[1] In 2013, at age 14, he joined the United States Basketball Academy in Blue River, Oregon upon the advice of his mother's friend, Bruce O'Neil.

[7] Five days later, he committed to play college basketball for Tulane over offers from UCLA, BYU, DePaul and Kansas State, among other NCAA Division I programs.

[12] Tulane finished with a 4–27 record, losing all 18 of its conference games, and Zhang was one of two players to return for the following season amid a roster and coaching overhaul.

[12] On 19 October 2020, Zhang made his professional debut for the Liaoning Flying Leopards of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA), recording 13 points and 11 rebounds in a 121–108 win over the Tianjin Pioneers.

[15] Zhang was selected into the final roster of China men's national basketball team competing for the FIBA Asian Cup 2021 Qualifiers.