2019–20 Chinese Basketball Association season

CBA
Season	2019–20
Teams	20
Games played	46
Dates	1 November 2019–21 January 2020; 20 June–27 July 2020 (Regular season) 31 July–15 August 2020 (Playoffs)
Final positions
Top seed	Guangdong Southern Tigers
Champions	Guangdong Southern Tigers
Runners-up	Liaoning Flying Leopards
Semifinalists	Beijing Ducks Xinjiang Flying Tigers
← 2018–19 2020–21 →

The 2019–20 CBA season was the 25th season of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). The regular season began on 1 November 2019 with the Guangdong Southern Tigers hosting the Liaoning Flying Leopards.^[1]

The CBA regular season was suspended since 1 February 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.^[2] The season was resumed on 20 June 2020.^[3] The regular season was concluded on 27 July 2020. The playoffs started on 31 July 2020 and concluded on 15 August 2020.

Team changes[]

Name changes[]

The CBA changed the name of the following five teams as a part of an ongoing plan.^[4]

• Beikong Fly Dragons changed their name to Beijing Royal Fighters in May 2019.
• Guangzhou Long-Lions changed their name to Guangzhou Loong Lions in May 2019.
• Shandong Golden Stars changed their name to Shandong Heroes in May 2019.
• Shenzhen Leopards changed their name to Shenzhen Aviators in May 2019.
• Tianjin Gold Lions changed their name to Tianjin Pioneers in May 2019.

Venues[]

Listed below are the home arenas for the 2019–20 CBA season.

Note: Venues in italics denote the ones will be used from 20 June 2020 to the end of the season.

Team	Home city	Arena	Capacity
Bayi Rockets	Nanchang	Nanchang International Sports Center Gymnasium	11,000
Beijing Ducks	Beijing	Cadillac Arena	18,000
Beikong Royal Fighters	Beijing	Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium	6,300
Fujian Sturgeons	Jinjiang	Zuchang Gymnasium	6,000
Guangdong Southern Tigers	Dongguan	Nissan Sports Centre	14,730
Guangzhou Loong-Lions	Guangzhou	Tianhe Gymnasium	8,628
Jiangsu Dragons	Suzhou	Suzhou Sports Center Gymnasium	6000
Jilin Northeast Tigers	Changchun	Changchun Gymnasium	4,150
Liaoning Flying Leopards	Shenyang	Liaoning Gymnasium	12,000
Nanjing Monkey Kings	Nanjing	Nanjing Youth Olympic Sports Park	22,000
Qingdao Eagles	Qingdao	Guoxin Gymnasium	12,500
Shandong Heroes	Jinan	Shandong Arena	8,800
Shanghai Sharks	Shanghai	Pudong Yuanshen Gymnasium	5,000
Shanxi Loongs	Taiyuan	Shanxi Sports Centre Gymnasium	8,000
Shenzhen Aviators	Shenzhen	Shenzhen Dayun Arena	18,000
Sichuan Blue Whales	Chengdu	Sichuan Provincial Gymnasium	9,200
Tianjin Pioneers	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[]

Listed below are the head coaches for the 2019–20 CBA season.

Team	Head Coach	Replaced During Season
Bayi Rockets	Wang Zhizhi
Beijing Ducks	Yannis Christopoulos
Beikong Royal Fighters	Stephon Marbury
Fujian Sturgeons	Aleksandar Kesar	Zhu Shilong
Guangdong Southern Tigers	Du Feng
Guangzhou Loong-Lions	Juan Antonio Orenga
Jiangsu Dragons	Memi Becirovic
Jilin Northeast Tigers	Wang Han
Liaoning Flying Leopards	Guo Shiqiang
Nanjing Monkey Kings	Cui Wanjun
Qingdao Eagles	Wu Qinglong
Shandong Heroes	Gong Xiaobin
Shanghai Sharks	Li Qiuping
Shanxi Loongs	Wang Fei
Shenzhen Aviators	Wang Jianjun
Sichuan Blue Whales	Zhou Jinli	Ying Kui
Tianjin Pioneers	Liu Tie	Manolo Hussein
Xinjiang Flying Tigers	Adiljan Suleyman
Zhejiang Golden Bulls	Liu Weiwei
Zhejiang Guangsha Lions	Li Chunjiang

Draft[]

The 2019 CBA Draft, the fifth edition of the CBA draft, took place on 29 July 2019 in Shanghai. 16 players were selected in the draft.^[5]

