Chinese Basketball Association

Chinese Basketball Association

Organising body	Chinese Basketball Management Center
Founded	1995; 29 years ago (1995)
First season	1995–96
Country	China
Federation	Chinese Basketball Association
Confederation	FIBA Asia
Divisions	2
Number of teams	20
Level on pyramid	1
International cup(s)	Basketball Champions League Asia
Current champions	Liaoning Flying Leopards (4th title) (2023–24)
Most championships	Guangdong Southern Tigers (11 titles)
Most appearances	Zhou Peng (740)
All-time top scorer	Lester Hudson (13,076)
TV partners	CCTV, Migu Video
Website	CBALeague.com
2024–25 CBA season

The Chinese Basketball Association (simplified Chinese: 中国男子篮球职业联赛; traditional Chinese: 中國男子籃球職業聯賽; pinyin: Zhōngguó Nánzǐ Lánqiú Zhíyè Liánsài), often abbreviated as the CBA, is the first-tier professional men's basketball league in China.

The league is commonly known by fans as the CBA, and this acronym is even used in Chinese on a regular basis. The CBA should not be confused with the National Basketball League (NBL), which is a professional minor league. There is also a Women's Chinese Basketball Association (WCBA).

A few Chinese players who competed in the CBA in the early stages of their careers—including Wang Zhizhi, Mengke Bateer, Yao Ming, Yi Jianlian, Sun Yue, and Zhou Qi—have also played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Others such as Xue Yuyang and Wang Zhelin were chosen in the draft, but have not played in the NBA.

Only a limited number of foreign players are allowed on each CBA team. Notable imports include former NBA All-Stars Stephon Marbury, Tracy McGrady, Gilbert Arenas, Steve Francis, Metta World Peace and Kenyon Martin—as well as several NBA veterans who would become CBA All-Stars—Michael Beasley, Aaron Brooks, Jimmer Fredette, Al Harrington, Lester Hudson, Randolph Morris, Shavlik Randolph, Jeremy Lin and J.R. Smith.

The CBA began play in the 1995–96 season. The league should not be confused with the Chinese Basketball Association (organisation), which was founded in June 1956^[1] and represents the country in matters involving the sport's governing body, FIBA. Basketball in China is currently regulated by the Chinese Basketball Management Center.

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 most prominent teams was the Beijing Sea Lions, but this venture lasted for just one winter (1996–97).^[4]

The first non-Chinese player to compete in the CBA was Mihail Savinkov of Uzbekistan, who joined the Zhejiang Squirrels in the league's inaugural 1995–96 campaign.^[5] During the 1996–97 season, James Hodges became one of the first Americans to play in the CBA, and his signing by the Liaoning Hunters helped pave the way for many more imports from the United States to follow in the ensuing years.

Some other notable foreign pioneers included John Spencer, who joined the Jiangsu Dragons later in the 1996–97 campaign, and David Vanterpool, who inked a deal with the Jilin Northeast Tigers the following winter, and helped the team move up to the CBA in time for the 1998–99 season. The CBA's first international coach was American Robert Hoggard, who led the Sichuan Pandas for the last eight games of the 1997–98 campaign.^[6]

For a full list of teams, see Current clubs section below. Also 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 Bayi, which technically translates into English as "August First," the day China's People's Liberation Army was founded). All others are province-level designations (either a province or a Chinese municipality).
2. A corporate sponsor name. This sponsor may change from year to year, and sometimes even in mid-season.
3. A nickname, such as the name of an animal.

The presence of corporate sponsor names can occasionally 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). In addition, team nicknames can sometimes be translated into English in more than one way, and corporate sponsors tend to change frequently over time.

Nickname changes are rare, but occasionally happen, such as when the Shandong team switched from Flaming Bulls (1995) to Lions (2003) to Gold Lions (2004) to Golden Stars (2014). Other examples include the Liaoning team dumping Hunters (1995) for Dinosaurs (2008) and then Flying Leopards (2011) -- as well as the Foshan team's evolving attempts to "Anglicize" its nickname—by going from Kylins (2001) to Dralions to Long-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. These corporate league titles were not always used in the news media, however, and this sponsorship practice was discontinued at the start of the 2004–2005 season.^[7]

While clubs are listed by division here, the CBA does not use these designations for regular season purposes anymore, as each squad now plays each other once at home and once on the road (plus eight additional games within each of the four rotating "strength of schedule" sub-groupings). Divisions are used for the league's annual All-Star Game, however, and are shown here for the sake of convenience.

