Chinese forward Zeng Fanbo will play for the Chinese Basketball Association's (CBA's) Beijing Ducks in the 2022-23 season. He attended the first training session with the team on Friday and drew attention from a lot of reporters.

Though Zeng is only 19 years old, his story of fighting overseas to join an NBA team is already known to many in China. When he returned home, he was already under a big spotlight, which will understandably place him under great pressure.

"I believe there will be pressure wherever I play, either at home or in the States," Zeng told reporters. "I must learn how to turn such pressure into energy on the court. I want to thank everyone for coming to watch me train and for all this attention. Attention can be a double-edged sword, which I must exploit properly to help both my team and myself improve."

The CBA is different from the overseas leagues Zeng used to play in the past two years. He admitted it will take time for him to adapt to the Chinese top league. He often played as a stretch four whose main duty was to shoot 3-pointers in the U.S. leagues, but Zeng could do more than that with his size, athleticism and skills. The team will expect him to do more as well.

"At the moment, I consider myself as a young man who has just been promoted to the first team," Zeng said. "I don't think I can carry everything right now, especially those that are beyond my ability. Now I just want to focus on doing what I can do to help the team."

Both Zeng and Ducks head coach Xie Libin revealed that he is still dealing with an ankle injury, so Zeng has not attended any intense practices yet. Xie said Zeng grew taller and stronger compared to when he played in the National Games in September 2021.

"I think with his size, Zeng can play both small and power forward," Xie said. "Like Zhai Xiaochuan, who began to appear in four in the past two years."

During the five seasons under coach Yannis Christopoulos, the Ducks had been one of the slowest teams in the CBA, partly because Christopoulos preferred a squad with two big men on the floor. The arrivals of Zeng and other smaller but more athletic players are likely to help the team go faster and drive more transitional offense in the games, according to Xie.

Chinese basketball reporter Jia Lei praised Zeng for the highlights he made during practice and said Zeng reminded him of Chinese basketball ace Yi Jianlian at the younger age.