Fanbo Zeng (; born 11 January 2003) is a Chinese professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player for the

Beijing Ducks The Beijing Shougang Ducks (''simplified Chinese'': 北京首钢霹雳鸭俱乐部篮球队), also known as Beijing Shougang or Beijing Ducks, are a professional basketball team based in Beijing, China, which plays in the North Division of th ...

of the

Chinese Basketball Association The Chinese Basketball Association (), often abbreviated as the CBA, is the first-tier men's professional basketball league in China. The league is commonly known by fans as the CBA, and this acronym is even used in Chinese on a regular basis ...

(CBA). Zeng committed to Gonzaga University in November 2020, but later instead chose to withdraw from his college choice and compete with

NBA G League Ignite The NBA G League Ignite was a developmental basketball team in the NBA G League. Originally based in Walnut Creek, California, with home games planned to have been played at the Ultimate Fieldhouse for their first two seasons before moving to Hende ...

. Listed at and , he plays the

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers and are typi ...

and

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three, is one of the five Basketball position, positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than Power forward (basketball), power forwards and Cent ...

positions. At the high school level, he played for Windermere Preparatory School in

Windermere, Florida Windermere is a town in Orange County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 3,030. It is part of the Orlando Metropolitan Statistical Area. History A post office opened in Windermere in 1888. The post office ...

. Zeng was a consensus four-star recruit and a former

Gonzaga Gonzaga may refer to: Places *Gonzaga, Lombardy, commune in the province of Mantua, Italy *Gonzaga, Cagayan, municipality in the Philippines *Gonzaga, Minas Gerais, town in Brazil *Forte Gonzaga, fort in Messina, Sicily Surname *House of Gonza ...

commit.

Early life and high school career

Zeng was born in

Harbin Harbin, ; zh, , s=哈尔滨, t=哈爾濱, p=Hā'ěrbīn; IPA: . is the capital of Heilongjiang, China. It is the largest city of Heilongjiang, as well as being the city with the second-largest urban area, urban population (after Shenyang, Lia ...

in the Chinese province of

Heilongjiang Heilongjiang is a province in northeast China. It is the northernmost and easternmost province of the country and contains China's northernmost point (in Mohe City along the Amur) and easternmost point (at the confluence of the Amur and Us ...

. At age eleven, he joined the youth program of the

. For his freshman year of high school, Zeng moved to the United States, enrolling at Windermere Preparatory School in

. As a sophomore, he averaged 15.5 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game, earning Class 3A All-State first team honors. He returned to China after the season and was unable to rejoin the team in his junior season due to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

travel restrictions. He also bypassed his senior year.

Recruiting

Zeng was a consensus four-star recruit and was considered "China's top basketball prospect" by ''

The Athletic ''The Athletic'' is a subscription-based sports journalism department of ''The New York Times''. It provides national and local coverage in 47 North American cities as well as the United Kingdom. ''The Athletic'' also covers national stories ...

''. On November 21, 2020, he committed to playing college basketball for

over offers from

Florida State Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

and

Virginia Tech The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...

, among others. On April 24, 2021, he decommitted from Gonzaga with the intention of joining the

, in part because of the departure of assistant coach

Tommy Lloyd Tommy Lloyd (born December 21, 1974) is an American college basketball coach who is the current head coach at the University of Arizona of the Big 12 Conference. His 61 wins in the first two seasons are the most for any head coach in NCAA Divis ...

, who had recruited him to Gonzaga.

Professional career

NBA G League Ignite (2021)

On October 13, 2021, Zeng signed with the

of the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the Minor league#Basketball, developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of ...

. On June 25, 2022, Fanbo Zeng signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

National team career

Zeng was expected to represent China at the

2020 FIBA Under-17 Basketball World Cup The 2020 FIBA Under-17 Basketball World Cup (Bulgarian: 2020 Световна купа по баскетбол FIBA до 17 години) would have been the 6th edition of the FIBA Under-17 Basketball World Cup, the biennial international men's ...

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

, but the event was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zeng, Fanbo 2003 births Living people Basketball players from Heilongjiang Chinese men's basketball players Chinese expatriate basketball people in the United States NBA G League Ignite players Power forwards Small forwards Sportspeople from Harbin