From Wikipedia - Reading time: 12 min
| CBA | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | 2018–19 | |||||||||
| Games played | 46 | |||||||||
| Teams | 20 | |||||||||
| Regular season | ||||||||||
| Top seed | Guangdong Southern Tigers | |||||||||
| Finals | ||||||||||
| Champions | Guangdong Southern Tigers | |||||||||
| Runners-up | Xinjiang Flying Tigers | |||||||||
| Semifinalists | Liaoning Flying Leopards Shenzhen Leopards | |||||||||
| Awards | ||||||||||
| Domestic MVP | ||||||||||
| International MVP | ||||||||||
| Statistical leaders | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
← 2017–18 2019–20 → | ||||||||||
The 2018–19 CBA season was the 24th season of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). In this campaign, the regular season expands from 38 games to 46 games, while the playoffs expand from 10 teams to 12 teams.[1]
The Shanxi Brave Dragons changed their official English name to the Shanxi Loongs at a lavish unveiling ceremony in September. “Loongs” is the Cantonese term for Dragons and was chosen by team ownership, even though people living in Shanxi speak Mandarin Chinese.
The Bayi Rockets began playing their home games in Nanchang after spending many years in Ningbo, and the Zhejiang Guangsha Lions began playing their home games in Zhuji to cultivate a fanbase away from central Hangzhou and stop splintering local support with the Zhejiang Golden Bulls.
| Team | Head Coach | Replaced During Season |
|---|---|---|
| Bayi Rockets | ||
| Beijing Ducks | ||
| Beikong Fly Dragons | ||
| Fujian Sturgeons | ||
| Guangdong Southern Tigers | ||
| Guangzhou Long-Lions | ||
| Jiangsu Dragons | ||
| Jilin Northeast Tigers | ||
| Liaoning Flying Leopards | ||
| Nanjing Monkey Kings | ||
| Qingdao Eagles | ||
| Shandong Golden Stars | ||
| Shanghai Sharks | ||
| Shanxi Loongs | ||
| Shenzhen Leopards | ||
| Sichuan Blue Whales | ||
| Tianjin Gold Lions | ||
| Xinjiang Flying Tigers | ||
| Zhejiang Golden Bulls | ||
| Zhejiang Guangsha Lions |
The 2018 CBA Draft, the fourth edition of the CBA draft, took place on 29 July 2018. 14 players were selected in the draft.[5]
| Rnd. | Pick | Player | Nationality[n 1] | Team | School / club team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Jiang Yuxing | Jilin Northeast Tigers | Henan Roaring Elephants (NBL) | |
| 1 | 2 | Yuan Zhenliang | Sichuan Blue Whales | Hefei Yuanchuang (NBL) | |
| 1 | 3 | Liu Shuai | Tianjin Gold Lions | Luoyang Zhonghe (NBL) | |
| 1 | 4 | Wang Siqi | Qingdao Eagles | Taiyuan University of Technology | |
| 1 | 5 | Li Bairun | Nanjing Monkey Kings | Shenzhen Leopards Youth | |
| 1 | 6 | Wang Zilu | Zhejiang Golden Bulls | Zhejiang Guangsha Lions Youth | |
| 1 | 7 | Tian Yuheng | Guangzhou Long-Lions | Guangdong Southern Tigers Youth | |
| 1 | 8 | Zhao Yanman | Beijing Ducks | Hunan Baining (NBL) | |
| 1 | 9 | Ji Xiang | Guangdong Southern Tigers | Shandong Golden Stars Youth | |
| 2 | 1 | Luan Xiaojun | Tianjin Gold Lions | Shandong Agricultural University | |
| 2 | 2 | Shi Wenlong | Qingdao Eagles | Bayi Rockets Youth | |
| 2 | 3 | Zhu Ying | Shanghai Sharks | Shanghai Sharks Youth | |
| 2 | 4 | Si Kun | Guangzhou Long-Lions | Lhasa Pure Land (NBL) | |
| 2 | 5 | Wan Shengwei | Guangdong Southern Tigers | Peking University |
All teams except the Bayi Rockets can have two foreign players. The bottom two teams from the previous season (except Bayi) have the additional right to sign an extra Asian player.