Beijing

Beijing

Jilin

Liaoning

Qingdao

Shandong

Shanxi

Sichuan

Tianjin

Xinjiang

Fujian

Guangdong

Zhejiang

Guangzhou

Jiangsu

Nanjing

Ningbo

Shanghai

Shenzhen

Zhejiang

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Location of the CBA clubs

Club	Location(s)	Arena(s)	Head coach
Northern Division
Beijing Ducks	Beijing	Wukesong Arena	Ernest Leyden
Beijing Royal Fighters	Beijing	Beijing Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium	Min Lulei
Jilin Northeast Tigers	Changchun, Jilin Jilin City, Jilin	Changchun Gymnasium Jilin City Arena	Gao Junchao
Liaoning Flying Leopards	Shenyang, Liaoning	Liaoning Gymnasium	Yang Ming
Qingdao Eagles	Qingdao, Shandong	Guoxin Gymnasium	Liu Weiwei
Shandong Hi-Speed Kirin	Jinan, Shandong	Shandong Arena	Qiu Biao
Shanxi Loongs	Taiyuan, Shanxi	Shanxi Sports Centre Gymnasium Taiyuan Riverside Sports Centre Gymnasium	Yang Xuezeng
Sichuan Blue Whales	Chengdu, Sichuan	Sichuan Provincial Gymnasium	Mo Ke
Tianjin Pioneers	Tianjin	Dongli Gymnasium Tianjin Arena	Yi Li
Xinjiang Flying Tigers	Ürümqi, Xinjiang	Urumqi Olympic Sports Center	Liu Wei
Southern Division
Fujian Sturgeons	Jinjiang, Quanzhou, Fujian	Zuchang Gymnasium	Zhu Shilong
Guangdong Southern Tigers	Dongguan, Guangdong	Bank of Dongguan Basketball Center	Du Feng
Guangzhou Loong Lions	Guangzhou, Guangdong	Tianhe Gymnasium	Guo Shiqiang
Jiangsu Dragons	Changzhou, Jiangsu Suzhou, Jiangsu	Changzhou Olympic Sports Centre Gymnasium Suzhou Olympic Sports Centre Gymnasium Suzhou Sports Center Gymnasium	Yi Li
Nanjing Monkey Kings	Nanjing, Jiangsu	Nanjing Youth Olympic Sports Park Arena	Shirelijan Muxtar
Ningbo Rockets	Ningbo, Zhejiang	Youngor Arena	Adiljan Suleyman
Shanghai Sharks	Shanghai	Shanghai Indoor Stadium (Shanghai Arena)	Liu Peng
Shenzhen Leopards	Shenzhen, Guangdong	Shenzhen Gymnasium	Zhou Peng
Zhejiang Golden Bulls	Hangzhou, Zhejiang Yiwu, Jinhua, Zhejiang	Binjiang Gymnasium Yiwu Meihu Sports Centre Gymnasium	Wang Shilong
Zhejiang Guangsha Lions	Hangzhou, Zhejiang Zhuji, Shaoxing, Zhejiang	Hangzhou Gymnasium Zhuji Sports Centre Gymnasium	Wang Bo

This is a chronological listing of current and former CBA teams according to the season that they entered the league.

Current teams Defunct Teams

In 2005, the league unveiled the Mou Zuoyun Cup (Chinese: 牟作云杯), which was awarded for the first time to the winning team in the CBA Finals. Mou Zuoyun (1913–2007) was a member of the Chinese men's national basketball team which competed at the 1936 Summer Olympics, and he later served as a coach and a pioneer in building Chinese basketball.^[8]

This is a list of the teams which have advanced to the CBA Finals and the overall win–loss records they have registered in the Championship Series.

The CBA Most Valuable Player award is presented to the league's best player in a given CBA season. Since the 2012–13 campaign, two awards have been handed out each year, Domestic MVP and International MVP. The rules for the selection of the MVP in the regular season are: the number of games must reach 28 or more; The comprehensive score of individual technical indicators ranks among the best; The team won the top three in the regular season.^[10] At the conclusion of each season, the CBA Finals MVP award is bestowed upon the most outstanding player in that year's championship series.

Each campaign's scoring leader is also recognized on an annual basis and the league maintains a list of single game, single season, and career record holders in various statistical categories. Furthermore, a CBA All-Star Game MVP award is given to the player deemed to have the most impactful performance in the league's annual mid-season exhibition contest.

The CBA Best Defender award is presented to the league's most hard-skilled and efficient defender in a given season of the CBA.

The CBA's highest single season scoring average, depending on how many games are required to be recognized as a statistical qualifier, is either 43.1 points per game by Jordan Crawford, who played in 26 of Tianjin's 38 games (68.4%) in 2015–16, or 42.0 points per game by Jonathan Gibson, who played in 36 of Qingdao's 38 games (94.7%) in 2015–16.

