Shenzhen Leopards

Shenzhen Leopard
Shenzhen Leopard
	Shenzhen Leopard logo
Leagues	CBA
Founded	2003
History	Dongguan New Century Leopards; (2003–2015); Shenzhen New Century Leopards; (2015–present)
Arena	New Shenzhen Arena
Capacity	18,000
Location	Longgang, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
Team colors	navy blue, white;
Head coach	Li Qun
Championships	None
Home	Away

Shenzhen Leopard (simplified Chinese: 深圳新世纪烈豹; traditional Chinese: 深圳新世紀烈豹; pinyin: Shēnzhèn Xīnshìjì Lièbào) or Shenzhen New Century or Shenzhen Leopards are a professional basketball team which plays in the South Division of the Chinese Basketball Association. New Century is the club's corporate sponsor and its mascot is a leopard.

The team is based in Longgang District, Shenzhen, Guangdong, and plays its home games at the Shenzhen Universiade Sports Centre (simplified Chinese: 深圳大运体育中心; traditional Chinese: 深圳大運體育中心; pinyin: Shēnzhèn Dàyùn Tǐyù Zhōngxīn).

History

The club was founded in Dongguan, Guangdong, in 2003 and played its first 12 seasons in that city before moving to nearby Shenzhen in 2015. Success came early in their existence for the Leopards, as they were runners-up in the 2004 Chinese Basketball League (CBL) championship, and were "promoted" to the CBA for the 2005–2006 season.

In its first season in the CBA in 2005–2006, Dongguan finished in seventh and last place in the South Division, and out of the playoffs. The team would soon battle its way to respectability, however, becoming somewhat regular participants in the CBA's postseason over the ensuing years.

In July 2011, seven months before achieving worldwide fame in the NBA, point guard Jeremy Lin played for the Leopards during a three-game summer tournament, and was named MVP of the competition.^[2]

On December 26, 2013, Leopards player Bobby Brown scored a franchise-record 74 points in a game against Sichuan Blue Whales.^[3]