Rnd.	Pick	Player	Nationality[n 1]	Team	School / club team
1	1		China	Beijing Royal Fighters	Peking University
1	2		China	Nanjing Monkey Kings	California State University, Northridge (US NCAA)
1	3		China	Sichuan Blue Whales	Xiamen University
1	4		China	Tianjin Pioneers	Shanghai Sharks Youth
1	5		Chinese Taipei	Qingdao Eagles	Yulon Luxgen Dinos (SBL)
1	8		Chinese Taipei	Shanghai Sharks	Formosa Dreamers (SBL)
1	9		China	Zhejiang Golden Bulls	Peking University
1	11		China	Shandong Heroes	Shandong Heroes Youth
1	13		China	Fujian Sturgeons	(NBL)
1	18		China	Xinjiang Flying Tigers	Xinjiang Flying Tigers Youth
2	1		China	Beijing Royal Fighters	Beijing University of Technology
2	2		China	Nanjing Monkey Kings	(NBL)
2	4		China	Tianjin Pioneers	Shanxi University
2	5		China	Qingdao Eagles	Nanchang University
2	11		China	Shandong Heroes	Anhui Wenyi (NBL)
2	18		Chinese Taipei	Xinjiang Flying Tigers	Free Agent

Foreign players policy[]

All teams except the Bayi Rockets (a club owned by the People's Liberation Army) 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 competing in the CBA during the 2019–20 season. One major change is that many teams began to actively sign "reserve" imports this season to provide insurance for injuries. Players who sign contracts but are not actually playing will be listed under the heading of "Inactive Or Replaced" during the 2019–20 season. Those who never actually play in games before the end of the season will have their names removed from this list when the season ends.

Team	Player 1	Player 2	Asian Player	Inactive Or Replaced
Bayi Rockets	–	–	-	–
Beijing Ducks	Jeremy Lin	Ekpe Udoh	N/A	Justin Hamilton
Beikong Royal Fighters	Kyle Fogg	Jason Thompson	Sani Sakakini	-
Fujian Sturgeons	Pooh Jeter	Dante Cunningham	N/A	Ty Lawson Erick Green
Guangdong Southern Tigers	MarShon Brooks	Sonny Weems	N/A	-
Guangzhou Loong-Lions	Andrew Nicholson	-	N/A	Marcus Georges-Hunt Keifer Sykes
Jiangsu Dragons	Jonathan Gibson	Miroslav Raduljica	N/A	Antonio Blakeney
Jilin Northeast Tigers	Dominique Jones	Eli Holman	N/A	-
Liaoning Flying Leopards	Lance Stephenson	Brandon Bass	N/A	-
Nanjing Monkey Kings	Joe Young	Guerschon Yabusele	Hamed Haddadi	Behnam Yakhchali
Qingdao Eagles	Darius Adams	Dakari Johnson	N/A	Kenny Boynton (DNP YET)
Shandong Heroes	Lester Hudson	James Mays	N/A	-
Shanghai Sharks	Ray McCallum Jr.	Donatas Motiejunas	N/A	James Nunnally
Shanxi Loongs	Jamaal Franklin	Eric Moreland	N/A	Malcolm Thomas
Shenzhen Aviators	Dwight Buycks	Jarell Martin	N/A	Shabazz Muhammad Pierre Jackson
Sichuan Blue Whales	Courtney Fortson	Tyler Hansbrough	N/A	Thomas Robinson
Tianjin Pioneers	Chasson Randle	Marko Todorovic	N/A	-
Xinjiang Flying Tigers	Kay Felder	Eric Mika	N/A	Jarnell Stokes Ian Clark (DNP YET)
Zhejiang Golden Bulls	Marcus Denmon	Sylven Landesberg	N/A	-
Zhejiang Guangsha Lions	Dez Wells	Miles Plumlee	N/A	Kenneth Faried

Regular Season Standings[]

#	2019–20 CBA regular season
	Team	W	L	Pct.	Tiebreaker
1	Guangdong Southern Tigers	44	2	.957
2	Xinjiang Flying Tigers	36	10	.783
3	Liaoning Flying Leopards	32	14	.696
4	Beijing Ducks	32	14	.696
5	Zhejiang Lions	30	16	.652
6	Zhejiang Golden Bulls	30	16	.652
7	Beijing Royal Fighters	29	17	.630
8	Qingdao Eagles	25	21	.543
9	Shandong Heroes	24	22	.522
10	Jilin Northeast Tigers	24	22	.522
11	Shanxi Loongs	24	22	.522
12	Fujian Sturgeons	24	22	.522
13	Shenzhen Aviators	20	26	.435
14	Nanjing Monkey Kings	18	28	.391
15	Jiangsu Dragons	17	29	.370
16	Shanghai Sharks	16	30	.348
17	Sichuan Blue Whales	11	35	.239
18	Guangzhou Loong Lions	10	36	.217
19	Tianjin Pioneers	8	38	.174
20	Bayi Rockets	6	40	.130

Key to colors

	Top 4 teams advance directly to Quarter-finals of CBA Playoffs
	5th-12th place teams progress to First Round of CBA Playoffs

Playoffs[]

Because of the format change due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Playoffs in this season will be shortened - the first two rounds will be played as one-off matches, and the last two rounds will be played in best-of-three games.

