European talented point guard is coming to play in the CBA! But I'm not optimistic about it.

Zhejiang Chouzhou men's basketball team has reached a signing agreement with Arturs Matins Zagars, making him the first Latvian foreign player in CBA history.

Seeing this familiar yet unfamiliar name linked with the CBA again is quite surprising.

It instantly reminds me of three years ago.

During the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup, the Latvian men's team, a small basketball nation, achieved a historic fifth-place finish without their star player Kristaps Porzingis.

Without exaggeration, this Latvian team might be the most team-oriented squad I've ever seen on the world stage in my over 20 years of watching basketball.

Their passing was dazzling and overwhelming; in football terms, it was like Tiki-Taka.

They rarely held the ball for extended isolation plays; their passing was smooth and quick, constantly using off-ball screens, cuts, and consecutive pick-and-rolls to create opportunities.

All five players on the court had ball-handling ability; whoever had the chance took the shot, without fixating on one player forcing the offense.

They often had open shots after four or five consecutive passes... If the Chinese men's team faced such a team at the World Cup, they would easily be worn out.

And Zagars was the undisputed core engine of this team.

Therefore, my impression of him is extremely deep.

In the group stage, they faced the strong French team.

The Gauls, with multiple NBA players, were among the favorites to win the championship.

However, Zagars delivered a dominant performance in this game, shooting 8 of 11 from the field, efficiently scoring a team-high 22 points along with 5 assists, 2 rebounds, and 2 steals, leading his team to an 88-86 upset victory.

With Zagars orchestrating, Latvia made Rudy Gobert run aimlessly, hitting many spot-up three-pointers after passes to the wings.

The quarterfinal against eventual champion Germany was the most heartbreaking game for Latvia in the entire tournament, and also the ultimate battle of team basketball at its finest.

They lost by 2 points, but Zagars put up 24 points and 8 assists, turning Dennis Schröder into "Zhao Rui."

Schröder shot only 4 of 26, setting a World Cup record for most missed shots in a game... This match made the world remember the name Arturs Zagars.

In the subsequent 5th-6th place classification game against Lithuania, Zagars only scored 4 points, but that didn't matter.

He dished out 17 assists without committing a single turnover.

This stat broke the previous World Cup single-game assist record of 15 held by Croatian star Toni Kukoč, leading his team to a 35-point blowout over the traditional powerhouse.

After becoming famous overnight in the World Cup, Zagars received scouting invitations from multiple NBA teams, and top European clubs threw contracts at him.

In September 2023, Turkish powerhouse Fenerbahçe signed him to a three-year contract.

After joining Fenerbahçe, the club loaned him to the Lithuanian club Wolves.

But unexpectedly, he soon suffered a left medial collateral ligament injury, ending his season.

This major injury slowed his progress.

In the past season, Zagars played 17 games in the Turkish League, averaging 7.3 points and 2.4 assists, with a three-point percentage of 41.4%; in the EuroLeague, he played 5 games, averaging 3.4 points and 1.6 assists.

In his latest two national team games, he averaged 18 points, showing good competitive form.

Then, he brings his talent to the CBA.

I really appreciate Zagars' playing style and would be willing to buy tickets to watch his games.

However, some players are only suitable for appreciation, not for imitation.

I don't think Zagars can replicate the role of a "York-like" superstar in Zhejiang Chouzhou.

Putting such a team-oriented genius into a team with a fragmented style, lacking tactical consensus, players playing individually, and relying on foreign players...

Even if he possesses historic passing vision and game-reading ability, it's absolutely impossible for him to play the free-flowing basketball he did in the World Cup.

Why can he only perform well in the Latvian national team?

No matter how good the tactical framework is, it needs executors.

I don't think the habit of our domestic players standing around watching foreign players endlessly isolate can mesh with him.

So-called team basketball requires all five players (A, B, C, D, E) to understand; if one person doesn't get it, it won't work.

Besides, I also don't think Zagars' offensive ability can be well utilized...

However, the happiest player about this signing should be:

Yu Jiahao, the big center who returned from Spain.