I also thought he was 20.
Chad Ford of ESPN:
Zhou Qi is listed as a 20 year old born in 1996. But a number of NBA scouts believe he was born in 1992 or 1993. Big difference to teams.
— NBA Big Board (@chadfordinsider) June 13, 2016
Zhou has been evaluated as a 20-year-playing against older competition, and if that’s not the case, that significantly changes perception. The older Zhou is, the less forgivable his deficiencies become and the lower his ceiling drops.
He’s far from a finished product. Though the 7-foot-2 center impressively blocks shots, he needs to get much stronger. It’s easier to project a 20-year-old adding strength than a 23-year-old. Even if he successfully acclimates to the NBA, a 23-year-old Zhou would also have fewer prime years ahead of him before his athleticism declines.
It’s possible this just a smokescreen leaked by teams that wants Zhou to drop. Is there evidence of age tampering, or just the vague idea that he’s foreign and records aren’t kept as strictly in China? Even a little doubt could cause a team to pass on Zhou if it’s considering another prospect.