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.
Team changes 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.
Venues TeamHome cityArena Capacity Bayi Rockets Nanchang Nanchang International Sports Center Gymnasium 11,000 Beijing Ducks Beijing Cadillac Arena 18,000 Beikong Fly Dragons Beijing Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium 6,300 Fujian Sturgeons Jinjiang Zuchang Gymnasium 6,000 Guangdong Southern Tigers Dongguan Nissan Sports Centre 14,730 Guangzhou Long-Lions Guangzhou Tianhe Gymnasium 8,628 Jiangsu Dragons Suzhou Suzhou Sports Center Gymnasium N/A Jilin Northeast Tigers Changchun Changchun Gymnasium 4,150 Liaoning Flying Leopards Shenyang Liaoning Gymnasium 6,521 Nanjing Monkey Kings Nanjing Nanjing Youth Olympic Sports Park 22,000 Qingdao Eagles Qingdao Guoxin Gymnasium 12,500 Shandong Golden Stars Jinan Shandong Arena 8,800 Shanghai Sharks Shanghai Pudong Yuanshen Gymnasium 5,000 Shanxi Loongs Taiyuan Shanxi Sports Centre Gymnasium 8,000 Shenzhen Leopards Shenzhen Shenzhen Dayun Arena 18,000 Sichuan Blue Whales Chengdu Sichuan Provincial Gymnasium 9,200 Tianjin Gold Lions Tianjin Dongli Gymnasium 3,000 Xinjiang Flying Tigers Ürümqi Hongshan Arena 3,800 Zhejiang Golden Bulls Hangzhou Binjiang Gymnasium 6,000 Zhejiang Guangsha Lions Zhuji Zhuji Sports Centre Gymnasium 5,136
Head coaches TeamHead CoachReplaced During Season Bayi Rockets Wang Zhizhi Beijing Ducks Yannis Christopoulos Beikong Fly Dragons Zhang Degui Ding Wei Fujian Sturgeons Zhu Shilong Guangdong Southern Tigers Du Feng Guangzhou Long-Lions Juan Antonio Orenga Jiangsu Dragons Memi Becirovic Jilin Northeast Tigers Wang Han Liaoning Flying Leopards Guo Shiqiang Nanjing Monkey Kings Gintaras Krapikas Qingdao Eagles Fan Bin Shandong Golden Stars Wu Qinglong Shanghai Sharks Li Qiuping Shanxi Loongs Wang Fei Shenzhen Leopards Wang Jianjun Sichuan Blue Whales Ying Kui"Eurobasket Player Profile For Kui Ying (Name Is Spoken & Written As Ying Kui Whenever Using Chinese Order Of Family Name {Surname} Followed By Given Name {Or Names})" Retrieved 15 March 2019. Dirk Bauermann"Dirk Bauermann Out As Coach Of Sichuan Blue Whales" 12 December 2018"Dirk Bauermann Is The New Head Coach Of Pinar Karşiyaka" 21 February 2019. Tianjin Gold Lions Anton "Toni" Vujanic Xinjiang Flying Tigers Adiljan Suleyman Brian Goorjian Zhejiang Golden Bulls Liu Weiwei Zhejiang Guangsha Lions Li Chunjiang
Draft The 2018 CBA Draft, the fourth edition of the CBA draft, took place on 29 July 2018. 14 players were selected in the draft.
Player Team 11Jilin Northeast TigersHenan Roaring Elephants (NBL)12Sichuan Blue WhalesHefei Yuanchuang (NBL)13Tianjin Gold LionsLuoyang Zhonghe (NBL)14Qingdao EaglesTaiyuan University of Technology15Nanjing Monkey KingsShenzhen Leopards Youth16Zhejiang Golden BullsZhejiang Guangsha Lions Youth17Guangzhou Long-LionsGuangdong Southern Tigers Youth18Beijing DucksHunan Baining (NBL)19Guangdong Southern TigersShandong Golden Stars Youth21Tianjin Gold Lions Shandong Agricultural University22Qingdao Eagles Bayi Rockets Youth23Shanghai Sharks Shanghai Sharks Youth24Guangzhou Long-Lions Lhasa Pure Land (NBL)25Guangdong Southern Tigers Peking University
Foreign players policy 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.
Rules Chart 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.
Import chart This is the full list of international players who competed in the CBA during the 2018-19 season.
