Admit it! Zhang Zhenlin is the best forward in China's active basketball scene.

Today's topic is about the CBA.

However, if I were to give such praise to Zhang Zhenlin, many people would surely comment things like:

"MVP of the losing team," "Only XXX in the world," "head-clutching," and so on...

Honestly, it's quite boring—it's time to move on.

Also, if you claim Zhang Zhenlin made the national team because of connections, I strongly disagree.

Besides, if the Chinese men's basketball team could have a few more players of his caliber, things wouldn't be this way...

Let's be fair: what he demonstrated during this year's CBA playoffs was exactly the level of the best active forward in Chinese men's basketball.

No semicolon.

In the league, none of the local forwards who have played in the NBA or NBA preseason games possess Zhang Zhenlin's abilities. This is absolutely not about putting others down—the game's level is proven through performance.

I'm stating facts, not opinions.

This isn't a statement made just because Shanghai leads 2-0 in the finals.

Rather, I said it even before the playoffs began: the duo of Zhang Zhenlin and Whiteside is terrifying in the CBA, especially on defense.

Now that Whiteside can't play in the finals (for unknown reasons), Zhang Zhenlin's role becomes even more significant.

With a height of 2.08 meters and elite running and jumping ability, he can defend from point guard to power forward, perfectly fitting the demands of modern basketball forwards.

Unlike traditional local forwards who often lack height or are slow in movement, he combines both static height advantages and dynamic athletic gifts—his jumping ability, explosive power, lateral speed, and sprinting burst are all at the top domestic level.

That put-back dunk over Carlton is something only he could do among domestic forwards...

In the finals, he can both contain Hu Jinqiu's interior connections and tightly guard super guards like Brown, with lateral speed, help defense awareness, and shot-blocking judgment all being top-tier domestically—making him the universal patch in Shanghai's defensive system.

Sort of... like Draymond Green in the Warriors system?

Does Zhang Zhenlin have obvious weaknesses?

Of course.

His ability to attack off the dribble and post up still lags behind top international forwards, and his capacity to create scoring opportunities under high-pressure double teams still needs refinement.

Every time I see him dribble, I get nervous.

Zhang Zhenlin's greatest strength in the CBA is undoubtedly on defense.

In Game 2, I always felt Shanghai put him in too late during the fourth quarter.

Finally, I want to say: if the men's basketball team faces Japan with Rui Hachimura in the next window...

Zhang Zhenlin will be very much needed—at least physically, this matchup won't be too disadvantageous.

Therefore, when he gets selected, I hope those negative voices won't resurface...

But the forwards we cultivate domestically are mostly role players.

They have decent physical attributes, butdynamic skill transitions, footwork variations, and rhythm changesare weak.

They can run and jump, but cannot use skill to shake off defenders, lacking the ability to execute consecutive isolations, handle the ball independently after picks, or create solutions when stuck in difficult situations.

So, they might be good role players in the CBA, but once they compete in continental or world tournaments...

without foreign players around them, they don't know how to cook for themselves.