Announced! The four-time champion forward has been left out! China men's basketball team's latest 21-man roster

The Chinese men's basketball team has announced the latest training camp roster, with a total of 21 players selected, as follows:

Zeng Fanbo, Liao Sanning, Zhao Jiwei, Li Hongquan, Jiang Haoran, Pang Zhenglin, Hu Jinqiu, Zhu Junlong, Cheng Shuaipei, Yang Xihao, Gao Shiyan, Jiao Boqiao, Cui Yongxi, Xu Xin, Feng Ao, Zhao Jiayi, He Xining, Wang Haoran, Zhao Weilun, Wang Junjie, Yang Hansen.

Unsurprisingly, Lin Wei, the domestic scoring champion for the 2024-25 season, and Guo Haowen, the domestic scoring champion for the 2025-26 season, have both been left out again; one is rumored to have a conflict with Guo Shiqiang, while the other is mired in a sex scandal.

However, the omissions of Zhao Rui, Zhou Qi, and Zhang Zhenlin, among others, are quite unexpected. As for Hu Mingxuan, it is only natural that he withdrew from the national team due to injury.

Currently, the most voices are defending the four-time champion forward Zhang Zhenlin. In the recently concluded CBA playoffs, he averaged 11.9 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game, with shooting percentages of 53.1%, 35.7%, and 85% for the three categories, making crucial contributions to the Shanghai team's second championship in franchise history.

However, under Guo Shiqiang's leadership of the Chinese men's basketball team, Zhang Zhenlin may not be able to replicate his role as he did with the Shanghai club. In the second window of the previous World Cup qualifiers, he played a total of less than 11 minutes across two games and scored just 2 points, placing him as a fringe rotation player.

Of course, it cannot be ruled out that the Chinese men's basketball team will continue to add players later, at which point we might see the names of Zhang Zhenlin, Zhao Rui, Zhou Qi, and others.

So far this year, the Chinese men's basketball team has confirmed games including a friendly against Australia on June 21, a friendly against the Netherlands on June 23, followed by the third window of the World Cup qualifiers against Japan on July 3 and against Chinese Taipei on July 6.

In the past two World Cup qualifying windows, the Chinese men's basketball team posted a 2-2 record, ranking third in Group B, trailing Japan (3-1) and South Korea (2-2), and only ahead of Chinese Taipei (1-3).