Artūrs Žagars to Continue Career in China's Basketball Association

After a strong run at the 2023 FIBA World Cup, Žagars signed a three-year contract with Istanbul's Fenerbahce. He spent the first year on loan at Vilnius Wolves, then played two seasons for the Turkish club, winning the EuroLeague in his first season. His progress has been hampered by injuries, but last season he helped Fenerbahce win the Turkish Super League title.

In the 2025/26 Turkish Super League regular season, Žagars averaged 8.9 points and 3.4 assists over 12 games. In five playoff appearances he scored 3.4 points per game, and in five EuroLeague games he averaged 3.4 points and 1.6 assists. At the end of the season, Fenerbahce announced the guard would leave after his contract expired.

Moving to the Chinese Basketball Association, Žagars will be the first Latvian basketball player in the league. Igor Miglinieks, a Latvian coach, already works in the CBA, and several other Latvian coaches have been involved in club systems over the past 15 years. The CBA was founded in 1995 and currently has 20 teams in two conferences, with each team playing 46 regular-season games. The top four sides go straight to the quarterfinals, while teams ranked fifth through 12th enter an earlier playoff round.

Foreign players often have leading roles in the CBA, and many former NBA players have appeared in the league, including Tracy McGrady, Stephon Marbury, Gilbert Arenas, Steve Francis, Michael Beasley, Jeremy Lin, Jimmer Fredette and Hassan Whiteside.

The article also mentions the Golden Bulls, a CBA club that finished sixth in the regular season last year with 27 wins in 42 games and reached the quarterfinals. In 2023, the team reached the CBA final for the first time in its history but failed to win the title, and it has also advanced to the semifinals twice.