China CBA 2026/27 (M)

The first six titles went to a military side. Bayi Rockets, the People's Liberation Army team, won every final from 1996 to 2001 and did not drop a single game in the first five of them. Shanghai Sharks broke the run in 2002, and Bayi still added two more titles, in 2003 and 2007, before vanishing overnight in October 2020: they failed to show up for their season opener against Beijing Ducks, and the army confirmed their withdrawal after 25 years in the league.

Guangdong Southern Tigers took over, winning eight finals between 2004 and 2013 — Zhu Fangyu was Finals MVP in four of them — and three more in a row from 2019 to 2021. In between, Stephon Marbury's Beijing Ducks won three in four years (2012, 2014 and 2015), and two clubs with no pedigree tore up the script: Sichuan Blue Whales, champions in 2016 in only their third season, and Xinjiang Flying Tigers in 2017.

Then came Liaoning Flying Leopards, who won three straight finals without losing a game: twelve wins, no defeats, from 2022 to 2024. In thirty-one seasons only eight clubs have lifted the trophy, and the newest name is Zhejiang Guangsha Lions, who won in 2025 at their third attempt in a final.

The season started late, on 12 December 2025, and under a new rulebook: 42 rounds instead of 46, ten-minute quarters instead of twelve, and FIBA rules applied with no local exceptions. Lu Wei's Shanghai Sharks adapted better than anyone: 38 wins and 4 losses, 21-0 at home and a 23-game winning streak that matched the club's 2001/02 side. At the other extreme, Sichuan Blue Whales — champions ten years earlier — lost all 42 games.

The playoffs gave the favourites two scares. Zhejiang Guangsha Lions lost their quarterfinal opener at home to Shanxi Loongs (90-92) and had to win the next two; Beijing Ducks needed three games against Guangdong, who snatched game two in overtime (102-99). Shanghai brushed past Shandong Heroes without a defeat, then beat Beijing 3-1 in the semifinals.

The final went five games. Shanghai won the first two at home (101-90 on 26 May, 91-88 on the 28th) and ran Zhejiang off their own floor 110-77. Guangsha avoided the sweep with a 101-93, but on 5 June at the Shanghai Gymnasium a 103-82 closed the series: 29 points from Wang Zhelin and Finals MVP for Brandon Goodwin. Barry Brown Jr., the previous year's Finals MVP, scored 33, and it was not enough.

The calendar returns to its long shape: 46 rounds split into three stretches — 16 October to 3 November, 4 December to 1 February, and 10 March to 7 April — with gaps kept clear for international windows. Preseason runs from 9 to 11 October.

The change that will be felt most concerns imports. Each club may carry at most three registered at once (down from four) and six registrations per season (down from eight); across the four quarters they share six quarter-slots on court, and the fourth is still a one-import quarter. Their payroll also has a ceiling of between 4 and 5 million dollars, tiered by standings. With less room for the January rescue signing, the domestic roster matters more.

That is where Shanghai start ahead. The core FIBA profiled for September's Intercontinental Cup in Beijing is the title-winning one: Goodwin, Wang Zhelin, Zhang Zhenlin — signed from Liaoning — and Li Tianrui. Behind them wait Zhejiang Guangsha, who have played the last two finals; Shenzhen Leopards and Beijing Ducks, third and fourth in the regular season; and Guangdong and Liaoning, fifteen titles between them and no final since 2021 and 2024 respectively.

The 46 rounds only sort the table. Twelve teams reach the playoffs: the top four wait in the quarterfinals while fifth to twelfth meet in best-of-three series. Then the 3-5-5-7 ladder dropped last season returns: best-of-five quarterfinals (they were best-of-three in 2025/26), best-of-five semifinals and a best-of-seven final, with the playoffs scheduled from 11 April to 2 June 2027.

The real novelty is at the bottom. For the first time since the league closed its doors in 2004/05, relegation is back: the bottom two of the regular season will face the top two of the NBL, the second tier, in a home-and-away crossover from 15 to 21 April 2027. The winners earn a place in the 2027/28 CBA provided they also pass an assessment that includes salary-cap compliance, and the league stays at 20 teams.

It rewrites the lower half of the table. A year ago Sichuan's 0-42 carried no penalty beyond the record book; from this season, finishing 19th or 20th means playing for your place against second-division sides.