2018–19 Chinese Basketball Association season

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.^[1]

CBA
Season	2018–19
Games played	46
Teams	20
Regular season
Top seed	Guangdong Southern Tigers
Finals
Champions	Guangdong Southern Tigers
Runners-up	Xinjiang Flying Tigers
Semifinalists	Liaoning Flying Leopards Shenzhen Leopards
Awards
Domestic MVP	Wang Zhelin
International MVP	Darius Adams
Statistical leaders
Points Pierre Jackson 39.8 Rebounds Jason Thompson 14.9 Assists Courtney Fortson 10.9
← 2017–18 2019–20 →

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

Team	Home city	Arena	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

Team	Head Coach	Replaced 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[2]	Dirk Bauermann[3][4]
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.^[5]

Rnd.	Pick	Player	Nationality[n 1]	Team	School / club team
1	1	Jiang Yuxing	China	Jilin Northeast Tigers	Henan Roaring Elephants (NBL)
1	2	Yuan Zhenliang	China	Sichuan Blue Whales	Hefei Yuanchuang (NBL)
1	3	Liu Shuai	China	Tianjin Gold Lions	Luoyang Zhonghe (NBL)
1	4	Wang Siqi	China	Qingdao Eagles	Taiyuan University of Technology
1	5	Li Bairun	China	Nanjing Monkey Kings	Shenzhen Leopards Youth
1	6	Wang Zilu	China	Zhejiang Golden Bulls	Zhejiang Guangsha Lions Youth
1	7	Tian Yuheng	China	Guangzhou Long-Lions	Guangdong Southern Tigers Youth
1	8	Zhao Yanman	China	Beijing Ducks	Hunan Baining (NBL)
1	9	Ji Xiang	China	Guangdong Southern Tigers	Shandong Golden Stars Youth
2	1	Luan Xiaojun	China	Tianjin Gold Lions	Shandong Agricultural University
2	2	Shi Wenlong	China	Qingdao Eagles	Bayi Rockets Youth
2	3	Zhu Ying	China	Shanghai Sharks	Shanghai Sharks Youth
2	4	Si Kun	China	Guangzhou Long-Lions	Lhasa Pure Land (NBL)
2	5	Wan Shengwei	China	Guangdong 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	–	–	–1	–
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	–1	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

• ^1 Sichuan and Bayi, the bottom two teams of last season, renounced the right of signing an Asian player.^[6]

Regular Season Standings

#	2018–19 CBA regular season
	Team	W	L	Pct.	Pts.	Tiebreaker
1	Guangdong Southern Tigers	42	4	.913	86
2	Liaoning Flying Leopards	38	8	.826	84
3	Xinjiang Flying Tigers	33	13	.717	79	Xinjiang 2–0 Shenzhen
4	Shenzhen Leopards	33	13	.717	79
5	Beijing Ducks	31	15	.674	77	Beijing 2–2 Guangsha Beijing 396–394 Guangsha
6	Zhejiang Guangsha Lions	31	15	.674	77
7	Fujian Sturgeons	27	19	.587	73
8	Shandong Golden Stars	26	20	.565	72
9	Jiangsu Dragons	24	22	.522	70	Jiangsu 1–1 Jilin Jiangsu 211–198 Jilin
10	Jilin Northeast Tigers	24	22	.522	70
11	Zhejiang Golden Bulls	23	23	.500	69	Zhejiang 2–2 Shanghai 2–2 Guangzhou 2–2 Win/Loss rate: Zhejiang 1.04, Shanghai 0.99, Guangzhou 0.98
12	Shanghai Sharks	23	23	.500	69
13	Guangzhou Long-Lions	23	23	.500	69
14	Shanxi Loongs	16	30	.348	62
15	Qingdao Eagles	13	33	.283	59
16	Tianjin Gold Lions	12	34	.261	58
17	Sichuan Blue Whales	11	35	.239	57	Sichuan 2–2 Bayi 2–2 Nanjing 2–2 Win/Loss rate: Sichuan 1.01, Bayi 0.997, Nanjing 0.991
18	Bayi Rockets	11	35	.239	57
19	Nanjing Monkey Kings	11	35	.239	57
20	Beikong 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

