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on september 18, the overtime elite league in the united states held a draft. chinese overseas player zhao weilun was selected by the cold heart team with the third pick. zhao weilun's agency team told the beijing youth daily reporter that zhao weilun will play in the united states this season, but he did not disclose zhao weilun's future plans. the outside world knows little about the overtime elite league, but in fact, the brothers armen thompson and osar thompson, who just finished their rookie season, are players who entered the nba directly from this league, and they have also completed a relatively good rookie season. in addition, alex sarr, the second pick in the 2024 draft, and robert dillingham, the eighth pick, have both played in this league. what is zhao weilun's prospect in this league? will this help him impact the nba in the future?

zhao weilun was born in italy on september 8, 2005. he obtained his chinese passport at the chinese consulate in florence. his elder brother zhao weijing was born in beijing in 1997. zhao weilun has lived in italy since he was born. in june 2010, zhao weilun, who was less than 5 years old, officially started basketball training at the varese basketball club. although zhao weilun is not an athlete with outstanding physical conditions, he is very obsessed with basketball and has made great efforts for it. this has largely made up for the "lack" of physical conditions. at the same time, thanks to the influence of formal basketball and the advantage of a deeper understanding of basketball, zhao weilun has always been the leader of the team. he led the italian varese club 2005 team to win many games. many times, the team lost to the opponent by as many as 18 or even 20 points in the first three quarters, but in the fourth quarter, zhao weilun took over the game and helped the team to successfully turn the game around. in the process of zhao weilun playing in italy over the years, he has participated in cross-age groups many times and constantly created history. in the eyes of many people, guard zhao weilun is regarded as the rising star of chinese basketball, and he has been selected into the national youth team many times.

zhao weilun signed a contract with a powerful agency in the united states two years ago. every summer, he went to the united states for special training. recently, zhao weilun signed up for the draft of the overtime elite league. in the end, zhao weilun was selected at the third pick. the overtime elite league is a basketball league for young people aged 16-20. although this league was established not very long ago, it has developed rapidly in recent years and has also produced some young players with good strength. for example, the thompson brothers who just finished their nba rookie season.

but according to some reports, the overtime elite training camp mainly invites and signs players who are in their third and fourth years of high school in the united states. they generally have excellent physical fitness, but they mostly play alone in the game, and their style of play is flashy. the players in this league are more concerned with showing their own skills and abilities, not the team as a whole. this is actually completely different from zhao weilun's previous playing environment and style. obviously, zhao weilun will face even greater challenges in the future.

although zhao weilun's prospects in the ot elite league are hard to judge, this experience will definitely benefit him. if zhao weilun wants to impact the nba in the future, he must adapt to the american basketball environment. in the ot elite league, players will always feel the cruelty of the "law of the jungle". at the same time, zhao weilun also needs to enter the vision of american scouts as soon as possible. although zhao weilun's performance in european games is remarkable, he must prove himself in the american basketball environment in order to get more attention. this is also a stage that he must go through in his career.

zhao weilun's father, zhao changjian, said in an interview with beijing youth daily: "it doesn't really matter where you play. what matters is having a ball to play, playing well, and playing in a high-level competition. now is the best time for him to see the world and learn. we have high hopes for him."

i hope zhao weilun can continue to grow in the new environment and system and create a world of his own.

text/song xiang, beijing youth daily