2019–20 Chinese Basketball Association season


The 2019–20 CBA season is the 25th season of the Chinese Basketball Association. The regular season began on 1 November 2019 with the Guangdong Southern Tigers hosting the Liaoning Flying Leopards.
The CBA regular season was suspended starting on 1 February 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. The season was resumed on 20 June 2020. The regular season will be concluded on 27 July 2020.

Team changes

Name changes

The CBA changed the name of the following five teams as a part of an ongoing plan.
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.
TeamHome cityArenaCapacity
Bayi RocketsNanchangNanchang International Sports Center Gymnasium11,000
Beijing DucksBeijingCadillac Arena18,000
Beikong Royal FightersBeijingOlympic Sports Center Gymnasium6,300
Fujian SturgeonsJinjiangZuchang Gymnasium6,000
Guangdong Southern TigersDongguanNissan Sports Centre14,730
Guangzhou Loong-LionsGuangzhouTianhe Gymnasium8,628
Jiangsu DragonsSuzhouSuzhou Sports Center Gymnasium6000
Jilin Northeast TigersChangchunChangchun Gymnasium4,150
Liaoning Flying LeopardsShenyangLiaoning Gymnasium12,000
Nanjing Monkey KingsNanjingNanjing Youth Olympic Sports Park22,000
Qingdao EaglesQingdaoGuoxin Gymnasium12,500
Shandong HeroesJinanShandong Arena8,800
Shanghai SharksShanghaiPudong Yuanshen Gymnasium5,000
Shanxi LoongsTaiyuanShanxi Sports Centre Gymnasium8,000
Shenzhen AviatorsShenzhenShenzhen Dayun Arena18,000
Sichuan Blue WhalesChengduSichuan Provincial Gymnasium9,200
Tianjin PioneersTianjinDongli Gymnasium3,000
Xinjiang Flying TigersÜrümqiHongshan Arena3,800
Zhejiang Golden BullsHangzhouBinjiang Gymnasium6,000
Zhejiang Guangsha LionsZhujiZhuji Sports Centre Gymnasium5,136

Head coaches

Listed below are the head coaches for the 2019–20 CBA season.
TeamHead CoachReplaced 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.
PlayerTeam
11ChinaBeijing Royal FightersPeking University
12ChinaNanjing Monkey KingsCalifornia State University, Northridge
13ChinaSichuan Blue WhalesXiamen University
14ChinaTianjin PioneersShanghai Sharks Youth
15Chinese TaipeiQingdao EaglesYulon Luxgen Dinos
18Chinese TaipeiShanghai SharksFormosa Dreamers
19ChinaZhejiang Golden BullsPeking University
111ChinaShandong HeroesShandong Heroes Youth
113ChinaFujian SturgeonsWuhan Dangdai
118ChinaXinjiang Flying TigersXinjiang Flying Tigers Youth
21ChinaBeijing Royal FightersBeijing University of Technology
22ChinaNanjing Monkey KingsAnhui Jiangzhun
24ChinaTianjin PioneersShanxi University
25ChinaQingdao EaglesNanchang University
211ChinaShandong HeroesAnhui Wenyi
218Chinese TaipeiXinjiang Flying TigersFree Agent

Foreign players policy

All teams except the Bayi Rockets can have two foreign players. The bottom two teams from the previous season 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 teamsFacing Bayi Rockets
Chinese players+No LimitNo Limit
Asian players++No Limit4 quarters collectively+++
International players6 quarters collectively+++4 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.
TeamPlayer 1Player 2Asian PlayerInactive Or Replaced
Bayi Rockets-
Beijing Ducks Jeremy Lin Ekpe UdohN/A Justin Hamilton
Beikong Royal Fighters Kyle Fogg Jason Thompson Sani Sakakini-
Fujian Sturgeons Pooh Jeter Dante CunninghamN/A Ty Lawson
Erick Green
Guangdong Southern Tigers MarShon Brooks Sonny WeemsN/A-
Guangzhou Loong-Lions Andrew Nicholson-N/A Marcus Georges-Hunt
Keifer Sykes
Jiangsu Dragons Jonathan Gibson Miroslav RaduljicaN/A Antonio Blakeney
Jilin Northeast Tigers Dominique Jones Eli HolmanN/A-
Liaoning Flying Leopards Lance Stephenson Brandon BassN/A-
Nanjing Monkey Kings Joe Young Guerschon Yabusele Hamed Haddadi Behnam Yakhchali
Qingdao Eagles Darius Adams Dakari JohnsonN/A Kenny Boynton
Shandong Heroes Lester Hudson James MaysN/A-
Shanghai Sharks Ray McCallum Jr. Donatas MotiejunasN/A James Nunnally
Shanxi Loongs Jamaal Franklin Eric MorelandN/A Malcolm Thomas
Shenzhen Aviators Dwight Buycks Jarell MartinN/A Shabazz Muhammad
Pierre Jackson
Sichuan Blue Whales Courtney Fortson Tyler HansbroughN/A Thomas Robinson
Tianjin Pioneers Chasson Randle Marko TodorovicN/A-
Xinjiang Flying Tigers Kay Felder Eric MikaN/A Jarnell Stokes
Ian Clark
Zhejiang Golden Bulls Marcus Denmon Sylven LandesbergN/A-
Zhejiang Guangsha Lions Dez Wells Miles PlumleeN/A Kenneth Faried

Regular Season Standings

Top 4 teams advance directly to Quarterfinals 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

(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

() vs. ()

Finals

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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.
AwardRecipientRunner-up/FinalistsRef.
Domestic Most Valuable Player Yi Jianlian Han Dejun
Hu Jinqiu
Wang Zhelin
Zhou Qi
Defensive Player of the Year Zhou Qi Jeremy Lin
Sonny Weems
Yi Jianlian
Zhai Xiaochuan
Sixth Man of the Year Fang Shuo Dai Huaibo
Lai Junhao
Yu Changdong
Zeng Lingxu
Most Improved Player Sun Minghui Hu Mingxuan
Yuan Shuai
Young Rising Star of the Year Hu Mingxuan Chen Ying-chun
Cheng Shuaipeng
Wang Shaojie
Coach of the Year Du Feng Adiljan Jun
Alejandro Martinez
Xie Libin

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.