The 1996–97 CBA season was the second season of the Chinese Basketball Association. The season was held from 27 November 1996 to 30 March 1997.
The Shanghai Sharks and Sichuan Pandas were promoted from the Second Division.
Teams TeamHead coachCityArenaCapacityAir Force Ma LianzhongBayi Rockets Wang FeiBeijing Ducks Yuan ChaoGuangdong Southern Tigers Wang LifaJiangsu Dragons Xia HongfaJinan Army Zhang BinLiaoning Hunters Li GeShandong Flaming Bulls Ye PengShanghai Sharks Li QiupingShenyang Army Xuan ChengbinSichuan Pandas Yang MingZhejiang Squirrels Pan Jianping
Team changes
To CBA Teams promoted from Second Division Shanghai Sharks Sichuan Pandas
From CBA Team relegated to Second Division Nanjing Army Vanguard/Police
Regular season League table Rank1996–97 CBA regular seasonTeam1Bayi Rockets 19 3 41 86.4% 2Liaoning Hunters 18 4 40 81.8% 3Shandong Flaming Bulls 14 8 36 63.6% 4Guangdong Southern Tigers 13 9 35 59.1% 5Shanghai Sharks 13 9 35 59.1% 6Jiangsu Dragons 12 10 34 54.5% 7Air Force 9 13 31 40.9% 8Shenyang Army 9 13 31 40.9% 9Beijing Ducks 8 14 30 36.4% 10Zhejiang Squirrels 7 15 29 31.8% 11Sichuan Pandas 7 15 29 31.8% 12Jinan Army 3 19 25 13.6% +Key to colors Qualification for playoffs Qualification for relegation playoffs
Results 12 teams played against each other teams twice.
Playoffs The top 8 teams in the regular season advanced to the playoffs.
Bracket
Quarter-finals (1) Bayi Rockets vs. (8) Shenyang Army
(2) Liaoning Hunters vs. (7) Air Force
(3) Shandong Flaming Bulls vs. (6) Jiangsu Dragons
(4) Guangdong Southern Tigers vs. (5) Shanghai Sharks
Semi-finals (1) Bayi Rockets vs. (4) Guangdong Southern Tigers
(2) Liaoning Hunters vs. (3) Shandong Flaming Bulls
5–8th classification semi-finals (5) Shanghai Sharks vs. (8) Shenyang Army
(6) Jiangsu Dragons vs. (7) Air Force
Finals (1) Bayi Rockets vs. (2) Liaoning Hunters
Third place game (3) Shandong Flaming Bulls vs. (4) Guangdong Southern Tigers
Fifth place game (5) Shanghai Sharks vs. (6) Jiangsu Dragons
Seventh place game (7) Air Force vs. (8) Shenyang Army
Relegation playoffs The bottom 4 teams advanced to relegation playoffs. The Zhejiang Squirrels and Jinan Army were relegated to the Second Division after the relegation playoffs. League table RankRelegation playoffsTeam9Beijing Ducks 5 1 11 83.3% 10Sichuan Pandas 4 2 10 66.7% 11Zhejiang Squirrels 3 3 9 50.0% 12Jinan Army 0 6 6 0.0% +Key to colors Relegation to Second Division
Games
All-Star Weekend The 1997 CBA All-Star Game was played on April 5, 1997, in Shanghai.
The South All-Stars defeated the North All-Stars 98–84. Hu Weidong from the Jiangsu Dragons was named MVP of the All-Star Game.
James Hodges from the Liaoning Hunters won the Slam Dunk Contest, and Saulius Štombergas from the Shanghai Sharks won the Three-Point Shootout.
Statistics Team statistic leaders Category Team StatisticPoints per game Bayi Rockets 98.0Rebounds per game Liaoning HuntersZhejiang Squirrels 31.0Assists per game Liaoning Hunters 14.5Steals per game Bayi Rockets 12.0Blocks per game Shanghai Sharks 4.9Turnovers per game Sichuan Pandas 14.7Fouls per game Air Force 20.0FG% Shandong Flaming Bulls 57.0%FT% Liaoning Hunters 70.4%3P% Liaoning Hunters 43.8%
Awards These are the award winners for the 1996-97 CBA regular season.
Annual awards +1996–97 CBA awardsAward Recipient(s)CBA Most Valuable Player Hu Weidong (Jiangsu Dragons)CBA Coach of the Year Wang Fei (Bayi Rockets)Li Ge (Liaoning Hunters)
Notes
References
External links CBA Official Website CBA Official Data Website