The 12th season of the CBA kicked off this past weekend and by CBA, I don’t mean the failed Isaiah Thomas league. I mean the lovably mediocre Chinese Basketball Association. The present incarnation of the CBA, not to be confused with the former state-run Chinese Basketball Association, began play in 1995 with 12 teams. Since then, the CBA has expanded to 15 teams from all over China and just last year added a conference scheme similar to the NBA. The teams of the North and South divisions play 38 regular season games from October to March. The 8 teams with the best records move on to the playoffs where series are best out of five until the finals, which is a 7-game series.
An interesting feature of the CBA is its rules governing foreign players. As opposed to the NBA, which welcomes as many international players as can make the rosters, the CBA limits each team to two foreign players. And during the games, foreign players are not allowed to play at the same time or in the same quarter. Weird, right? Currently, there are 15 foreign players on 2006-07 rosters, all American. Every summer, foreign players interested in the CBA attend a camp held by the U.S. Basketball Academy in Eugene, Oregon. Here, players are divided into teams coached by NBA and NCAA coaches and they showcase their talent in hopes of getting noticed by CBA scouts. The 2006 summer training camp included 80 players from the U.S., Canada, Africa, Puerto Rico, South America and Europe.
On the last day of the training camp, CBA team representatives, players, agents, coaches and media convene for the annual CBA foreign players draft. Foreign players, regardless of how long they have played in the CBA, must be drafted every year. The 4-round draft allows teams to select new foreign players or use their first round pick to retain their foreign player from the previous year. So for instance, Anthony Myles, whose 2004 Xavier team played Duke in the Elite 8, was selected in the first round by his own team, the Guangdong Dongguan New Century and thus, will play for them again this season. Other notable players taken in this year’s draft: former Providence standout God Shammgod, who proved more of a sham than a god in his lone NBA season in ‘97; former SEC player of the year, Chris Porter, who went to the Sweet-16 in ‘99 with Auburn; and my favorite, from the terribly shitty post-Fab-Five era at Michigan, forward Jerod Ward. The drafted players must sign with their team that day or forfeit the right to play the following season.
For American basketball players in mainland China, CBA stands for “can’t ball anymore.” China is just about the least prestigious place to play. The Chinese prefer the NBA and seldom attend games, the pay is negligible and the level of competition might be the worst of any major basketball league. In Shanghai, mainland China’s most expensive locale, one can go watch the Shanghai Sharks play for less than 1 US dollar. The only thing the CBA offers an international baller is the promise of being exposed to the world’s largest hoops-watching population. But the exposure is not why these guys are here. These foreign players are here because they have been basketball players their whole lives and China is the only place they can play. In a way, it’s admirable and in a way, it’s sad. If you’ve ever wondered what happened to that player who was dominant in college and then totally disappeared, there’s a good chance he’s here.
•China Daily: CBA New Season
•People’s Daily: Tallest Player’s NBA Dream