# 1996–97 Chinese Basketball Association season

The 1996–97 CBA season was the second season of the Chinese Basketball Association. The season was held from 27 November 1996 to 30 March 1997.
The Shanghai Sharks and Sichuan Pandas were promoted from the Second Division.

## Teams

| Team | Head coach |
| Air Force | Ma Lianzhong |
| Bayi Rockets | Wang Fei |
| Beijing Ducks | Yuan Chao |
| Guangdong Southern Tigers | Wang Lifa |
| Jiangsu Dragons | Xia Hongfa |
| Jinan Army | Zhang Bin |
| Liaoning Hunters | Li Ge |
| Shandong Flaming Bulls | Ye Peng |
| Shanghai Sharks | Li Qiuping |
| Shenyang Army | Xuan Chengbin |
| Sichuan Pandas | Yang Ming |
| Zhejiang Squirrels | Pan Jianping |

### Team changes
## Regular season
### League table

| Rank | 1996–97 CBA regular season | 1996–97 CBA regular season | 1996–97 CBA regular season | 1996–97 CBA regular season | 1996–97 CBA regular season | 1996–97 CBA regular season |
| Rank | Team | W | L | Pts | Pct. | Tiebreaker |
| 1 | Bayi Rockets | 19 | 3 | 41 | 86.4% | |
| 2 | Liaoning Hunters | 18 | 4 | 40 | 81.8% | |
| 3 | Shandong Flaming Bulls | 14 | 8 | 36 | 63.6% | |
| 4 | Guangdong Southern Tigers | 13 | 9 | 35 | 59.1% | |
| 5 | Shanghai Sharks | 13 | 9 | 35 | 59.1% | |
| 6 | Jiangsu Dragons | 12 | 10 | 34 | 54.5% | |
| 7 | Air Force | 9 | 13 | 31 | 40.9% | |
| 8 | Shenyang Army | 9 | 13 | 31 | 40.9% | |
| 9 | Beijing Ducks | 8 | 14 | 30 | 36.4% | |
| 10 | Zhejiang Squirrels | 7 | 15 | 29 | 31.8% | |
| 11 | Sichuan Pandas | 7 | 15 | 29 | 31.8% | |
| 12 | Jinan Army | 3 | 19 | 25 | 13.6% | |
Key to colors :
* Qualification for playoffs
* Qualification for relegation playoffs

### Results

12 teams played against each other teams twice.
| Home \ Away | AFO | BYR | BJD | GDS | JSD | JNA | LNH | SDB | SHS | SYA | SCP | ZJS |
| Air Force | | 75–100 | 71–75 | 96–90 | 83–88 | 89–69 | 73–95 | 73–64 | 86–68 | 81–77 | 85–83 | 69–79 |
| Bayi Rockets | 105–64 | | 102–85 | 108–82 | 107–69 | 104–82 | 80–92 | 89–76 | 90–88 | 98–83 | 115–83 | 105–60 |
| Beijing Ducks | 70–77 | 82–114 | | 96–92 | 70–75 | 89–64 | 85–95 | 95–74 | 72–91 | 63–68 | 96–74 | 74–49 |
| Guangdong Southern Tigers | 95–76 | 100–90 | 78–63 | | 97–82 | 108–75 | 78–84 | 89–94 | 66–77 | 86–83 | 81–76 | 77–58 |
| Jiangsu Dragons | 85–89 | 83–98 | 83–77 | 83–85 | | 108–94 | 101–113 | 95–80 | 73–72 | 85–73 | 100–84 | 90–69 |
| Jinan Army | 64–85 | 90–127 | 77–81 | 68–76 | 98–103 | | 85–105 | 77–82 | 81–85 | 79–70 | 81–73 | 69–64 |
| Liaoning Hunters | 97–76 | 81–98 | 85–71 | 90–89 | 85–67 | 96–68 | | 73–79 | 97–69 | 94–83 | 87–77 | 77–50 |
| Shandong Flaming Bulls | 92–73 | 79–109 | 92–74 | 69–82 | 93–78 | 85–70 | 80–95 | | 98–72 | 95–76 | 76–66 | 88–70 |
| Shanghai Sharks | 82–56 | 61–75 | 65–70 | 68–85 | 90–73 | 80–73 | 68–64 | 65–62 | | 68–47 | 89–76 | 68–53 |
| Shenyang Army | 84–81 | 92–83 | 70–63 | 86–56 | 72–76 | 82–74 | 80–106 | 68–78 | 74–68 | | 97–82 | 71–59 |
| Sichuan Pandas | 67–65 | 68–77 | 67–62 | 75–67 | 92–99 | 83–73 | 96–89 | 71–91 | 71–78 | 74–65 | | 78–71 |
| Zhejiang Squirrels | 74–53 | 70–83 | 70–58 | 98–101 | 80–77 | 77–63 | 76–90 | 69–72 | 49–59 | 57–54 | 80–64 | |

