", The young Chinese man scrambles across a Shanghai metro car, climbing over suitcases and outstretched legs amid the late-afternoon commuter rush. After winning the first of three championships in four years with the Beijing Ducks, the capital city's other CBA franchise, Marbury was swiftly elevated to living-immortal status. "I could name four or five players who had that pedigree and came over, went through the motions—no relationships with teammates—and it's just a bust," says Goorjian. Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA sanctioned events. However, in recent years, China has shown they can beat the top European teams. In October of that same year, the National Basketball League's season was held in Chongqing. ", Lawson had been hoping to latch onto an NBA team once the CBA season ended, but that doesn't happen after Shandong is swept out of the postseason's opening round in March. They're assigned translators and car services, and they tend to fly first-class (while domestic teammates are relegated to coach). They are spread across 20 teams spanning a dozen provinces and three municipalities, from China's iridescent seaside cities to remote outposts like Ürümqi, 400 miles from the Kazakhstan border. They won their first CBA title by defeating the Guangdong Southern Tigers 4 games to 1. Only then did he rejoin Shandong. It's great to be back in the U.S.A. playing ball again with my family around.". Including yourself in their culture goes a long way.". Maybe shrine isn't the best word, but that's what he calls it. That list of imports makes for good bartrivia fodder (Q: Which former NCAA Player of the Year wears the crimson-and-gold of the Zhejiang Golden Bulls? Fifteen stories up at the InterContinental Taiyuan, six hours southwest of Beijing, a hotel door opens to reveal 6'6" Shabazz Muhammad in a plain white T-shirt and polka-dot boxers. The national team has historically struggled against other top flight non-Asian teams. In 2008, a then NBA prospect Xu Yong was forced to end his career at the age of 19 after being diagnosed with osteosarcoma. He fondly recalls strolling Shanghai's silk markets alongside Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins, hunting for knockoff designer goods. [1], The club had a formidable frontcourt duo in the early days of CBA competition with Mengke Bateer, who debuted for Beijing at the age of 18, and Shan Tao, who was considered to be one of the top Chinese centers at that time. : "Left-hand Jordan." Beijing's club, with only 7 players registered on its roster, won the championship of that NBL edition. Their naming rights were then assumed by the "Beijing Jinyu Group Co., Ltd.", a prominent construction materials conglomerate in China. What else? "Not even any food places smh." © 2020 ABG-SI LLC. Thriving there is an entirely different proposition. A completely different person.". The team managed a third-place finish in the same competition when the tournament was held in Hangzhou in 1961. Just gotta roll with it.". He once requested electrical-stimulation treatment for his sore knee. Former Louisville guard Russ Smith recalls breezing through its single room of exhibits—trophies, framed articles and other memorabilia from Marbury's old house in Brooklyn—in half an hour on a road trip to Beijing in China's second-tier league. Really, it's just an ordinary changing stall in the Shandong locker room. The Ducks are the first-ever CBA team to earn the title without any previous trips to the CBA Finals, as well as the league's fourth different club to win a championship. As the 31-year-old strolls through an outdoor market, sipping lemon-green bubble tea, he seems to have avoided the wrath of the Chinese basketball gods thus far. After four months of missed payments, the matter went to arbitration in FIBA court. He captions another video: "They just tried to get me to try