On April 5, 2023, Zhang Zhaoxu finished the last game of the season on behalf of Tianjin team and also drew an end to his 14-year career. Since 2010, Zhang Zhaoxu has been playing for the CBA league on behalf of Shanghai team for the first time. Zhang Zhaoxu has unreservedly dedicated everything to this team and left the best youth in this city. He established his career here, became a family here, upgraded to his father here, and also became the “blocked shots” in the league here, building the “no-fly zone” in Shanghai with his hands “.

355 league matches, 2999 points, 2597 rebounds, 210 assists and 699 cap…… The figures are not enough to sum up his contribution to Shanghai men’s basketball, nor can they contain all his feelings for the city. When we retired, we talked with Zhang Zhaoxu about the past and looked forward to the future. Although he bid farewell to the stadium, he still has a lot of imagination waiting to be realized.

“The competitive state goes downhill every year”

Oriental Sports: When will the idea of retirement come into being?

Zhang Zhaoxu: The original idea was to keep a low profile, but maybe the team, including the media, knew that I had this idea, so I announced this for me. At that time, many friends also came to ask, thank you very much for this. For me, this idea did not come into being at a certain moment. At the end of my career, I feel that my body is going downhill every year, because my way of playing on the court is to use my enthusiasm and running and jumping ability to create pressure on my opponents on the defensive side, however, once the physical quality declines, the effect will be greatly reduced, which is not as good as before, so it will be a little solemn and stirring, so this decision was made almost in the middle of the league.

Oriental Sports: have you communicated with your family before making the choice of retirement?

Zhang Zhaoxu: My family is more distressed and understand me. They have been saying that if they can’t fight, don’t fight. Basketball is not just a job for me. I have devoted my best youth years to this career, so I don’t want to rush the matter and hope to have a perfect ending, in other words, we should give full play to our own residual heat on the court, but in the end, we did have a feeling that we had more than one heart but were not enough.

Oriental Sports: how to summarize your career?

Zhang Zhaoxu: For me, this is a very lucky thing. At the best age, doing things that I like very much and have a place on the stage of CBA league. Especially in Shanghai, this team feels very happy. Through basketball, it has formed its own family in this city, upgraded to a father and made many friends. Of course, the team’s performance has always been ups and downs. I am a player who has higher requirements for himself. Although it is said that there are occasionally bright spots, he will actually expect himself to do more. If the biggest regret is that as the main center of Shanghai men’s basketball, it did not help this team win the championship in the end.

“Waist injury is not the main cause of retirement”

Oriental Sports: Do you still remember the scene of your first competition on behalf of Shanghai team?

Zhang Zhaoxu: the memory of the first professional competition has been somewhat blurred, but the mood at that time was remembered, joking that this was my first official work, but at that time, I had already played some matches in the university and the national team, so I didn’t feel particularly excited or unfamiliar.

Oriental Sports: will the outside world habitually compare you with Yao Ming put extra pressure on you?

Zhang Zhaoxu: I remember everyone called me “little Yao Ming” at that time “. First of all, I feel very honored, because Yao Ming is the idol in our generation of players or fans. It must be stressful to be called this name, but fortunately, the pressure is not only on me. At that time, everyone actually saw a young big player who would basically compare with Yao Ming, but I just played for his mother team Shanghai, and he was still the boss of the team at that time, I often give me some special snack in training, which is also a particularly valuable and unforgettable experience.

Oriental Sports: During the two renewal negotiations with Shanghai men’s basketball, there were few rumors about your transfer. Did you ever think of leaving at that time?

Zhang Zhaoxu: First of all, I would like to thank other teams for their favor. At that time, I also saw a lot of news on the Internet, but in fact, it was I am unclear what conditions or treatment I could get, because my first choice was to stay in Shanghai team, so when communicating with other teams, I said that the Shanghai team has always taken care of me, so I will talk with the Shanghai team first. Shanghai team is a very human team. Although the treatment is not as good as it is now, it has always been sincere to me and takes care of me. I also have deep feelings for this city, so the two renewal talks went well and it is easy for me to make this decision.

Oriental Sports: If it wasn’t for the physical test accident in 2019, would your career be longer?

Zhang Zhaoxu: the injury in that physical test was actually an accident. That summer, Li Qiuping guided us to practice very hard. The weight of the physical test was almost the weight of my warm-up, but I didn’t expect to flash my waist and was pressed by the barbell. For me, what is more sad is that the time when the injury was at that time was just about the beginning of the league, which was equivalent to a big problem for the team, it also led to the team’s unsatisfactory performance. In fact, if it wasn’t for the delay of the competition caused by the epidemic, I would have completely reimbursed that season. However, after the recovery of injury, my waist did not have too many problems. Taking some pain killers at ordinary times would not affect my performance, so it did not have much impact on my career, but it did have a great influence on the team’s performance that season.

