# 2016–17 Chinese Basketball Association season

The 2016–17 CBA season is the 22nd season of the Chinese Basketball Association.
The regular season began on Saturday, October 29, 2016, with the defending champion Sichuan Blue Whales hosting the Beikong Fly Dragons.
The regular season ends on Sunday, February 19, 2017, and the playoffs begin on Friday, February 24, 2017.

## Team Changes

One team relocated ahead of the season.

### Name Changes

* The Foshan Long-Lions moved to Guangzhou and changed their name to Guangzhou Long-Lions on September 23, 2016.

## Foreign Players Policy

All teams except the Bayi Rockets can have two foreign players. The bottom 4 teams from the previous season (except Bayi) have the additional right to sign an extra Asian player.

### Rules Chart

The rules for using foreign players in each game are described in this chart:
| # | Facing other teams | Facing Bayi Rockets |
| Chinese players+ | No Limit | No Limit |
| Asian players++ | No Limit | 4 quarters collectively+++ |
| International players | 6 quarters collectively+++ | 4 quarters collectively+++ |
+ Including players from Hong Kong and Taiwan.
++ If a team waives its right to sign an extra Asian player, it may use its 2 foreign players for 7 quarters collectively.
+++ Only 1 allowed in the 4th quarter.

### Import Chart

This is the full list of international players who competed in the CBA during the 2016-17 season.
| Team | Player 1 | Player 2 | Asian Player | Replaced During Season |
| Bayi Rockets | – | – | – | – |
| Beijing Ducks | Stephon Marbury | Grant Jerrett | – | Randolph Morris |
| Beikong Fly Dragons | Errick McCollum | Esteban Batista | – | – |
| Fujian Sturgeons | Dwight Buycks | J. J. Hickson | – | Sebastian Telfair |
| Guangdong Southern Tigers | Donald Sloan | Carlos Boozer | – | – |
| Guangzhou Long-Lions | D. J. Kennedy | Alex Stepheson | Samad Nikkhah Bahrami | Ryan Boatright Alex Kirk |
| Jiangsu Dragons | MarShon Brooks | Will McDonald | – | Samardo Samuels |
| Jiangsu Monkey King | Jared Cunningham | Ike Diogu | Zaid Abbas | DeJuan Blair |
| Jilin Northeast Tigers | Jabari Brown | Malcolm Thomas | Mehdi Kamrani | – |
| Liaoning Flying Leopards | Lester Hudson | Shavlik Randolph | – | – |
| Qingdao Eagles | Dominique Jones | Loukas Mavrokefalidis | – | Jerrelle Benimon |
| Shandong Golden Stars | A. J. Price | Jason Thompson | – | Norris Cole Justin Dentmon |
| Shanghai Sharks | Jimmer Fredette | Guerschon Yabusele | – | – |
| Shanxi Brave Dragons | Jamaal Franklin | Samuel Dalembert | – | Henry Sims |
| Shenzhen Leopards | Jeremy Pargo | Maciej Lampe | – | – |
| Sichuan Blue Whales | Hamed Haddadi | Mike Harris | – | Josh Smith |
| Tianjin Gold Lions | Eugene Jeter | Jeremy Tyler | Sani Sakakini | – |
| Xinjiang Flying Tigers | Darius Adams | Andray Blatche | – | Ben Bentil |
| Zhejiang Golden Bulls | Willie Warren | Lorenzo Brown | – | Cady Lalanne |
| Zhejiang Guangsha Lions | Courtney Fortson | Eli Holman | – | – |

## Regular Season Standings

| # | 2016–17 CBA season | 2016–17 CBA season | 2016–17 CBA season | 2016–17 CBA season | 2016–17 CBA season | 2016–17 CBA season |
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | Pts | Tiebreaker |
| 1 | Xinjiang Flying Tigers | 32 | 6 | .833 | 70 | |
| 2 | Guangdong Southern Tigers | 30 | 8 | .778 | 68 | |
| 3 | Shanghai Sharks | 30 | 8 | .806 | 68 | |
| 4 | Zhejiang Lions | 30 | 8 | .778 | 68 | |
| 5 | Liaoning Flying Leopards | 29 | 9 | .778 | 67 | |
| 6 | Shenzhen Leopards | 23 | 15 | .667 | 61 | |
| 7 | Sichuan Blue Whales | 23 | 15 | .583 | 61 | |
| 8 | Shandong Golden Stars | 22 | 16 | .583 | 60 | |
| 9 | Beijing Ducks | 21 | 17 | .556 | 59 | |
| 10 | Jiangsu Dragons | 20 | 18 | .556 | 58 | |
| 11 | Tianjin Gold Lions | 18 | 20 | .500 | 56 | |
| 12 | Qingdao Eagles | 16 | 22 | .444 | 54 | |
| 13 | Shanxi Brave Dragons | 16 | 22 | .389 | 54 | |
| 14 | Jilin Northeast Tigers | 14 | 24 | .333 | 52 | |
| 15 | Fujian Sturgeons | 12 | 26 | .306 | 50 | |
| 16 | Zhejiang Golden Bulls | 10 | 28 | .278 | 48 | |
| 17 | Beikong Fly Dragons | 9 | 29 | .250 | 47 | |
| 18 | Jiangsu Monkey King | 8 | 30 | .222 | 46 | |
| 19 | Guangzhou Long-Lions | 7 | 31 | .194 | 45 | |
| 20 | Bayi Rockets | 7 | 31 | .167 | 45 | |
Key to colors :
* Top 8 teams advance to the Playoffs

## Playoffs

The 2017 CBA Playoffs began on February 24 and ended on April 7, 2017.
| First Round 24 February–3 March | First Round 24 February–3 March | First Round 24 February–3 March | Semifinals 10–19 March | Semifinals 10–19 March | Semifinals 10–19 March | Finals 31 March–7 April | Finals 31 March–7 April | Finals 31 March–7 April |
| 1 | Xinjiang Flying Tigers | 3 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Shandong Golden Stars | 1 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Shandong Golden Stars | 1 | 1 | Xinjiang Flying Tigers | 4 | | | |
| | | | 5 | Liaoning Flying Leopards | 1 | | | |
| 4 | Zhejiang Lions | 1 | 5 | Liaoning Flying Leopards | 1 | | | |
| 5 | Liaoning Flying Leopards | 3 | | | | | | |
| 5 | Liaoning Flying Leopards | 3 | | | | 1 | Xinjiang Flying Tigers | 4 |
| | | | | | | 2 | Guangdong Southern Tigers | 0 |
| 2 | Guangdong Southern Tigers | 3 | | | | | | | 2 | Guangdong Southern Tigers | 0 |
| 7 | Sichuan Blue Whales | 0 | | | | | | |
| 7 | Sichuan Blue Whales | 0 | 2 | Guangdong Southern Tigers | 4 | | | |
| | | | 6 | Shenzhen Leopards | 1 | | | |
| 3 | Shanghai Sharks | 2 | 6 | Shenzhen Leopards | 1 | | | |
| 6 | Shenzhen Leopards | 3 | | | | | | |
* Bold Series winner
* Italics Team with home-court advantage