sheep dick bruh.". Brady cues up a cellphone picture from this season, against the Liaoning Flying Leopards, when Muhammad posterized point guard Guo Ailun, a Chinese national team star and the only native player with an Air Jordan shoe deal. As an import, Fredette stands out most, though, by being human and blending in. Lawson shouldn't feel too bad. Earlier this season, his first in China, the 6'11" center reported to practice with the Tianjin Golden Lions feeling confident after a 14-point, nine-rebound performance, way better than his NBA averages. At the 2006 FIBA World Cup, China, coached by Lithuanian Jonas Kazlauskas also advanced to the second round from Group D, earning two victories against Senegal and Slovenia in five group play matches before falling in the round of sixteen to the eventual silver medalists Greece, 95–64; the team's overall placing by the end of the tournament from amongst the twenty-four competing sides was fifteenth. (To promote homegrown talent, each team is allowed just two non-Chinese players, only one of whom can stay on the floor in the last period.) Then you can have a better understanding of how the people operate. The national team is governed by the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). The Chinese Basketball Association was midway through its season, and the Lunar New Year celebration had given the assistant coach of the Guangzhou Loong Lions the time to take a long weekend trip. "I needed to get away to reinvent myself and find joy again," he says. Certain players head west to rehabilitate their skills, if not their reputations. FlashScore.com provides CBA 2020/2021 standings, results, head-to-head stats and odds comparison. It's nighttime in Jinan. ", Besides, the Lonely God is ... lonely. "It's as good a timing as it's going to be [to return]," he says. The Hi-Speed Group is the club's corporate sponsor. "Some imports survive. "Life takes you in different ways. Of course, others are happy just not to get spit out. "It's definitely more physical," says Brandon Bass, who played in the NBA for 12 years, left for China in 2017 and promptly led Liaoning to a CBA title. [13] They played a total of 5 games and won 1. Every so often, though, a thicket of high-rise apartments appears in the distance, shooting up from the horizon like the bristles of a laid-flat toothbrush. ", And how he wound up at Taiyun's Riverside Sports Arena, a 5,331-seat building with airplane-hangar ceilings. [8], When Yao's retirement was finally announced in July 2011[9] it was considered a big blow to the national team, whose success had largely depended on him for many years. The club then advanced to its first CBA Finals match-up, thanks largely to the play of former NBA All-Star Stephon Marbury. Or, as he puts it, "I f---s with Jimmer. For at least part of the 2003–04 CBA season, the Ducks were known as Beijing Wanfeng Aote (北京万丰奥特). But nothing can compare to the experience I have had here in Beijing.". Already Fredette has gotten more out of the CBA than he ever imagined. Despite the Loongs' place near the bottom of the standings, Muhammad has thrived in the CBA, improving his physical conditioning and three-point shooting while leading the North Conference with 28 points at the All-Star Game in January. In six games off the bench he averages 10.8 minutes and 3.7 points but fails to hit on 13 long-range attempts. Later, Fredette will express disappointment that they never met up after the game, but Garnett made sure to deliver a parting message through Jimmer's visiting brother, T.J., at halftime. Ducking into a hibachi restaurant with his manager/roommate Nick Watkins, Lawson this time passes on the fried beef tongue (and the "secret cheese sweet potatoes," and the "comprehensive seafood Osaka fever" ...), settling instead for chicken and fried rice. As the grill sizzles, the old friends reflect on their