## Playoffs

The top 8 teams in the regular season advanced to the playoffs.

### Bracket

| Fifth place game | Fifth place game | Fifth place game | Fifth place game | Fifth place game | 5–8th classification semi-finals | 5–8th classification semi-finals | 5–8th classification semi-finals | 5–8th classification semi-finals | 5–8th classification semi-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | | | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | | | Finals | Finals | Finals | Finals | Finals |
| | | | | | | | | | | 1 | Bayi Rockets | 128 | 110 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | 8 | Shenyang Army | 78 | 69 | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | 8 | Shenyang Army | 92 | 72 | 1 (164) | | | | | | | | 1 | Bayi Rockets | 109 | 119 | 2 | | | |
| | | | | | 5 | Shanghai Sharks | 91 | 94 | 1 (185) | | | | | | | | 4 | Guangdong Southern Tigers | 81 | 84 | 0 | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | 4 | Guangdong Southern Tigers | 84 | 87 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | 5 | Shanghai Sharks | 74 | 82 | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 5 | Shanghai Sharks | 90 | 68 | 1 (158) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 1 | Bayi Rockets | 100 | | | 102 | 2 |
| 6 | Jiangsu Dragons | 73 | 96 | 1 (169) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 1 | Bayi Rockets | 100 | | | 2 | Liaoning Hunters | 68 | 66 | 0 |
| | | | | | | | | | | 3 | Shandong Flaming Bulls | 102 | 77 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | 6 | Jiangsu Dragons | 72 | 74 | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Seventh place game | Seventh place game | Seventh place game | Seventh place game | Seventh place game | 6 | Jiangsu Dragons | 121 | 105 | 2 | | | | | | | | 3 | Shandong Flaming Bulls | 70 | 77 | 0 | | | Third place game | Third place game | Third place game | Third place game | Third place game |
| | | | | | 7 | Air Force | 118 | 99 | 0 | | | | 2 | Liaoning Hunters | 93 | 78 | 2 | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Shenyang Army | 99 | 75 | 1 (174) | | | | | | 2 | Liaoning Hunters | 80 | 2 | Liaoning Hunters | 85 | 2 | | | | | | 4 | Guangdong Southern Tigers | 87 | | | 78 | 1 (165) |
| 7 | Air Force | 94 | 97 | 1 (191) | | | | | | 7 | Air Force | 55 | 77 | 0 | | | | 3 | Shandong Flaming Bulls | | | 69 | 79 | 1 (148) | | |

### Quarter-finals
#### (1) Bayi Rockets vs. (8) Shenyang Army

* 2 March 1997 19:30
* Boxscore
| Bayi Rockets | 128–78 | Shenyang Army |
| Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, – |||
* 5 March 1997 19:30
* Boxscore
| Shenyang Army | 69–110 | Bayi Rockets |
| Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, – |||

