--- description: Standing taller than any WNBA player ever, Zhang Ziyu has been called a “cheat code” and drawn comparisons to China’s basketball legend Yao Ming. title: China’s 7-Foot-3 Teen Basketballer Goes Viral image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6692a4976cac7676/698a58209862f5daf8895d64/Zhang-Ziyu-China-Basketball-Asia-Cup.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [China](/tag/china/) ## China Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # The Newest Phenom in Women’s Basketball Is a 7-Foot-3 Chinese Teen by [Koh Ewe](/author/koh-ewe/) ## Koh Ewe Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Koh Ewe (Koyu) was a reporter for TIME based in Singapore. Jun 26, 2024 8:30 AM CUT  China’s Zhang Ziyu during a U18 Women’s Asia Cup match against New Zealand in Shenzhen on June 25, 2024. China’s Zhang Ziyu during a U18 Women’s Asia Cup match against New Zealand in Shenzhen on June 25, 2024.Fred Lee—Getty Images by [Koh Ewe](/author/koh-ewe/) ## Koh Ewe Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Koh Ewe (Koyu) was a reporter for TIME based in Singapore. Jun 26, 2024 8:30 AM CUT As China’s youth women’s basketball team takes the court this week for the Under-18 Asia Cup, held on home ground in Shenzhen, it’s impossible to miss one powerful weapon in their arsenal: 17-year-old Zhang Ziyu, who at 7-foot-3 towers over everyone on the court. Standing taller than [any WNBA player ever](https://www.sportskeeda.com/us/wnba/5-tallest-wnba-players-ever-ft-brittney-griner "undefined"), she’s been called a [“cheat code”](https://x.com/NextGenHoops/status/1805216387532767408 "undefined") and [“unguardable”](https://x.com/TheDunkCentral/status/1805282792546226674 "undefined") by social media users and compared to [Yao Ming](https://time.com/archive/6675385/the-creation-of-yao-ming/ "undefined"), China’s retired 7-foot-6 basketball legend, and [Victor Wembanyama](https://time.com/6280252/victor-wembanyama-nba-draft-lottery/ "undefined"), last year’s 7-foot-4 NBA first draft pick from France. It’s not hard to see why Zhang is attracting attention: in her international tournament debut, she’s already chalking up impressive stats,[shooting 9 for 9](https://x.com/FIBA/status/1805321453056782654 "undefined") to score 19 points during 13 minutes off the bench as China [cruised to a 109-50 victory](https://www.fiba.basketball/en/events/fiba-u18-womens-asiacup-2024/news/zhang-ziyu-impresses-as-china-maul-indonesia-in-strong-debut "undefined") against Indonesia on Monday and helping China beat New Zealand [90-68](https://www.fiba.basketball/en/events/fiba-u18-womens-asiacup-2024/games/122557-NZL-CHN "undefined") on Tuesday. > [](https://twitter.com/FIBA/status/1805611685782126738) She scored a combined 55 points across her two games so far this week—and has barely had to even jump at all. > [](https://twitter.com/FIBA/status/1805321453056782654) Women’s basketball has been enjoying a global surge in attention, helped in large part by [Caitlin Clark](https://time.com/6987117/caitlin-clark-olympic-roster-wnba/ "undefined"), the [Indiana Fever guard](https://time.com/6978201/caitlin-clark-wnba-disappointing-debut-analysis-womens-basketball/ "undefined") and [WNBA sensation](https://time.com/6979926/wnba/ "undefined") hot off a [record-breaking college career](https://time.com/6962533/caitlin-clark-iowa-lsu-womens-basketball/ "undefined"). Now, Zhang is having her own moment in the spotlight. Born to professional basketballers, Zhang measured 5-foot-2 as a first grader and by sixth grade had grown to a height of 6-foot-9, according to the state-owned [_Global Times_](https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202107/1228789.shtml "undefined"). Zhang’s performance in China’s youth leagues saw her steadily gain popularity domestically as the sport’s up-and-coming star—particularly in 2021 when footage of the literally outstanding then-14-year-old in China’s U15 National Basketball League [went viral](https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202107/1228789.shtml "undefined")—but she soared to international fame this week as video montages of her at the Asia Cup rack up millions of views and many reactions on social media. “What the hell am I seeing?” Spanish sports journalist Luis Vallejo [posted on X](https://x.com/Lvallejocolom/status/1805204139179213220 "undefined")in response to a video of Zhang. “No, this is not AI,” another user [posted](https://x.com/MickRandallHS/status/1805239636249465124 "undefined"). Others are already [anticipating](https://x.com/TriLogyXV/status/1805615002948108720 "undefined") her potential career in the WNBA when she turns 20 in a few years. Viewers in her home country are also continuing to enjoy Zhang’s dominance on the court. On Chinese microblogging site Weibo, the topic [“Zhang Ziyu is too strong”](https://s.weibo.com/weibo?q=%23%E5%BC%A0%E5%AD%90%E5%AE%87%E5%A4%AA%E5%BC%BA%E4%BA%86%23 "undefined") has over eight million views. “This is bullying. There’s no way to play ball now,” reads one [post](https://weibo.com/3939426052/OkGoFe02d?refer%5Fflag=1001030103%5F "undefined"). For her part, Zhang remains humble about her rise. “I regard it as a gift to me,” she said of her height, in comments published by the [International Basketball Federation](https://www.fiba.basketball/en/events/fiba-u18-womens-asiacup-2024/news/zhang-ziyu-one-of-a-kind-prospect-garners-global-attention "undefined"). “I can easily reach the basket. But basketball is definitely more than that. I have to learn a lot.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6992009/zhang-ziyu-height-tall-china-womens-basketball-asia-cup-viral/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6992009/zhang-ziyu-height-tall-china-womens-basketball-asia-cup-viral/"},"headline":"The Newest Phenom in Women’s Basketball Is a 7-Foot-3 Chinese Teen","datePublished":"2024-06-26T08:30:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T17:50:34.787Z","description":"Standing taller than any WNBA player ever, Zhang Ziyu has been called a “cheat code” and drawn comparisons to China’s basketball legend Yao Ming.","url":"https://time.com/6992009/zhang-ziyu-height-tall-china-womens-basketball-asia-cup-viral/","keywords":["China","overnight","News Desk"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6692a4976cac7676/698a58209862f5daf8895d64/Zhang-Ziyu-China-Basketball-Asia-Cup.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Koh Ewe","jobTitle":"Koh Ewe (Koyu) was a reporter for TIME based in Singapore.","url":"https://time.com/author/koh-ewe/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6692a4976cac7676/698a58209862f5daf8895d64/Zhang-Ziyu-China-Basketball-Asia-Cup.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Zhang Ziyu China Basketball Teen Asia Cup","caption":"Zhang Ziyu of China in action during during FIBA U18 Women's Asia Cup 2024 match between New Zealand and China in Shenzhen, China, on June 25, 2024.","creditText":"Fred Lee—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/china/","name":"China"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6992009/zhang-ziyu-height-tall-china-womens-basketball-asia-cup-viral/","name":"The Newest Phenom in Women’s Basketball Is a 7-Foot-3 Chinese Teen"}}]}] ```