Team Player 1 Player 2 Asian Player Replaced During Season Bayi Rockets – – – – Beijing Ducks Aaron Jackson Justin Hamilton N/A Beikong Fly Dragons Ricky Ledo Thomas Robinson N/A Pierre Jackson Shavlik Randolph Fujian Sturgeons Eugene Jeter Andrew Nicholson N/A Russ Smith Xavier Munford Guangdong Southern Tigers Michael Beasley MarShon Brooks N/A Malcolm Delaney Sonny Weems Guangzhou Long-Lions Kyle Fogg Lorenzo Brown N/A Marreese Speights Cory Jefferson Jiangsu Dragons Donald Sloan Miroslav Raduljica N/A Jerome Dyson Jilin Northeast Tigers Dominique Jones Maciej Lampe N/A Liaoning Flying Leopards Lester Hudson Brandon Bass N/A Nanjing Monkey Kings Joe Young Isaiah Austin N/A Adreian Payne Qingdao Eagles Jonathan Gibson Dakari Johnson N/A Shandong Golden Stars Ty Lawson Donatas Motiejūnas N/A Andrew Goudelock JaKarr Sampson Shanghai Sharks Jimmer Fredette Luis Scola N/A Shanxi Loongs Bobby Brown Shabazz Muhammad N/A Chris McCullough Josh Adams Shenzhen Leopards Dwight Buycks Kenny Boynton N/A Quincy Acy Jared Sullinger Sichuan Blue Whales Jordan Crawford Jason Thompson – Jamaal Franklin Tianjin Gold Lions Taylor Rochestie Andray Blatche N/A Cole Aldrich Xinjiang Flying Tigers Kay Felder Jarnell Stokes N/A Darius Adams Al Jefferson Nick Minnerath Hamed Haddadi Zhejiang Golden Bulls Marcus Denmon Brandon Paul N/A Archie Goodwin Tyler Hansbrough Zhejiang Guangsha Lions Courtney Fortson Ioannis Bourousis N/A Sichuan and Bayi, the bottom two teams of last season, renounced the right of signing an Asian player."Sichuan Qualifies For Three Foreign Talent Slots For Next Season: Boss Determined Not To Use Three Foreign Talent Slots / 四川获下赛季三外援资格老板:坚决不用三外援" (in Chinese) 24 April 2018.
Regular season standings # 2018–19 CBA regular season Team 1Guangdong Southern Tigers 42 4 .913 86 2Liaoning Flying Leopards 38 8 .826 84 3Xinjiang Flying Tigers 33 13 .717 79 Xinjiang 2–0 Shenzhen4Shenzhen Leopards 33 13 .717 79 5Beijing Ducks 31 15 .674 77 Beijing 2–2 GuangshaBeijing 396–394 Guangsha6Zhejiang Guangsha Lions 31 15 .674 77 7Fujian Sturgeons 27 19 .587 73 8Shandong Golden Stars 26 20 .565 72 9Jiangsu Dragons 24 22 .522 70 Jiangsu 1–1 JilinJiangsu 211–198 Jilin10Jilin Northeast Tigers 24 22 .522 70 11Zhejiang Golden Bulls 23 23 .500 69 Zhejiang 2–2Shanghai 2–2Guangzhou 2–212Shanghai Sharks 23 23 .500 69 13Guangzhou Long-Lions 23 23 .500 69 14Shanxi Loongs 16 30 .348 62 15Qingdao Eagles 13 33 .283 59 16Tianjin Gold Lions 12 34 .261 58 17Sichuan Blue Whales 11 35 .239 57 Sichuan 2–2Bayi 2–2Nanjing 2–218Bayi Rockets 11 35 .239 57 19Nanjing Monkey Kings 11 35 .239 57 20Beikong Fly Dragons 8 38 .174 54 + Key to colors Top 4 teams advance directly to Quarterfinals of CBA Playoffs 5th-12th place teams progress to First Round of CBA Playoffs
Playoffs
Statistics 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.
Statistical leaders – Individual Category Player Team Average Points per game Pierre Jackson Beikong Fly Dragons 39.8. Rebounds per game Jason Thompson Sichuan Blue Whales 14.9 Assists per game Courtney Fortson Zhejiang Guangsha Lions 10.9 Steals per game Darius Adams Xinjiang Flying Tigers 2.8 Blocks per game Zhang Zhaoxu Shanghai Sharks 2.7 2FG%(20 games + 4 shots made per game) Hu Jinqiu Zhejiang Guangsha Lions 68.3% 3FG%(20 games + 1 shot made per game) Du Runwang Guangdong Southern Tigers 46.3% FT%(20 games + 2 shots made per game) Joe Young Nanjing Monkey Kings 91.8% Turnovers per game Darius Adams Xinjiang Flying Tigers 4.3 Fouls per game Li Yuanyu Jiangsu Dragons 4.3
Statistical leaders – Team Category Team Average 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 TigersJiangsu Dragons Fewest (Best): 11.1Most (Worst): 14.2 Fouls per game (lowest + highest averages) Shanghai SharksJiangsu Dragons Fewest (Best): 20.3Most (Worst): 26.9
Awards
Yearly awards This is a list of the 2018–19 CBA season's yearly awards winners.