#### (2) Liaoning Hunters vs. (7) Air Force

* 2 March 1997 19:30
* Boxscore
| Liaoning Hunters | 80–55 | Air Force |
| Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, – |||
* 5 March 1997 19:30
* Boxscore
| Air Force | 77–85 | Liaoning Hunters |
| Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, – |||

#### (3) Shandong Flaming Bulls vs. (6) Jiangsu Dragons

* 2 March 1997 19:30
* Boxscore
| Shandong Flaming Bulls | 102–72 | Jiangsu Dragons |
| Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, – |||
* 5 March 1997 19:30
* Boxscore
| Jiangsu Dragons | 74–77 | Shandong Flaming Bulls |
| Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, – |||

#### (4) Guangdong Southern Tigers vs. (5) Shanghai Sharks

* 2 March 1997 19:30
* Boxscore
| Guangdong Southern Tigers | 84–74 | Shanghai Sharks |
| Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, – |||
* 5 March 1997 19:30
* Boxscore
| Shanghai Sharks | 82–87 | Guangdong Southern Tigers |
| Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, – |||

### Semi-finals
#### (1) Bayi Rockets vs. (4) Guangdong Southern Tigers

* 9 March 1997 19:30
* Boxscore
| Bayi Rockets | 109–81 | Guangdong Southern Tigers |
| Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, – |||
* 16 March 1997 19:30
* Boxscore
| Guangdong Southern Tigers | 84–119 | Bayi Rockets |
| Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, – |||

#### (2) Liaoning Hunters vs. (3) Shandong Flaming Bulls

* 12 March 1997 19:30
* Boxscore
| Liaoning Hunters | 93–70 | Shandong Flaming Bulls |
| Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, – |||
* 16 March 1997 19:30
* Boxscore
| Shandong Flaming Bulls | 77–78 | Liaoning Hunters |
| Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, – |||

### 5–8th classification semi-finals
#### (5) Shanghai Sharks vs. (8) Shenyang Army

* 9 March 1997 19:30
* Boxscore
| Shenyang Army | 92–91 | Shanghai Sharks |
| Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, – |||
* 16 March 1997 19:30
* Boxscore
| Shanghai Sharks | 94–72 | Shenyang Army |
| Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, – |||

#### (6) Jiangsu Dragons vs. (7) Air Force

* 12 March 1997 19:30
* Boxscore
| Air Force | 118–121 | Jiangsu Dragons |
| Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, – |||
* 16 March 1997 19:30
* Boxscore
| Jiangsu Dragons | 105–99 | Air Force |
| Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, – |||

### Finals
#### (1) Bayi Rockets vs. (2) Liaoning Hunters

* 23 March 1997 19:30
* Boxscore
| Bayi Rockets | 100–68 | Liaoning Hunters |
| Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, – |||
* 30 March 1997 19:30
* Boxscore
| Liaoning Hunters | 66–102 | Bayi Rockets |
| Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, – |||

### Third place game
#### (3) Shandong Flaming Bulls vs. (4) Guangdong Southern Tigers

* 23 March 1997 19:30
* Boxscore
| Guangdong Southern Tigers | 87–69 | Shandong Flaming Bulls |
| Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, – |||
* 30 March 1997 19:30
* Boxscore
| Shandong Flaming Bulls | 79–78 | Guangdong Southern Tigers |
| Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, – |||

### Fifth place game
#### (5) Shanghai Sharks vs. (6) Jiangsu Dragons

* 19 March 1997 19:30
* Boxscore
| Shanghai Sharks | 90–73 | Jiangsu Dragons |
| Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, – |||
* 26 March 1997 19:30
* Boxscore
| Jiangsu Dragons | 96–68 | Shanghai Sharks |
| Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, – |||

### Seventh place game
#### (7) Air Force vs. (8) Shenyang Army

* 19 March 1997 19:30
* [ Boxscore]
| Shenyang Army | 99–94 | Air Force |
| Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, – |||
* 26 March 1997 19:30
* [ Boxscore]
| Air Force | 97–75 | Shenyang Army |
| Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, – |||

## Relegation playoffs

The bottom 4 teams advanced to relegation playoffs. The Zhejiang Squirrels and Jinan Army were relegated to the Second Division after the relegation playoffs.

