No! China's top-paid point guard! He admits this might be his last National Games.

At the inauguration ceremony of the Liaoning delegation for the 15th National Games,Zhao Jiwei delivered a speech as the athlete representative, and in an interview, he stated that this National Games might be his last, with hopes to end on a high note by winning gold.Before this, Zhao Jiwei had already played in three National Games for Liaoning, winning all of them.

Born on August 25, 1995, Zhao Jiwei just turned 30 this year. During the offseason, he signed a four-year max-level D-class contract extension with Liaoning, making it very likely he will spend his entire career with one team. So far, Zhao has played 12 seasons with Liaoning, winning four championships, earning two FMVP awards, being selected seven times for the best domestic lineup, and seven times as an All-Star.

It is worth noting that Zhao Jiwei was not called up to the Chinese national team for the Asia Cup this summer because he needed treatment for a throat injury and specifically requested leave from coach Guo Shiqiang.

The last time Zhao Jiwei wore the national team jersey was back in February during the Asian qualifiers. In the game where China defeated Japan 100-58, he came off the bench for about 16 minutes, contributing 9 points, 3 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 steals with no turnovers.

The Chinese men's basketball team still needs a genuine floor general like Zhao Jiwei in the backcourt. This year at the Asia Cup, only Zhao Rui was able to effectively lead the team.

Looking ahead to the World Cup qualifiers against South Korea from November 28 (home) to December 1 (away), we might see a fully recovered Zhao Jiwei back on the national team court. Although there may be some outside doubts, only coach Guo Shiqiang’s decision truly matters.

Undeniably, Zhao Jiwei’s performances on the international stage haven’t been as dazzling as in the CBA, but his basketball IQ, agility, and passing skills have always earned him trust from every national team coach, including during the eras of Du Feng and Aleksandar Đorđević. Naturally, Guo Shiqiang, his mentor, values him highly.

By the way,recently Zhou Qi expressed in an interview his desire to return to the national team, saying that being selected again would validate his current competitive form.