early days in China. Marbury's message: "The most important thing is to melt into the culture. "One time we went to this barbecue spot," Lawson says. [6], In recent years, the national team has faced major struggles with injuries. When Spencer bounded from his bed and wrapped this fellow expat in a bear hug, Robinson was taken aback. Played at least one official international match for their national team at any time. Whitney is expecting their second child later this month. Other current notable players from China: 1936 Summer Olympics: 15th among 21 teams, Shen Yi-Tung, Tsai Yen-Hung, Wang Hung-Pin, Wang Shi-Hsuan, Wang Yu-Tseng, Wong Nan-Chen, Liu Bao-Cheng, Liu Yun-Chang, Mou Tso-Yun, Li Shao-Tang, Yu Sai-Chang, 1948 Summer Olympics: 18th among 23 teams, Edward Lee, Lee Tsun-Tung, Woo Cheng-Chang, Wee Tian-Siak, Pao Sung-Yuan, Chia Chung-Chang, Chua Bon-Hua, Kya Is-Kyun, Yu Sai-Chang, Jose Yee, 1978 FIBA World Championship: 11th among 14 teams, Wang Zongxing, Chen Kai, Kuang Lubin, Xing Weining, Wang Deli, Huang Pinjie, Mu Tiezhu, Ji Zhaoguang, Zhang Weiping, Liu Jizeng, Zhang Mingwei, He Juhua (Coach: Qian Chenghai), 1982 FIBA World Championship: 12th among 13 teams, Wang Zongxing, Ji Zhaoguang, Xu Xiaoliang, Kuang Lubin, Sun Fengwu, Wang Libin, Huang Yunlong, Feng Wei, Li Qiuping, Li Yaguang, Han Pengshan, Lu Jinqing (Coach: Qian Chenghai), 1984 Summer Olympics: 10th among 12 teams, Kuang Lubin, Ji Zhaoguang, Wang Libin, Liu Jianli, Hu Zhangbao, Lu Jinqing, Sun Fengwu, Zhang Bin, Huang Yunlong, Guo Yonglin, Wang Haibo, Li Yaguang (Coach: Qian Chenghai), 1986 FIBA World Championship: 9th among 24 teams, Wang Libin, Zhang Yongjun, Li Yaguang, Wang Fei, Huang Yunlong, Xu Xiaoliang, Zhang Bin, Li Feng, Sun Fengwu, Sha Guoli, Song Tao, Gong Luming (Coach: Qian Chenghai), 1988 Summer Olympics: 11th among 12 teams, Li Yaguang, Wang Fei, Wang Libin, Zhang Yongjun, Xu Xiaoliang, Zhang Bin, Huang Yunlong, Sun Fengwu, Zhang Xuelei, Chen Chijef, Song Ligang, Gong Luming, Sha Guoli (Coach: Qian Chenghai), 1990 FIBA World Championship: 14th among 16 teams, Li Chunjiang, Wang Fei, Sun Fengwu, Zhang Yongjun, Zhang Bin, Shan Tao, Song Ligang, Ma Jian, Gong Xiaobin, Zhang Degui, Wang Zhidan, Gong Luming (Coach: Wang Zhangyou), 1992 Summer Olympics: 12th among 12 teams, Hu Weidong, Li Chunjiang, Zhang Yongjun, Sun Fengwu, Ma Jian, Shan Tao, Wang Zhidan, Wu Qinglong, Gong Xiaobin, Sun Jun, Song Ligang, Adiljan (Coach: Jiang Xingquan), 1994 FIBA World Championship: 8th among 16 teams, Hu Weidong, Sun Jun, Shan Tao, Gong Xiaobin, Liu Yudong, Zhang Jinsong, Liu Daqing, Adiljan, Zheng Wu, Ji Minshang, Wu Naiqun, Wu Qinglong (Coach: Jiang Xingquan), Mengke Bateer, Wang Zhizhi, Hu Weidong, Liu Yudong, Li Nan, Shan Tao, Sun Jun, Gong Xiaobin, Wu Qinglong, Li Xiaoyong, Zheng Wu, Wu Naiqun (Coach: Gong Luming), 2000 Summer Olympics: 10th among 12 teams, Yao Ming, Mengke Bateer, Wang Zhizhi, Hu Weidong, Sun Jun, Li Nan, Guo Shiqiang, Liu Yudong, Zheng Wu, Zhang Jinsong, Li Qun, Li Xiaoyong (Coach: Jiang Xingquan), 2002 FIBA World Championship: 12th among 16 teams, Yao Ming, Mengke Bateer, Liu Wei, Li Nan, Hu Weidong, Guo Shiqiang, Zhang Cheng, Chen Ke, Gong Xiaobin, Liu Yudong, Du Feng, Zhu Fangyu (Coach: Wang Fei), Yao Ming, Yi Jianlian, Liu Wei, Mengke Bateer, Li Nan, Guo Shiqiang, Du Feng, Chen Ke, Zhang Yunsong, Zhu Fangyu, Zhang Jinsong, Mo Ke (Coach: Del Harris), 2006 FIBA World Championship: 15th among 24 teams, Yao Ming, Wang Zhizhi, Yi Jianlian, Liu Wei, Du Feng, Wang Shipeng, Mo Ke, Zhang Songtao, Chen Jianghua, Zhang Qingpeng, Zhu Fangyu, Sun Yue (Coach: Jonas Kazlauskas), Yao Ming, Wang Zhizhi, Yi Jianlian, Liu Wei, Du Feng, Wang Shipeng, Wang Lei, Li Nan, Chen Jianghua, Zhang Qingpeng, Zhu Fangyu, Sun Yue (Coach: Jonas Kazlauskas), 2016 Summer Olympics: 12th among 12 teams, 2016 FIBA Asia Challenge: 5th among 12 teams, 2010: China Mobile, UPS[20]