Chinese Basketball Association

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Chinese Basketball Association (CBA)
Current season or competition:
2012–13 CBA season
CBA new logo sm.jpg
CBA logo
Sport Basketball
Founded 1995
Claim to fame "The pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in Asia"
Inaugural season 1995–96
No. of teams 17
Country(ies)  China
Continent FIBA Asia (Asia)
Most recent champion(s) Guangdong Southern Tigers (8th title)
Most titles Bayi Rockets
Guangdong Southern Tigers (8 titles each)
Level on pyramid 1
Official website CBA Official Website
Chinese Basketball Association
Traditional Chinese 中國男子籃球職業聯賽
Simplified Chinese 中国男子篮球职业联赛

The Chinese Basketball Association (Chinese: 中国男子篮球职业联赛; pinyin: Zhōngguó Nánzǐ Lánqiú Zhíyè Liánsài), often abbreviated to the CBA, is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in China.

The league is commonly known as the CBA, and this acronym is often used even in Chinese. There is also a Women's Chinese Basketball Association (WCBA) for women.

The CBA should also not be confused with the National Basketball League (NBL), which is a professional "Division 2" minor league.

A few Chinese CBA players, such as Yao Ming, Wang Zhizhi, Yi Jianlian, Mengke Bateer, and Sun Yue, have also played in the NBA. Conversely, a limited number of foreign players are allowed for each CBA team. Notable players include NBA All-Stars Stephon Marbury, Steve Francis, Kenyon Martin, Tracy McGrady, and Gilbert Arenas, as well as NBA players who were CBA All-Stars J.R. Smith and Aaron Brooks.

Contents

Background [edit]

The league began play in 1995. However, the CBA as the name of a league should not be confused with the "Chinese Basketball Association" organisation, which was founded in June 1956 [1]. In 1996 James Hodges became one of the first Americans to play in the CBA. Today, the regulating body for basketball in China is the Chinese Basketball Management Center (Chinese: 国家体育总局篮球管理中心; pinyin: Guójiā Tǐyù Zǒngjú Lánqiú Guǎnlǐ Zhōngxīn).

Other Chinese basketball leagues include the National Basketball League (NBL), the Chinese University Basketball Association (CUBA) and the Chinese High School Basketball League (CHBL) [2]. At one time there was a league called the Chinese New Basketball Alliance (CNBA) [3], one of whose teams was the Beijing Sea Lions, but it lasted only one season (1996–97) [4].

Team names [edit]

For a full list of teams, see Category:Chinese Basketball Association teams.

The full name of each team usually consists of three parts, in the following order:

  1. A geographic designation (except in the case of the Bayi or "August First" team). Currently all of these are province-level designations (either a province or a Chinese municipality).
  2. A corporate sponsor name; this sponsor may change from year to year or perhaps even in mid-season.
  3. A nickname, such as the name of an animal. This rarely changes.

This can sometimes lead to confusion about what name to use in English because many variants may be seen. Team names are usually abbreviated (in Chinese or English), so that either the corporate sponsor name or the nickname is used interchangeably (rarely both). Also, the nickname can sometimes be translated into English in more than one way; also the corporate sponsor name can change frequently over time.

Changes in nickname are rare, but occasionally happen, as when the Shandong team changed their nickname from the "Flaming Bulls" to the "Lions".

In previous years, the title of the league itself was available for corporate naming sponsorship. In 1999–2000 and 2000–2001 it was known as the "Hilton League", in 2001–2002 and 2002–2003 it was the "Motorola League", and in 2003–2004 it was sponsored by China Unicom. However, this corporate league title was not always used in the news media, and this sponsorship practice was discontinued at the start of the 2004–2005 season. [5]

Current clubs [edit]

Timeline [edit]

Tianjin Ronggang Dongguan Leopards Shanxi Zhongyu Fujian Xunxing Xinjiang Flying Tigers Hong Kong Flying Dragons Foshan Dralions Pure-Youth Construction Basketball Team Shenzhen Yikang Jilin Northeast Tigers Beijing Olympians Shanghai Sharks Zhejiang Golden Bulls Zhejiang Lions Shandong Lions Liaoning Dinosaurs Qingdao DoubleStar Jiangsu Dragons Guangdong Southern Tigers Beijing Ducks Bayi Rockets

Current Teams Defunct Teams

CBA Championship Series [edit]

In 2005, the league unveiled the "Mou Zuoyun Cup" (牟作云杯 Móu Zuòyún bēi), which was awarded for the first time to the winning team in the finals. Mou Zuoyun (born 1913) was a member of the Chinese basketball team at the 1936 Summer Olympics, and later served as a coach and a pioneer in building Chinese basketball. [6]

Year Champion Result Runners-up Notes
1995-96 Bayi Rockets 3 - 0 Guangdong Southern Tigers Best of five series used for 10 years
1996-97 Bayi Rockets 3 - 0 Liaoning Hunters
1997-98 Bayi Rockets 3 - 0 Liaoning Hunters
1998-99 Bayi Rockets 3 - 0 Liaoning Hunters
1999-2000 Bayi Rockets 3 - 0 Shanghai Sharks
2000-01 Bayi Rockets 3 - 1 Shanghai Sharks
2001-02 Shanghai Sharks 3 - 1 Bayi Rockets
2002-03 Bayi Rockets 3 - 1 Guangdong Southern Tigers
2003-04 Guangdong Southern Tigers 3 - 1 Bayi Rockets
2004-05 Guangdong Southern Tigers 3 - 2 Jiangsu Dragons
2005-06 Guangdong Southern Tigers 4 - 1 Bayi Rockets Best of seven series used
2006-07 Bayi Rockets 4 - 1 Guangdong Southern Tigers
2007-08 Guangdong Southern Tigers 4 - 1 Liaoning Hunters
2008-09 Guangdong Southern Tigers 4 - 1 Xinjiang Flying Tigers
2009-10 Guangdong Southern Tigers 4 - 1 Xinjiang Flying Tigers
2010-11 Guangdong Southern Tigers 4 - 2 Xinjiang Flying Tigers
2011-12 Beijing Ducks 4 - 1 Guangdong Southern Tigers
2012-13 Guangdong Southern Tigers 4 - 0 Shandong Lions

CBA Finals appearances [edit]

Num Team W L PCT Notes
12 Guangdong Southern Tigers 8 4 .667 Made every final from 2002-03 to 2012-13.
11 Bayi Rockets 8 3 .727 Made every final from 1995-96 to 2003-04.
3 Shanghai Sharks 1 2 .333
1 Beijing Ducks 1 0 1.000
4 Liaoning Flying Leopards 0 4 .000
3 Xinjiang Flying Tigers 0 3 .000
1 Jiangsu Dragons 0 1 .000
1 Shandong Lions 0 1 .000

Records [edit]

Game [edit]

Season [edit]

Career [edit]

Statistics accurate as of end of 2010-11 season.

Team [edit]

Imports [edit]

Imports that lasted more than one season in the CBA:

See also [edit]

External links [edit]