### League table

| Rank | Relegation playoffs | Relegation playoffs | Relegation playoffs | Relegation playoffs | Relegation playoffs | Relegation playoffs |
| Rank | Team | W | L | Pts | Pct. | Tiebreaker |
| 9 | Beijing Ducks | 5 | 1 | 11 | 83.3% | |
| 10 | Sichuan Pandas | 4 | 2 | 10 | 66.7% | |
| 11 | Zhejiang Squirrels | 3 | 3 | 9 | 50.0% | |
| 12 | Jinan Army | 0 | 6 | 6 | 0.0% | |
Key to colors :
* Relegation to Second Division

### Games

* 9 March 1997 19:30
* Boxscore
| Beijing Ducks | 92–82 | Jinan Army |
| Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, – |||
* 9 March 1997 19:30
* Boxscore
| Zhejiang Squirrels | 71–67 | Sichuan Pandas |
| Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, – |||
* 12 March 1997 19:30
* Boxscore
| Jinan Army | 75–92 | Beijing Ducks |
| Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, – |||
* 12 March 1997 19:30
* Boxscore
| Sichuan Pandas | 74–64 | Zhejiang Squirrels |
| Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, – |||
* 19 March 1997 19:30
* Boxscore
| Beijing Ducks | 71–64 | Sichuan Pandas |
| Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, – |||
* 19 March 1997 19:30
* Boxscore
| Jinan Army | 77–90 | Zhejiang Squirrels |
| Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, – |||
* 23 March 1997 19:30
* Boxscore
| Sichuan Pandas | 76–70 | Beijing Ducks |
| Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, – |||
* 23 March 1997 19:30
* Boxscore
| Zhejiang Squirrels | 85–71 | Jinan Army |
| Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, – |||
* 26 March 1997 19:30
* Boxscore
| Beijing Ducks | 95–69 | Zhejiang Squirrels |
| Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, – |||
* 26 March 1997 19:30
* Boxscore
| Sichuan Pandas | 81–69 | Jinan Army |
| Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, – |||
* 30 March 1997 19:30
* Boxscore
| Zhejiang Squirrels | 66–80 | Beijing Ducks |
| Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, – |||
* 30 March 1997 19:30
* Boxscore
| Jinan Army | 79–85 | Sichuan Pandas |
| Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, – |||

## All-Star Weekend

The 1997 CBA All-Star Game was played on April 5, 1997, in Shanghai.
The South All-Stars defeated the North All-Stars 98-84. Hu Weidong from the Jiangsu Dragons was named MVP of the All-Star Game.
James Hodges from the Liaoning Hunters won the Slam Dunk Contest, and Saulius Štombergas from the Shanghai Sharks won the Three-Point Shootout.

## Statistics
### Team statistic leaders

| Category | Team | Statistic |
| Points per game | Bayi Rockets | 98.0 |
| Rebounds per game | Liaoning Hunters Zhejiang Squirrels | 31.0 |
| Assists per game | Liaoning Hunters | 14.5 |
| Steals per game | Bayi Rockets | 12.0 |
| Blocks per game | Shanghai Sharks | 4.9 |
| Turnovers per game | Sichuan Pandas | 14.7 |
| Fouls per game | Air Force | 20.0 |
| FG% | Shandong Flaming Bulls | 57.0% |
| FT% | Liaoning Hunters | 70.4% |
| 3P% | Liaoning Hunters | 43.8% |

## Awards

These are the award winners for the 1996-97 CBA regular season.

### Annual awards

1996–97 CBA awards :
| Award | Recipient(s) |
| CBA Most Valuable Player | Hu Weidong (Jiangsu Dragons) |
| CBA Coach of the Year | Wang Fei (Bayi Rockets) Li Ge (Liaoning Hunters) |