This is a list of individual records separated into two categories — career records and single game records.

Records last updated and confirmed on March 13, 2019, the final day of the 2018–19 CBA regular season.

Record	Num.	Player(s)	Team(s)	Game(s)	Date(s)
Points	82	Errick McCollum	Zhejiang Golden Bulls	Zhejiang Golden Bulls 119–129 Guangdong Southern Tigers	January 30, 2015[11]
Rebounds	38	Garth Joseph	Shaanxi Kylins	Shaanxi Kylins 139–88 Shenzhen Yikang	March 20, 2002[12]
Assists	28	Li Qun	Guangdong Southern Tigers	Guangdong Southern Tigers 110–101 Nanjing Army	February 2, 2000
Steals	13	Ju Weisong	Shandong Flaming Bulls	Shandong Flaming Bulls 84–70 Vanguard / Police	1995–96 Season
		Zhang Yongjun	Guangdong Southern Tigers	Bayi Rockets 109–81 Guangdong Southern Tigers	1996–97 Season
		Hu Xuefeng	Jiangsu Dragons	Jiangsu Dragons 135–108 Jilin Northeast Tigers	December 1, 2004
Blocks	13	Yao Ming	Shanghai Sharks	Jilin Northeast Tigers 126–118 Shanghai Sharks	February 11, 2001[13]
		Herve Lamizana	Tianjin Gold Lions	Tianjin Gold Lions 113–108 Fujian Sturgeons	February 10, 2010[14]
		Sean Williams	Fujian Sturgeons	Fujian Sturgeons 101–94 Jilin Northeast Tigers	February 26, 2010[citation needed]
Minutes Played	67	Samad Nikkhah Bahrami	Fujian Sturgeons	Fujian Sturgeons 178–177 (5OT) Zhejiang Golden Bulls	February 9, 2014[15]
3-Pointers Made	15	Leon Rodgers	Jilin Northeast Tigers	Jilin Northeast Tigers 124–110 Shanxi Brave Dragons	March 11, 2009[16]
Dunks Made	10	James Hodges	Liaoning Hunters	Liaoning Hunters 95–85 Shandong Flaming Bulls	1998–99 Season
Free Throws Made	25	Errick McCollum	Zhejiang Golden Bulls	Zhejiang Golden Bulls 119–129 Guangdong Southern Tigers	January 30, 2015[17]

Record	Num.	Player	Team(s)	Seasons
Points	11,677+	Yi Jianlian (active)	Guangdong Southern Tigers	2002–2003 to 2006–2007 / 2011–2012 to present
Rebounds	5,516+	Yi Jianlian (active)	Guangdong Southern Tigers	2002–2003 to 2006–2007 / 2011–2012 to present
Assists	2,595	Hu Xuefeng	Jiangsu Dragons	1999–2000 to 2016–2017
Steals	1,762	Hu Xuefeng	Jiangsu Dragons	1999–2000 to 2016–2017
Blocks	852	Wang Zhizhi	Bayi Rockets	1995–1996 to 2000–2001 / 2006–2007 to 2014–2015
Minutes Played (Only available since 2011)	14,785+	Lester Hudson (active)	Guangdong Southern Tigers Qingdao Eagles Dongguan Leopards Xinjiang Flying Tigers Liaoning Flying Leopards Shandong Heroes	2010–2011 to present[18]
3-Pointers Made	1,755+	Lester Hudson (active)	Guangdong Southern Tigers Qingdao Eagles Dongguan Leopards Xinjiang Flying Tigers Liaoning Flying Leopards Shandong Heroes	2010–2011 to present
Dunks Made	1130+	Yi Jianlian (active)	Guangdong Southern Tigers	2002–2003 to 2006–2007 / 2011–2012 to present[19]
Free Throws Made	2,666+	Yi Jianlian (active)	Guangdong Southern Tigers	2002–2003 to 2006–2007 / 2011–2012 to present
Personal Fouls	1,615+	Li Xiaoxu (active)	Liaoning Flying Leopards	2005–present
Turnovers	1,584	Hu Xuefeng	Jiangsu Dragons	1999–2000 to 2016–2017
Games played	698	Zhu Fangyu	Guangdong Southern Tigers	1999–2000 to 2016–2017[20]

Listed below are some of the most accomplished Chinese players who have competed in the CBA. Time spent with teams in lower leagues before they joined the CBA, or after they left the CBA, cannot be counted as CBA seasons. Notes will be made of such service below a player's CBA information.

