao Ming’s per-game averages from the 2001–02 CBA season—his final domestic season and absolute peak in China: Yao Ming (2001–02 Season) Per-Game Stats: 32.4 Points | 19.0 Rebounds | 4.8 Blocks | 2.6 Assists | 1.7 Steals Field Goal %: 72.1% From this data, one could see the sheer level of dominance Yao Ming had over the CBA back then.
The most terrifying part?
The 17-year-old Wang Zelin was outperforming peak Yao Ming in every single statistical category, except for having slightly lower assists!
When the direct comparison flashed on screen, everyone in the arena—including the staff, players, and spectators—took a collective sharp breath.
This kid…
how terrifying!
He shouldn’t even be playing in the CBA!
“Since we’ve reached this point, I’m not going to hide it anymore,” a fan in the stands shouted.
“I’m actually a ten-year veteran fan of the Fujian Men’s Basketball Team!” In an instant, “ten-year Fujian fans” sprang up throughout the arena like mushrooms after a rain.
As the figure at the center of the storm, Wang Zelin appeared completely calm, sitting in the bench area with his eyes closed.
On the surface, his statistics looked better than Yao Ming’s 2001–02 season, but in reality, his actual current strength was still a step behind peak Yao.
After all, Yao Ming averaged 13.5 points, 8.2 rebounds, 1.8 blocks, and 1.7 assists in his very first year in the NBA.
Wang Zelin knew he didn’t have the confidence to put up those kinds of numbers in the NBA just yet.
Besides, in the CBA at the turn of the century, the league was filled with ruthless monsters!
In the scoring race, there was Liu Yudong, the “God of War,” who averaged 36.4 points per game to claim the top spot over Yao Ming.
Not to mention the “Tiger King” Sun Jun, who averaged 30 points per game as a legendary super scorer.
As for rebounding, Wang Zelin clearly remembered that even with Yao Ming averaging 19 rebounds per game that year, he still didn’t win the rebounding title—it went to Shaanxi’s foreign import, Gates, who averaged 19.9 rebounds per game.
Yao Ming put up a staggering 32+19 line back then and still couldn’t win the scoring or rebounding titles, having to settle for block leader alone.
That was the caliber of competition back then—a true pack of animals.
And now?
The only opponent worth looking forward to, Yi Jianlian, had yet to return to the league.
Wang Zelin had already thoroughly beaten all the foreign imports, and hardly any domestic big men could stand up to him.
To be completely honest, the current CBA could no longer spark any real excitement in Wang Zelin.
Is this what it feels like to reach the height of Yao Ming in the CBA?
Very good…
just a little light on oxygen at the top.
When warm-up time ended, players from both teams took the court.
Fujian ran out their usual starting five.
Guangdong’s starters were: Aaron Brooks, Zhou Peng, Zhu Fangyu, Dong Hanlin, and Su Wei.
The key threats in Guangdong’s lineup were “Little Black Bean” Brooks and Zhu Fangyu—the two main pillars of the team.
As for veteran Wang Shipeng, he was starting on the bench to make way for the younger Zhou Peng.
Prrrtt!
The referee blew the whistle, and Wang Zelin easily won the opening tip, giving Fujian first possession.
Just as point guard Xie Yacai received the ball and prepared to advance upcourt, a dark shadow flashed past him.
Oops!
No one expected Aaron Brooks to skip dropping back entirely.
Instead, he launched a fierce full-court press on Xie Yacai, picking his pocket clean.
Accelerating at top speed, Brooks went coast-to-coast for an easy layup.
“Stay sharp!
If you make a low-level mistake like that again, you won’t be playing the rest of this game,” Wang Zelin warned coldly.
Although Xie Yacai knew there was a significant skill gap between himself and Brooks, failing to protect the ball across half-court was inexcusable.
The 12-game winning streak had clearly made some players on the team overly relaxed and bloated with arrogance.
Wang Zelin was deeply dissatisfied with that attitude.
“Got it, I understand,” Xie Yacai said quickly, taking accountability.
Off the court, Wang Zelin was an easygoing, cheerful guy who joked around.
But on the court, he was a cold-faced leader who held both himself and his teammates to strict standards.
Teammates only ever saw Wang Zelin smile when the final whistle blew for a victory.
“Good.” Not wanting to waste energy on a pointless back-and-forth run, Wang Zelin carved out low-post position in the frontcourt while power forward Zaid Abbas handled the baseline inbound.
As Xie Yacai brought the ball up this time, Brooks stepped forward again to apply pressure, but Xie Yacai focused up and steadily dribbled across half-court.
Zhao Tailong set a high pick-and-roll for Xie Yacai.
As Xie Yacai drove left, Wang Zelin sealed his man on the right block, and the entry pass was promptly delivered to him.
Although Su Wei, guarding him, stood 2.13 meters tall, that was all he had going for him.
Wang Zelin backed into him with a heavy shoulder, knocking Su Wei’s frame completely out of position.
Zhu Fangyu rushed over from the weak side to help double-team, but he was a second too late.
BOOM!
Wang Zelin effortlessly threw down his iconic two-handed power dunk right over Su Wei and Zhu Fangyu!
“Wang Zelin!
MVP!” “Wang Zelin!
MVP!” At this moment, Fujian fans felt incredibly lucky and thrilled, having lost count of how many times Wang Zelin had delivered such a visual feast.
Before the game, Guangdong head coach Li Chunjiang had drawn up a detailed tactical scheme to contain Wang Zelin—when to double-team, when to foul, when to collapse the paint.
Unfortunately, once the game actually started, he realized his all-encompassing strategy was a complete joke in the face of the monster on the floor.
The double-teams and hacking did nothing except leave red slap marks on Wang Zelin’s arms, having zero effect on the outcome of the game.
If anything, it merely delayed the inevitable.
In the first quarter, Guangdong relied on Zhu Fangyu hitting three 3-pointers to keep the margin within ten points, ending the quarter down 27–18.
In the second quarter, when Wang Zelin decided to go all out, Guangdong’s proud interior rotation turned to tissue paper, ripped apart with a single thrust.
56 to 28!
By halftime, the defending champion Guangdong team had scored a paltry 10 points in the second quarter against the super dark-horse Fujian squad.
By the end of the third quarter, the lead had expanded to 35 points.
Wang Zelin checked out for the night to rest, finishing with a monstrous triple-double of 43 points, 25 rebounds, and 11 blocks.
Winning games in three quarters and clocking out early had become the trademark label of the Fujian team under Wang Zelin’s leadership.
In the words of an unknown basketball commentator who was still relaxing in a bathhouse: “Like I said earlier, there’s really nothing left to talk about when it comes to Wang Zelin.
He’s just like that.
Always winning!
Winning every single day!
Watching him win has become the norm!
His performance has always given us a…
very stable feeling!
So tell me, what else is there left to talk about?”