The National Basketball League (simplified Chinese: 全国男子篮球联赛; traditional Chinese: 全國男子籃球聯賽; pinyin: Quánguó Nánzǐ Lánqiú Liánsài) is a professional basketball minor league in China, called Chinese Basketball League (CBL) before 2006. It is commonly known as the NBL, and this name (spelled out in letters) is often used even in Chinese.

NBL is the second-tier league to the professional Chinese Basketball Association (CBA).

History

Inaugural season

The first regular season of the CBL began in April 2004. Eight teams advanced to the playoffs:

  • Yunnan Honghe Running Bulls (云南红河奔牛)
  • Yingkou Donghua Shenyang Army (营口东华沈阳部队)
  • Hebei Jidong Cement (河北冀东水泥)
  • Sichuan Shidai Glacier (四川时代冰川)
  • Shanxi Yujin (山西宇晋)
  • Heilongjiang Daqing (黑龙江大庆)
  • Dongguan New Century Leopards (东莞新世纪烈豹)
  • Team Tianjin (天津市男子篮球队) – no nickname or sponsor

On 4 August 2004, Yunnan Honghe Running Bulls defeated Dongguan New Century Leopards to win the first ever CBL championship and were promoted to the CBA for the 2004–2005 season.

2009 NBL ladder (championship round)

Rank Team Played Win(s) Losses Last 5 Streak PF per game PA per game PD per game Winning %
1 Dongguan Park Lane (东莞柏宁) 14 11 3 4-1 W1 92.57 81.5 11.07 78.6%
2 Guangzhou Free Man (广州自由人) 14 11 3 4-1 W2 94.71 88.43 6.28 78.6%
3 Jiangsu Tongxi (江苏同曦) 14 10 4 3-2 W3 98.71 91.86 6.85 71.4%
4 Heilongjiang Zhaozhou Fengshen Sky Lions (黑龙江肇州丰绅天狮) 14 6 8 3-2 L1 94 92.14 1.86 42.9%
5 Shenyang Dongjin (沈阳东进) 14 6 8 3-2 L2 88.5 89.29 -0.79 42.9%
6 Henan Jiyuan Iron and Steel (河南济源钢铁) 14 6 8 1-4 W1 91.29 98.43 -7.14 42.9%
7 Guangzhou Whampoa Liusui (广州黃埔六穗) 14 5 9 1-4 L1 93.07 97.14 -4.07 35.7%
8 Hanzhou Yongtong (杭州永通) 14 1 13 1-4 L2 85.64 99.71 -14.07 7.1%