The NBA playoffs are in full swing and injuries have made nearly every series exciting and unpredictable, even for the fair-weather fans. The combined fandom of worldwide basketball among locals and expats in China is undeniable. But the oft-forgotten Chinese Basketball League, having finished their playoffs back in March, still chugs along in the background.

The difficulties of watching NBA games in China are extensive; games usually air starting at 7:00, the NBA League Pass is not available in China and the CCTV schedule of games is skimpy at best. But as former NBA players remain in China and the level of play increases every year, the CBA can be a viable alternative for those needing their sports fix.

Quality of play in the CBA

Questions about the quality of play in the CBA are somewhat biased, as the stereotype dictates that quality basketball does not come from China. However, the Chinese national team is consistently regarded as the best in Asia and continues to improve on the global stage.

Numerous former (and current) NBA and D-League players have signed contracts to play in the CBA. While marquee players have been filtering back to America since the NBA lockout ended in November 2011 (see JR Smith and Kenyon Martin), perennial stars like Aaron Brooks and Stephon Marbury continue to light up courts around the country. Some may forget that even without American stars, these teams compete at a much higher level than they are given credit for.

When the Duke and Georgetown basketball teams came to compete against the Chinese national team and the Bayi Military Rockets, respectively, the common expat mindset was that both games would be blowouts in favour of the American teams. Duke won their match-up by 13 points, but the exhibition was much more hard-fought than expected, especially behind rallying nationalist cheers throughout the game.

The unfortunate bench-clearing brawl in Beijing ended the Georgetown-Bayi game in a tie with over nine minutes to play. Tensions and implications aside, these match-ups showed that Chinese players can compete at an extremely high level. Even though some consider NCAA basketball to be a junior varsity version of the NBA, the pace and intensity of the players make them extremely difficult to play against.

Top players

1) Stephon Marbury
Marbury was a budding star from his rookie days alongside Kevin Garnett to his widely publicised feuds with the New York Knicks. He has made the starting line-up for the CBA All-Star Game all three years he has played in the league, and led his Beijing Ducks to a CBA Championship this past March. Marbury has fully embraced and immersed himself in Chinese culture, improving his Mandarin skills and constantly updating his Weibo account (which has over 380,000 followers). He continues to connect to the community here, and there’s no indication that he’ll be slowing down anytime soon.

2) Marcus Williams
At only 25 years old, Marcus Williams has had quite a tumultuous basketball career, having bounced around to several NBA franchises along with numerous stints in the Development League. This past season, his third in the CBA, he averaged a remarkable 32 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.3 steals while leading his Shanxi Zhongyu Brave Dragons to the semi-finals in the playoffs. The Dragons lost to the eventual CBA champions, the Bayi Rockets, but Williams proved he can stretch the floor as a dynamic small forward, earning himself a new 2-year contract with Shanxi.

3) Aaron Brooks
Aaron Brooks is a small, feisty point guard who most remember from his three and a half seasons with the Houston Rockets, where he eventually won the Most Improved Player award for the 2009-10 season. Brooks signed a contract with the Guangdong Southern Tigers during the NBA lockout, and led his team all the way up to the CBA Finals match-up with Marbury’s Ducks. There have been talks with his former team, the Phoenix Suns, about agreeing to a new NBA deal, so there is still a chance he could be back here next season.

How to watch more games

If you signed up for basic cable, you’ll be able to watch most games during the CBA season. Nearly 20 different channels show games on a regular basis, and CCTV-5 shows the game of the day each night at 19:00 (on days when games are airing). Even though the 2011-2012 season is over, we can look forward to November when the CBA releases the entire regular season TV schedule on their official site. For news and updates in English, as well as unique insight and analysis on the league, check www.niubball.com.

While your resident expat bar might show the occasional NBA replay game, on any given weeknight you may be able to see a great CBA match-up live on CCTV. If you don’t have cable – or you just want to get out with a few friends – ask your local bar if they can put on a marquee game. Not only will you get to watch the game live, but you’ll also be able to immerse yourself further into the culture of the country in which you live. Perhaps going out to a bar to watch a sports game is not as ingrained in Chinese culture as it is in Western countries, but that doesn’t make the experience any less enjoyable, especially for those looking to replace that ritual while living abroad.

How to go to games

Beijing Ducks – Shougang Gymnasium (首钢体育馆)
Tickets and Information: http://www.yanchupiao.com/Venue_668.html

Shanghai Sharks – Yuanshen Sports Arena (源深体育发展中心)
Tickets and Information: http://www.culture.sh.cn/english/venue.asp?venueid=183

Qingdao DoubleStar Eagles – Qingdao University Stadium (青岛大学体育馆)
Tickets and Information: http://www.qdsxlq.com/

Guangdong Southern Tigers – Dongguan Arena (东莞市体育场)
Tickets and Information: http://winnerway.163.com/

For more information on your local team, check http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Basketball_Association

For up-to-date information, news and analysis, visit www.niubball.com. NiuBBall is an exhaustively researched blog and is an objectively reliable resource for English content on the CBA. Many facts and statistics in this article are owed to this site. 

Warning：The use of any news and articles published on eChinacities.com without written permission from eChinacities.com constitutes copyright infringement, and legal action can be taken.

Keywords: basketball in China popular sports in China foreign basketball players in China Chinese Basketball Association CBA