Main article: 2019 CBA Playoffs

	First round Best-of-three					Quarterfinals Best-of-five					Semifinals Best-of-seven					Finals Best-of-seven
						1	Guangdong Southern Tigers	3
						9	Jiangsu Dragons	0
	8	Shandong Golden Stars	0
	9	Jiangsu Dragons	2
											1	Guangdong Southern Tigers	4
											4	Shenzhen Leopards	0
						4	Shenzhen Leopards	3
						5	Beijing Ducks	2
	5	Beijing Ducks	2
	12	Shanghai Sharks	0
																1	Guangdong Southern Tigers	4
																3	Xinjiang Flying Tigers	0
						3	Xinjiang Flying Tigers	3
						6	Zhejiang Lions	1
	6	Zhejiang Lions	2
	11	Zhejiang Golden Bulls	1
											3	Xinjiang Flying Tigers	4
											2	Liaoning Flying Leopards	1
						2	Liaoning Flying Leopards	3
						7	Fujian Sturgeons	0
	7	Fujian Sturgeons	2
	10	Jilin Northeast Tigers	0

• Bold Series winner
• Italics Team with home-court advantage

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[7]
Points per game	Pierre Jackson	Beikong Fly Dragons	39.8[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[9]
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 Tigers Jiangsu Dragons	Fewest (Best): 11.1 Most (Worst): 14.2
Fouls per game (lowest + highest averages)	Shanghai Sharks Jiangsu Dragons	Fewest (Best): 20.3 Most (Worst): 26.9

Awards

Yearly awards

This is a list of the 2018–19 CBA season's yearly awards winners.^[10]

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)	[11]
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)	[12]
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)	[13]
Most Improved Player	Abdusalam Abdurixit (Xinjiang Flying Tigers)	Shen Zijie (Shenzhen Leopards) Shi Deshuai (Tianjin Gold Lions)	[14]
Young Rising Star of the Year	Jiang Yuxing (Jilin Northeast Tigers)	Chen Ying-chun (Guangzhou Long-Lions) Cheng Shuaipeng (Zhejiang Golden Bulls)	[15]
Coach of the Year	Du Feng (Guangdong Southern Tigers)	Adiljan Jun (Xinjiang Flying Tigers) Guo Shiqiang (Liaoning Flying Leopards) Wang Jianjun (Shenzhen Leopards)	[16]

Players of the Week

This is a list of the 2018–19 CBA season's Player of the Week award winners.^[17]

Week	Domestic Player of the Week	International Player of the Week	Ref.
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.^[18]

Month	Domestic Player of the Month	International Player of the Month	Ref.
October/November	Hu Jinqiu (Zhejiang Guangsha Lions) (1/1)	Jimmer Fredette (Shanghai Sharks) (1/1)
December	Wang Zhelin (Fujian Sturgeons) (1/1)	Pierre Jackson (Beikong Fly Dragons) (1/1)
January	Yi Jianlian (Guangdong Southern Tigers) (1/1)	Dominique Jones (Jilin Northeast Tigers) (1/1)
February/March	Guo Ailun (Liaoning Flying Leopards) (1/1)	Donatas Motiejunas (Shandong Golden Stars) (1/1)

Young Rising Stars of the Month

This is a list of the 2018–19 CBA season's Young Rising Star of the Month award winners.^[19]

Month	Young Rising Star of the Month	Ref.
October/November	Shen Zijie (Shenzhen Leopards) (1/1)	[20]
December	Jiang Yuxing (Jilin Northeast Tigers) (1/1)	[21]
January	Cheng Shuaipeng (Zhejiang Golden Bulls) (1/1)	[22]
February/March

All-Star Weekend

The 24th CBA All-Star Game and associated events were held in Qingdao on January 12–13, 2019. Saturday featured the Rising Stars Challenge, in which a team of CBA Rookies & Sophomores faced 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 featured the All-Star Game, with the North hosting the South, and the finals of the three individual events taking place at halftime.

Winners from 24th annual Chinese Basketball Association All-Star Game & Weekend[23]
2018–19 CBA All-Star Game	CBA South All-Stars defeated CBA North All-Stars 160–145
2018–19 CBA All-Star Game MVP	Joe Young	Nanjing Monkey Kings	Key Statistics: 40 points & 6 assists
Slam Dunk Contest	Zhang Jianhao	Guangdong University of Technology	Final Result: 79 combined points from judges
Three-Point Shootout	Chen Linjian	Fujian Sturgeons	Final Result: 21 points in last round & 11 in tiebreaker
Skills Competition	Jiang Weize	Jilin Northeast Tigers	Final Result: 26.5 seconds (new record)
2018–19 CBA Rising Stars Challenge	CUBA Students defeated CBA Rookies & Sophomores 90–88
2018–19 CBA Rising Stars Challenge MVP	Wang Shaojie	Peking University	Key Statistics: 13 points & 10 rebounds

Notes

1. Nationality indicates the player's national team or representative nationality. If a player has not competed at the international level, then the nationality indicates the national team which the player is eligible to represent according to FIBA rules.