Award Recipient(s) Runner(s)-up/Finalists Ref. Domestic Most Valuable Player Wang Zhelin (Fujian Sturgeons) Abdusalam Abdurixit (Xinjiang Flying Tigers) Guo Ailun (Liaoning Flying Leopards) Hu Jinqiu (Zhejiang Guangsha Lions) Yi Jianlian (Guangdong Southern Tigers) International Most Valuable Player Darius Adams (Xinjiang Flying Tigers) Jimmer Fredette (Shanghai Sharks) Aaron Jackson (Beijing Ducks) Dominique Jones (Jilin Northeast Tigers) Maciej Lampe (Jilin Northeast Tigers) Defensive Player of the Year Yi Jianlian (Guangdong Southern Tigers) Darius Adams (Xinjiang Flying Tigers) Brandon Bass (Liaoning Flying Leopards) Justin Hamilton (Beijing Ducks) Sonny Weems (Guangdong Southern Tigers) Most Improved Player Abdusalam Abdurixit (Xinjiang Flying Tigers) Shen Zijie (Shenzhen Leopards) Shi Deshuai (Tianjin Gold Lions) Young Rising Star of the Year Jiang Yuxing (Jilin Northeast Tigers) Chen Ying-chun (Guangzhou Long-Lions) Cheng Shuaipeng (Zhejiang Golden Bulls) Coach of the Year Du Feng (Guangdong Southern Tigers) Adiljan Jun (Xinjiang Flying Tigers) Guo Shiqiang (Liaoning Flying Leopards) Wang Jianjun (Shenzhen Leopards)
Players of the Week This is a list of the 2018–19 CBA season's Player of the Week award winners."2018-2019 CBA Player Of The Week Award Winners / 2018-2019赛季CBA每周最佳球员" (in Chinese) WeekDomestic Player of the WeekInternational Player of the WeekRef.1 Hu Jinqiu (Zhejiang Guangsha Lions) (1/1) Pierre Jackson (Beikong Fly Dragons) (1/2)2 Han Shuo (Bayi Rockets) (1/1) Jamaal Franklin (Sichuan Blue Whales) (1/2)3 Zhao Rui (Guangdong Southern Tigers) (1/1) Darius Adams (Xinjiang Flying Tigers) (1/6)4 Yi Jianlian (Guangdong Southern Tigers) (1/4) Jared Sullinger (Shenzhen Leopards) (1/1)5 Wang Zhelin (Fujian Sturgeons) (1/4) Joe Young (Nanjing Monkey Kings) (1/1)6 Wang Zhelin (Fujian Sturgeons) (2/4) Pierre Jackson (Beikong Fly Dragons) (2/2)7 Wang Zhelin (Fujian Sturgeons) (3/4) Darius Adams (Xinjiang Flying Tigers) (2/6)8 Yi Jianlian (Guangdong Southern Tigers) (2/4) Darius Adams (Xinjiang Flying Tigers) (3/6)9 Cheng Shuaipeng (Zhejiang Golden Bulls) (1/1) Taylor Rochestie (Tianjin Gold Lions) (1/1)10 Shi Deshuai (Tianjin Gold Lions) (1/1) Shabazz Muhammad (Shanxi Loongs) (1/1)11 Guo Ailun (Liaoning Flying Leopards) (1/2) Darius Adams (Xinjiang Flying Tigers) (4/6)12 Yi Jianlian (Guangdong Southern Tigers) (3/4) Jamaal Franklin (Sichuan Blue Whales) (2/2)13 Wu Qian (Zhejiang Golden Bulls) (1/1) Darius Adams (Xinjiang Flying Tigers) (5/6)14 Wang Zhelin (Fujian Sturgeons) (4/4) Dominique Jones (Jilin Northeast Tigers) (1/1)15 Yi Jianlian (Guangdong Southern Tigers) (4/4) Donatas Motiejunas (Shandong Golden Stars) (1/1)16 Guo Ailun (Liaoning Flying Leopards) (2/2) Darius Adams (Xinjiang Flying Tigers) (6/6)
Players of the Month This is a list of the 2018–19 CBA season's Player of the Month award winners."2018-2019 CBA Player Of The Month Award Winners / 评选规则: (1) 个人综合技术指标综合得分前三名的球员. (2) 所在队在评选周期内取得优异成绩. (3) 本周期内参赛场次必须达到10场." (in Chinese)