Millions follow ex-NBA basketball star Zhou Qi on his NBL journey with South East Melbourne Phoenix

Zhou Qi is a major global sporting drawcard but most Australians have never heard of him.

The Chinese basketballer plays for South East Melbourne Phoenix, one of 10 professional basketball teams from Australia and New Zealand playing in the NBL.

He trains in obscurity at the State Basketball Centre in Melbourne's eastern suburbs. But online, it's a very different story.

A post announcing his recruitment in September was posted on multiple Chinese social media platforms.

One reached more than 480 million people — 15.5 million of whom engaged with it.

Another post reached 15 million and another reached six million.

«The numbers don't feel real,» marvels Phoenix brand and media head Daniel Hoy. 

«There was a suspicion it would be really popular — but it exceeded my expectations.»

At 216 centimetres – 7'1" – Zhou is easily the tallest player in the Phoenix line-up.

A natural defensive player, the 26-year-old started his professional career playing with his hometown team, the Xinjiang Flying Tigers.

He was named the best defensive player in China's professional league three times and represented his country at the Rio Olympics.

His global profile took off when he joined the Houston Rockets in America's NBA in 2017 and 2018.

He then returned to play in China after being delisted by the Rockets. However, there was a social media backlash after the dying minutes of a tight 2019 FIBA World Cup game between China and Poland when Zhou missed what some fans thought were easy chances.

A reported contract dispute at home and a publicised desire to work his way back to the big league in the US led him to Australia and a new NBL franchise based in Melbourne's outer suburban Wantirna South.

It's a long way from the NBA. But that hasn't stopped