	First round One-off					Quarter-finals One-off					Semi-finals Best-of-three					Finals Best-of-three
						1	Guangdong Southern Tigers	1
						8	Qingdao Eagles	0
	8	Qingdao Eagles	1
	9	Shandong Heroes	0
											1	Guangdong Southern Tigers	2
											4	Beijing Ducks	1
						4	Beijing Ducks	1
						12	Fujian Sturgeons	0
	5	Zhejiang Lions	0
	12	Fujian Sturgeons	1
																1	Guangdong Southern Tigers	2
																3	Liaoning Flying Leopards	1
						3	Liaoning Flying Leopards	1
						6	Zhejiang Golden Bulls	0
	6	Zhejiang Golden Bulls	1
	11	Shanxi Loongs	0
											3	Liaoning Flying Leopards	2
											2	Xinjiang Flying Tigers	0
						2	Xinjiang Flying Tigers	1
						7	Beijing Royal Fighters	0
	7	Beijing Royal Fighters	1
	10	Jilin Northeast Tigers	0

First Round[]

(5) Zhejiang Lions vs. (12) Fujian Sturgeons[]

(6) Zhejiang Golden Bulls vs. (11) Shanxi Loongs[]

(7) Beijing Royal Fighters vs. (10) Jilin Northeast Tigers[]

(8) Qingdao Eagles vs. (9) Shandong Heroes[]

Quarter-finals[]

(1) Guangdong Southern Tigers vs. (8) Qingdao Eagles[]

(2) Xinjiang Flying Tigers vs. (7) Beijing Royal Fighters[]

(3) Liaoning Flying Leopards vs. (6) Zhejiang Golden Bulls[]

(4) Beijing Ducks vs. (12) Fujian Sturgeons[]

Semi-finals[]

(1) Guangdong Southern Tigers vs. (4) Beijing Ducks[]

(2) Xinjiang Flying Tigers vs. (3) Liaoning Flying Leopards[]

Finals[]

(1) Guangdong Southern Tigers vs. (3) Liaoning Flying Leopards[]

Statistics[]

Listed below are the 2019–20 CBA season's final individual and team statistical leaders. The CBA is like the NCAA, and unlike the NBA, in the practice of combining regular season statistics with playoff statistics.

Statistical leaders – individual[]

More info needed

Awards[]

Listed below are the 2019–20 CBA season's weekly, monthly, and annual awards.

Yearly awards[]

This is a list of the 2019–20 CBA season's yearly awards winners.

Award	Recipient(s)	Runner(s)-up/Finalists	Ref.
Domestic Most Valuable Player	Yi Jianlian (Guangdong Southern Tigers)	Han Dejun (Liaoning Flying Leopards) Hu Jinqiu (Zhejiang Guangsha Lions) Wang Zhelin (Fujian Sturgeons) Zhou Qi (Xinjiang Flying Tigers)
Defensive Player of the Year	Zhou Qi (Xinjiang Flying Tigers)	Jeremy Lin (Beijing Ducks) Sonny Weems (Guangdong Southern Tigers) Yi Jianlian (Guangdong Southern Tigers) Zhai Xiaochuan (Beijing Ducks)
Sixth Man of the Year	Fang Shuo (Beijing Ducks)	(Jilin Northeast Tigers) (Zhejiang Golden Bulls) (Xinjiang Flying Tigers) (Xinjiang Flying Tigers)
Most Improved Player	Sun Minghui (Zhejiang Lions)	Hu Mingxuan (Guangdong Southern Tigers) (Shanxi Loongs)
Young Rising Star of the Year	Hu Mingxuan (Guangdong Southern Tigers)	(Guangzhou Looog Lions) (Zhejiang Golden Bulls) (Beijing Royal Fighters)
Coach of the Year	Du Feng (Guangdong Southern Tigers)	Adiljan Jun (Xinjiang Flying Tigers) (Liaoning Flying Leopards) (Beijing Ducks)

Players of the Week[]

This is a list of the 2019–20 CBA season's Player of the Week award winners.

Players of the Month[]

This is a list of the 2019–20 CBA season's Player of the Month award winners.

Young Rising Stars of the Month[]

This is a list of the 2019–20 CBA season's Young Rising Star of the Month award winners.

All-Star Weekend[]

The 25th CBA All-Star Game and associated events were held in January 2020. Saturday features the Rising Stars Challenge, in which a team of CBA Rookies & Sophomores face 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 features the All-Star Game, with the South hosting the North, and the finals of the three individual events taking place at halftime.

Notes[]

References[]

External links[]

• CBA Official Website
• CBA China - 2019-20 Standings and Stats on Basketball-Reference.com