Chinese Women Basketball Team Captain Gets an Opportunity to Play in WNBA

After a disappointing tryout with the Minnesota Lynx back in 2017, Chinese Women Basketball team captain Shao Ting now has a chance to play for the same team that waived her two years ago.

According to Chinese state media Xinhua News, Shao and the Minnesota Lynx reached a deal earlier and has signed a one-year contract with the team. Shao is expected to depart for the games in the United States by the end of April.

Shao had previously played for the Minnesota Lynx in 2017 in training camps and pre-season games but was waived by the team before the start of the 2017 season.

Shao Ting will become the sixth Chinese woman basketball player to play in the WNBA. Earlier this month, Shao’s national team teammate Han Xu was drafted by the New York Liberty with the 14th pick in the second round. Han confirmed her attendance in the WNBA games in the coming season.

Prior to Shao and Han’s potential appearance in the world’s best women basketball league, Zheng Haixia, Miao Lijia, Sui Feifei, and Chen Nan joined the WNBA. All four players later became legendary figures in Chinese women basketball.

Shao spent her past four seasons in the Chinese women basketball league with Beijing Great Wall and helped the team win three consecutive championships from 2016 to 2018. In the 2018-2019 season, Shao played for 19 games, with an average of 10.6 points and 3.3 assists per game.

On the international stage, Shao delivered extraordinary performances. Team China finished the 6th in the 2014 FIBA Women’s World Championship. Shao averaged 12.6 points and 3.1 rebounds in the tournament. Shao also played in the 2016 Olympics Games and was also a member of the 2018 Asian Game Championship team in Jarkata.

In addition to basketball, Shao is also a Ph.D. candidate with Beijing Normal University pursuing a degree in education.

Featured photo credit to news.zhibo8