2-0! Zeng Fanbo has disappeared! The top talent forward of the Chinese men's basketball team

15/12/2025 22:14:00 basketball

Zhao Rui logged 9 minutes, putting up 8 points, 1 rebound, and 1 steal; Zhou Qi played 22 minutes, adding 15 points and 9 rebounds. The duo combined to lead Beijing to a commanding 111-84 victory over their old team.

The statistics for the Xinjiang team are as follows:

Beijing currently stands at the top of the league with a perfect 2-0 record, while Zeng Fanbo’s future remains unclear, still under pre-registration status, noted as playing in a foreign league.

According to previous statements from Beijing’s head coach Xu Limin,Zeng Fanbo is still in negotiations and communication with the team managementsince his rookie contract expired this summer, and currently there is disagreement between both sides regarding contract renewal.

Having neither renewed with Beijing nor signed with another league means, quite absurdly, that Zeng Fanbo is currently without a team... Some media suggest that the 22-year-old Chinese forward could first join the Australian NBL to gain experience, then decide later whether to return to Beijing, potentially in time for the CBA playoffs.

Last season, Zeng Fanbo made a significant leap, averaging 14.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.5 steals per regular season game, shooting 40.5% from the field including 2 three-pointers per game; in the playoffs, he averaged 15 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, and 1.6 blocks per game, hitting 43.3% from the field with 2.6 three-pointers per game.

However, in this year’s playoff second round Game 2 between Beijing and Shanxi, Zeng Fanbo suffered a transverse process fracture in his lumbar spine, abruptly halting his promising momentum, and after returning, he has struggled to regain his form.

This summer, Zeng Fanbo joined the Brooklyn Nets on an Exhibit 10 contract, played just a symbolic single NBA China game before being waived; during the recent World Cup qualifiers, his performance for the Chinese national team was also disappointing, scoring only 2 points and grabbing 2 rebounds on 1-for-5 shooting across two games, a far cry from his previous dynamic level.

To regain his former form, Zeng Fanbo must revive through actual gameplay. Whether he returns to the CBA or plays in the NBL, the urgent priority is to get back on the court. The Chinese national team desperately needs him for the World Cup qualifiers against Japan on February 26 and Chinese Taipei on March 1 next year.