Name	CBA Team(s) (Years)	NBA Team(s) (Year/s)	Drafted
Mengke Bateer	Beijing Ducks (1997–2002, 2005–2006) Xinjiang Flying Tigers (2007–2013)	Denver Nuggets (2002) San Antonio Spurs (2002–2003) Toronto Raptors (2003–2004)	Undrafted in 1999 NBA draft
Sun Yue	Beijing Olympians (2002–2004) Beijing Ducks (2013–2017) Beikong Royal Fighters (2019–present) Also played for post-CBA Beijing Olympians (2004–2008, 2009–2013)	Los Angeles Lakers (2008–2009)	2007 / Round 2 / 40th overall pick Selected by the Los Angeles Lakers
Wang Zhizhi	Bayi Rockets (1995–2001, 2006–2015)	Dallas Mavericks (2001–2002) Los Angeles Clippers (2002–2003) Miami Heat (2003–2005)	1999 / Round 2 / 36th overall pick Selected by the Dallas Mavericks
Yao Ming	Shanghai Sharks (1997–2002)	Houston Rockets (2002–2011)	2002 / Round 1 / 1st overall pick Selected by the Houston Rockets
Yi Jianlian	Guangdong Southern Tigers (2002–2007, 2011, 2012–2023)	Milwaukee Bucks (2007–2008) New Jersey Nets (2008–2010) Washington Wizards (2010–2011) Dallas Mavericks (2012)	2007 / Round 1 / 6th overall pick Selected by the Milwaukee Bucks
Zhou Qi	Xinjiang Flying Tigers (2014–2017)	Houston Rockets (2017–2018)	2016 / Round 2 / 46th overall pick Selected by the Houston Rockets

Name	CBA Team(s) (Years)	Drafted
Wang Zhelin	Fujian Sturgeons (2012–present)	2016 / Round 2 / 57th overall pick Selected by the Memphis Grizzlies
Xue Yuyang	Jilin Northeast Tigers (2001–2002) Hong Kong Flying Dragons (2002–2003) Xinjiang Flying Tigers (2003–2010) Zhejiang Guangsha Lions (2010–2011) Qingdao Eagles (2011–2014)	2003 / Round 2 / 57th overall pick Selected by the Dallas Mavericks

Name	CBA Team(s) (Years)	NBA Team (Pre-season)
Ding Yanyuhang	Shandong Gold Lions/Golden Stars (2011–2018)	Dallas Mavericks (2018–2019)
Liu Wei	Shanghai Sharks (1997–2014, 2018–2019) Xinjiang Flying Tigers (2014–2016) Sichuan Blue Whales (2016–2018)	Sacramento Kings (2004–2005)

Name	CBA Team (Years)	NBA Team (Summer League)
Abdusalam Abdurixit	Xinjiang Flying Tigers (2015–present)	Golden State Warriors (2018)
Ding Yanyuhang	Shandong Gold Lions/Golden Stars (2011–2018)	Dallas Mavericks (2017)
He Tianju	Liaoning Dinosaurs/Flying Leopards (2010–present)	New Orleans Pelicans (2015)

Note: The Red Squad of the Chinese National Team toured the United States and played several NBA Summer League teams during the 2018 NBA Summer League season while the combined Chinese National Team did likewise during the 2019 NBA Summer League season.

Scroll down to view more names.

Listed below are some of the most accomplished foreign imports who have competed in the CBA. Players must appear in at least one game for the team to receive credit for a season. Someone who signs a contract but never steps on the court does not count.

As of early 2024, over 100 basketball professionals from the United States, Europe, and Australia work in the CBA.^[21]

Every team can register up to four foreign players per season. During the regular season, the policy of four (maximum) foreign players on the field for four quarters and four times per game (full of one per quarter) is adopted, while the team ranked in the bottom four last season may adopt the policy of four (maximum) foreign players for four quarters and five times per game (full of two times per quarter in the first three quarters and one time per quarter in the last quarter). During the playoffs, all teams will adopt a four-player (maximum) four-period four-times policy for foreign players (maximum of one per period)^[22]

Scroll down to view more names

Scroll down to view more names

Scroll down to view more names

Scroll down to view more names.

On October 4, 2019, the Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey issued a tweet in support of the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests.^[23] Morey's tweet resulted in the Chinese Basketball Association's suspension of its relationship with the Houston Rockets and China Central Television's removal of all NBA games from its broadcast schedule until further notice.^[24]

• Basketball in China
• China men's national basketball team
• China women's national basketball team
• National Basketball League (NBL)
• Women's Chinese Basketball Association (WCBA)
• Chinese University Basketball Association (CUBA)

• CBA official website (in Chinese)
• CBA at Asia-Basket.com
• CBA on Youtube (Unofficial)