The rules for using foreign players in each game are described in this chart:
| # | Facing other teams | Facing Bayi Rockets |
|---|---|---|
| Chinese players+ | No Limit | No Limit |
| Asian players++ | 4 quarters collectively+++ | |
| International players | 6 quarters collectively+++ |
+ Including players from Hong Kong and Taiwan.
++ If a team waives its right to sign an extra Asian player, it may use its 2 foreign players for 7 quarters collectively.
+++ Only 1 allowed in the 4th quarter.
This is the full list of international players who competed in the CBA during the 2018-19 season.
| # | 2018–19 CBA regular season | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | Pct. | Pts. | Tiebreaker | |
| 1 | Guangdong Southern Tigers | 42 | 4 | .913 | 86 | |
| 2 | Liaoning Flying Leopards | 38 | 8 | .826 | 84 | |
| 3 | Xinjiang Flying Tigers | 33 | 13 | .717 | 79 | Xinjiang 2–0 Shenzhen |
| 4 | Shenzhen Leopards | 33 | 13 | .717 | 79 | |
| 5 | Beijing Ducks | 31 | 15 | .674 | 77 | Beijing 2–2 Guangsha Beijing 396–394 Guangsha |
| 6 | Zhejiang Guangsha Lions | 31 | 15 | .674 | 77 | |
| 7 | Fujian Sturgeons | 27 | 19 | .587 | 73 | |
| 8 | Shandong Golden Stars | 26 | 20 | .565 | 72 | |
| 9 | Jiangsu Dragons | 24 | 22 | .522 | 70 | Jiangsu 1–1 Jilin Jiangsu 211–198 Jilin |
| 10 | Jilin Northeast Tigers | 24 | 22 | .522 | 70 | |
| 11 | Zhejiang Golden Bulls | 23 | 23 | .500 | 69 | Zhejiang 2–2 Shanghai 2–2 Guangzhou 2–2 Win/Loss rate: Zhejiang 1.04, Shanghai 0.99, Guangzhou 0.98 |
| 12 | Shanghai Sharks | 23 | 23 | .500 | 69 | |
| 13 | Guangzhou Long-Lions | 23 | 23 | .500 | 69 | |
| 14 | Shanxi Loongs | 16 | 30 | .348 | 62 | |
| 15 | Qingdao Eagles | 13 | 33 | .283 | 59 | |
| 16 | Tianjin Gold Lions | 12 | 34 | .261 | 58 | |
| 17 | Sichuan Blue Whales | 11 | 35 | .239 | 57 | Sichuan 2–2 Bayi 2–2 Nanjing 2–2 Win/Loss rate: Sichuan 1.01, Bayi 0.997, Nanjing 0.991 |
| 18 | Bayi Rockets | 11 | 35 | .239 | 57 | |
| 19 | Nanjing Monkey Kings | 11 | 35 | .239 | 57 | |
| 20 | Beikong Fly Dragons | 8 | 38 | .174 | 54 | |
| Top 4 teams advance directly to Quarterfinals of CBA Playoffs | |
| 5th-12th place teams progress to First Round of CBA Playoffs |
| First round Best-of-three | Quarterfinals Best-of-five | Semifinals Best-of-seven | Finals Best-of-seven | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Guangdong Southern Tigers | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| 9 | Jiangsu Dragons | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Shandong Golden Stars | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| 9 | Jiangsu Dragons | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Guangdong Southern Tigers | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Shenzhen Leopards | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Shenzhen Leopards | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Beijing Ducks | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Beijing Ducks | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 12 | Shanghai Sharks | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Guangdong Southern Tigers | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Xinjiang Flying Tigers | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Xinjiang Flying Tigers | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Zhejiang Lions | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Zhejiang Lions | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 11 | Zhejiang Golden Bulls | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Xinjiang Flying Tigers | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Liaoning Flying Leopards | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Liaoning Flying Leopards | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Fujian Sturgeons | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Fujian Sturgeons | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 10 | Jilin Northeast Tigers | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
The CBA is like the NCAA, and unlike the NBA, as the CBA combines regular season statistics with playoff statistics, so these lists are not yet final.
