Against Melbourne United, this is Zhou Qi's third game in the NBL, and he has played dominance. Playing 29 minutes, Zhou Qi had 22 points, 10 rebounds, 7 blocks and 2 steals. Many of the data are the highest in the whole team, but they still cannot fully reflect the role of Zhou Qi.
Zhou Qi's best skill is defense, and in this game, he also acted as a defensive gate. Let the opponent's small men return many times without success, and former NBA champion guard Villadoveva suffered a Zhou Qi block. Melbourne United's big men couldn't open up in front of Zhou Qi and were forced to pass the ball or get hatted. On the offensive end, Zhou Qi is not in vain, can play singles on the inside line, and can also shoot into the middle distance. When there is no ball, Zhou Qi can also score through the empty cut. More importantly, when Melbourne United set off a point-chasing frenzy, Zhou Qi was able to stand up and stabilize the situation for the team with an attack.
Both offensive and defensive ends played a dominant force, and Zhou Qi won the unanimous approval of the manager and teammates. Chinese players play a dominant role in overseas leagues, which is a long time away for Chinese fans. The last to play a dominant role in overseas leagues was Yao Ming, who became a superstar in the NBA and became an All-Star regular. Yi Jianlian Battle Sun Yue and others have also played in the NBA, but they are not very successful, and dominance is even less existent. The level of the NBL is far inferior to that of the NBA, but it is not easy for Zhou Qi to do it, after all, the level is far above the CBA.
After continuing to perform well, Zhou Qi has also gained great recognition in China. This was not easy for Zhou Qi, because his reputation had been bad for too long. In the 2019 Home World Cup, Zhou Qi made a fatal mistake in the match against the Polish men's basketball team, resulting in the Chinese men's basketball team not qualifying for the Olympic Games. Zhou Qi was like a rat crossing the street, and at one time people shouted and beat people. In the CBA League, Zhou Qi was also not valued. Playing the top level of the CBA, Zhou Qi did not have the opportunity to compete for MVP. Obviously, he is the best defensive player in the entire CBA, but Zhou Qi can't get the best defensive trophy.
The wind evaluation is not good, and Zhou Qi's team, the Xinjiang men's basketball team, intends to rebuild. Before the start of last season, the Xinjiang men's basketball team sent away Yu Changdong Kelan Baike and other main players, and the strength was sharply reduced. Zhou Qi was overloaded and brought the team to the 4th place in the regular season, but was eliminated by the Shandong men's basketball team in the first round of the playoffs. The Xinjiang men's basketball team has no hope of competing for the championship, and if Zhou Qi continues to stay in the team, he can only work hard to compete for the playoffs. According to the CBA regulations, Zhou Qi could not leave although his contract expired. In desperation, Zhou Qi made a rule not to play in the CBA this season and switched to the NBL league. At first, Zhou Qi was believed to have made a wrong decision because his income would be reduced and his exposure would be sharply reduced.
Now it seems that Zhou Qi has made an extremely wise decision. Unlike the CBA, the NBL does not value Zhou Qi's performance in the national team, only the strength. Zhou Qi attaches great importance to him, and both the NBL and the Owner Southeast Phoenix team have vigorously promoted him. In China, the publicity of Zhou Qi is also very large, and the exposure has not decreased but increased.
In addition, Zhou Qi himself is very competitive, his performance is getting better and better, and his reputation has also improved significantly. Arguably, playing in the NBL is far better than staying in the CBA. In the absence of a decrease in income, Zhou Qi has gained a huge gain in reputation.