Major surprises are overthrowing the longstanding hierarchies in China, as both Beijing and Guangdong – the two dynasties of the Chinese basketball empire – are relinquishing their thrones. With two best-of-five series already at 2-0, the sides of Xinjiang and Guangdong have to climb out of huge holes. Xinjiang is the home of Andray Blatche, Bryce Cotton and Zhou Qi, China’s next NBA player; and Guangdong for many years has been a de facto equivalent to the Chinese national team, captained
Is the NBA inching toward parity? Or slowly sinking into mediocrity? Those may seem like strange questions during a season in which the Golden State Warriors have imposed their dominance over the rest of the league in unprecedented fashion. Yes, at 22-0 the Warriors have obliterated the best start in NBA history and have looked downright unbeatable while the clock was ticking during a vast majority of those 22 games. In that sense, they present a very strong argument against the notion
Well, you do expect former NBA players to perform in the Middle Kingdom, right? We are three games into a new and promising Chinese Basketball Association season, where we may finally have no clear-cut favorites ahead of schedule while players with long resumes are now affordable for every team in the league. Among the top 25 scorers, 19 have been in the CBA in some form or fashion. Only one is Chinese, however. It’s an unlikely name, too: Cui Jinming, a 23-year-old smooth shooter
It pays to be patient. That is the financial lesson of the NBA’s offseason, which saw the biggest pay raises go to players who turned down contract extensions and gambled on themselves. Among the top 11 pay increases this summer, five went to players who felt like they were being lowballed by their teams — and proved it when they cashed in with bigger deals as restricted free agents this summer. Chicago’s Jimmy Butler, Orlando’s Tobias Harris, Detroit’s Reggie Jackson, Oklahoma City’s Enes
Stephon Marbury, the lost son of the New York Knicks, continues to live the good life in the Chinese Basketball Association. On Sunday night, the point guard scored an efficient 25 points in Game 6 to lead the Beijing Ducks past the Liaoning Leopards 106-98 for the Ducks’ third title in four years. A few seconds after the final buzzer sounded, the American was wildly embraced by his Chinese teammates while cameramen fought to capture the moment. Marbury won Finals MVP after
For the first time in years, the hyperbole generated in the build-up to a CBA Finals is actually living up to the hype. Three games into the championship series, the Liaoning Leopards have a 2-1 lead over the defending champion Beijing Ducks. All three of the encounters have been compelling, but what has helped the CBA is that no one can confidently say what is going to happen next. Certain assumptions have turned out to be true. For example, Beijing’s Stephon
For the four remaining teams left in the CBA playoffs, the stakes simply could not be higher. After one of the tightest regular seasons in the history of Chinese basketball followed by a grueling quarterfinal round, the semifinals get underway on Wednesday. On one side of the bracket is a dream matchup between two historic foes while on the other, one heavily favored team will be challenged by an underdog with no prior history in the postseason. Some compelling basketball is
The CBA playoffs are now in full swing and everyone in China is glued to their TVs watching everything play out. A couple of teams are already going home, while others are hanging on to the postseason dreams by their fingertips. With that in mind, let’s check in on the best-of-five quarterfinals to see who is doing what and which notable American free agents are coming home. [Read more…]