| Category | Player | Team | Average[7] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Points per game | Beikong Fly Dragons | 39.8[8] | |
| Rebounds per game | Sichuan Blue Whales | 14.9 | |
| Assists per game | Zhejiang Guangsha Lions | 10.9 | |
| Steals per game | Xinjiang Flying Tigers | 2.8 | |
| Blocks per game | Shanghai Sharks | 2.7 | |
| 2FG% (20 games + 4 shots made per game) |
Zhejiang Guangsha Lions | 68.3% | |
| 3FG% (20 games + 1 shot made per game) |
Guangdong Southern Tigers | 46.3% | |
| FT% (20 games + 2 shots made per game) |
Nanjing Monkey Kings | 91.8% | |
| Turnovers per game | Xinjiang Flying Tigers | 4.3 | |
| Fouls per game | Jiangsu Dragons | 4.3 |
| Category | Team | Average[9] |
|---|---|---|
| Points per game | Guangdong Southern Tigers | 118.7 |
| Rebounds per game | Liaoning Flying Leopards | 49.0 |
| Assists per game | Zhejiang Guangsha Lions | 24.3 |
| Steals per game | Zhejiang Guangsha Lions | 12.0 |
| Blocks per game | Shanghai Sharks | 4.2 |
| 2FG% | Guangdong Southern Tigers | 58.3% |
| 3FG% | Shenzhen Leopards | 39.8% |
| FT% | Tianjin Gold Lions | 81.3% |
| Turnovers per game (lowest + highest averages) | Jilin Northeast Tigers Jiangsu Dragons |
Fewest (Best): 11.1 Most (Worst): 14.2 |
| Fouls per game (lowest + highest averages) | Shanghai Sharks Jiangsu Dragons |
Fewest (Best): 20.3 Most (Worst): 26.9 |
This is a list of the 2018–19 CBA season's yearly awards winners.[10]
| Award | Recipient(s) | Runner(s)-up/Finalists | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic Most Valuable Player | [11] | ||
| International Most Valuable Player | [12] | ||
| Defensive Player of the Year | [13] | ||
| Most Improved Player | [14] | ||
| Young Rising Star of the Year | [15] | ||
| Coach of the Year | [16] |
This is a list of the 2018–19 CBA season's Player of the Week award winners.[17]
This is a list of the 2018–19 CBA season's Player of the Month award winners.[18]
| Month | Domestic Player of the Month | International Player of the Month | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| October/November | |||
| December | |||
| January | |||
| February/March |
This is a list of the 2018–19 CBA season's Young Rising Star of the Month award winners.[19]
| Month | Young Rising Star of the Month | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| October/November | [20] | |
| December | [21] | |
| January | [22] | |
| February/March |
The 24th CBA All-Star Game and associated events were held in Qingdao on January 12–13, 2019. Saturday featured the Rising Stars Challenge, in which a team of CBA Rookies & Sophomores faced a squad of students from the Chinese University Basketball Association, as well as the preliminaries of the Slam Dunk Contest, Three-Point Shootout, and Skills Competition. Sunday featured the All-Star Game, with the North hosting the South, and the finals of the three individual events taking place at halftime.
| Winners from 24th annual Chinese Basketball Association All-Star Game & Weekend[23] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018–19 CBA All-Star Game | CBA South All-Stars defeated CBA North All-Stars 160–145 | ||
| 2018–19 CBA All-Star Game MVP | Nanjing Monkey Kings | Key Statistics: 40 points & 6 assists | |
| Slam Dunk Contest | Guangdong University of Technology | Final Result: 79 combined points from judges | |
| Three-Point Shootout | Fujian Sturgeons | Final Result: 21 points in last round & 11 in tiebreaker | |
| Skills Competition | Jilin Northeast Tigers | Final Result: 26.5 seconds (new record) | |
| 2018–19 CBA Rising Stars Challenge | CUBA Students defeated CBA Rookies & Sophomores 90–88 | ||
| 2018–19 CBA Rising Stars Challenge MVP | Peking University | Key Statistics: 13 points & 10 rebounds | |