“Bob Donewald has a great influence on me”

Oriental Sports: If you want to choose the most impressive game, which one would you choose?

Zhang Zhaoxu: What impressed me most now must be the game that came to Shanghai as a visiting team player, which contained various and complicated emotions. No matter the outcome of that game or your performance, the mood at that time will never be forgotten. But in fact, in the whole career, what made me unforgettable was that I played the fifth game in Shenzhen in the playoffs of the 2016-2017 season. It was Yuanshen Sports Center Stadium at that time, and we finally lost the game when adding, ended the whole season. In fact, in that year, we played very well in the regular season, and there were foreign aid like Fredette in the team, so everyone also hoped to go as far as possible and were all working hard to prepare for the playoffs, but I didn’t expect that the last stop was in the first round, and the feeling of regret and loss has not been forgotten until now.

Oriental Sports: you have worked with many coaches in your career. Which coach has the greatest influence on you?

Zhang Zhaoxu: every coach has a different style and is very conscientious and can learn a lot from them. No matter in life, training or competition, everyone takes special care of me, so I can achieve today’s results and thank them very much. If you want to talk about the most impressive coach, it is still Bob Donewald. After all, he is the first coach in my career, not only in Shanghai, but also the national team. He does have a different characteristic from others. He attaches great importance to defense and likes to encourage players. Although he was criticized a lot in training and competition, but it had a great influence on me. After I become an old player, I will also learn some of his encouragement methods, go to the fierce teammates around me, and maintain an exciting state of competition.

Oriental Sports: Up to now, many fans are talking about your “leading dance” scene in the national team. Why is there such an idea or action?

Zhang Zhaoxu: in a popular sentence, “My heart refused at first”. Because I am a very introverted player, I am worried that everyone will feel funny after seeing it, or that this behavior does not belong to the scope of the stadium, so I am reluctant, but as a young player, since it was arranged by the coach, I had to do it honestly. I didn’t expect that the final response was good, which also left a deep impression on everyone.

Oriental Sports: you have worked with many players throughout your career. Which players do you feel very admired or grateful?

Zhang Zhaoxu: First of all, I am very grateful to several big brothers of the national team for taking care of me. What is the biggest difference between my age is Wang Zhizhi. As my idol during my training, brother Zhi gave me a lot of help and care in training, life and competition. I still remember that when the Asian Games won the championship, everyone hung the gold medal around his neck. In addition, like Yi Jianlian, Sun Yue, Zhu Fangyu, and Wang Shipeng, the roommate at that time, everyone was very approachable and had no shelves. During the league, I actually worked with many teammates. The most impressive ones were Tseng Wen-ting, Liu Xiaoyu and Luo Hanchen. All three of them were my roommates in Shanghai. I spend more time with them than with my family. It can be said that I am a comrade-in-arms on the court and a friend who helps each other in life. Everyone encourages each other together, it has a great influence on me.

“I will be engaged in basketball training in the future”

Oriental Sports: Recently I saw you become a guest narrator. How was your initial experience?

Zhang Zhaoxu: it can be said that all kinds of chance coincidences contributed to this matter. Because after playing the league and returning to Shanghai, I was going to watch the game on the spot, but when chatting with friends in the circle, I just found that there was such an opportunity, which was quite interesting, it’s like watching the ball with everyone from another angle. Of course, my level is far lower than that of professional commentary teachers, but I can read the game from some perspectives of players, and everyone will be more interested.

Oriental Sports: What is the plan and arrangement after retirement?

Zhang Zhaoxu: there is no clear plan and arrangement yet. I just want to have a good rest and spend more time with my family. Because of work, I have little time with my family. I still hope to leave more time to them now. In addition, I set up my own basketball training, which used to be the responsibility and care of my family. Now I will devote more energy to this aspect to improve the overall teaching quality. In fact, I have also considered the choice of transformation coach, but I may have to go back to the past and get together with my family, so although this option is not excluded, but at present, family is still the first priority.

Oriental Sports: What do you want to say to the fans and friends who have always supported you?

Zhang Zhaoxu: there are indeed fewer opportunities to meet in public in the future, and there may be more chances to meet each other. I would like to thank the fans more, especially for their attention and encouragement to the team and myself over the years. I may not see much myself, but my family or friends will tell me when they see it, especially after I go to Tianjin team, and Shanghai fans went to social media to leave a message “take good care of our old captain”, which really touched me. Now my identity is the same as everyone else. I am a fan of Shanghai team. If I have the chance in the future, I will often go to the stadium to cheer for the team.

(Text/Oriental Sports Daily reporter Xue Sijia)