# 2003–04 Chinese Basketball Association season

The 2003–04 CBA season is the ninth CBA season.
The season ran from November 16, 2003, to March 3, 2004. No teams were promoted from the Second Division, while two teams were set to be relegated. However, relegations were abolished after all Relegation Round matches have been played.

## Regular Season Standings

| # | 2003–04 CBA season | 2003–04 CBA season | 2003–04 CBA season | 2003–04 CBA season | 2003–04 CBA season | 2003–04 CBA season | 2003–04 CBA season | 2003–04 CBA season |
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Tiebreaker |
| 1 | Guangdong Southern Tigers | 19 | 3 | .864 | - | 11–0 | 8–3 | |
| 2 | Jiangsu Dragons | 15 | 7 | .682 | 4 | 11–0 | 4–7 | |
| 3 | Bayi Rockets | 14 | 8 | .636 | 5 | 8–3 | 6–5 | |
| 4 | Jilin Northeast Tigers | 13 | 9 | .591 | 6 | 8–3 | 5–6 | |
| 5 | Xinjiang Flying Tigers | 12 | 10 | .545 | 7 | 9–2 | 3–8 | |
| 6 | Shandong Lions | 10 | 12 | .455 | 9 | 8–3 | 2–9 | SD 2-0 BO |
| 7 | Beijing Olympians | 10 | 12 | .455 | 9 | 5–6 | 5–6 | SD 2-0 BO |
| 8 | Shaanxi Kylins | 9 | 13 | .409 | 10 | 6–5 | 3–8 | SX 1-1(190-190) LN Shaanxi has advantage on Goal Average |
| 9 | Liaoning Hunters | 9 | 13 | .409 | 10 | 5–6 | 4–7 | SX 1-1(190-190) LN Shaanxi has advantage on Goal Average |
| 10 | Shanghai Sharks | 8 | 14 | .364 | 11 | 4–7 | 4–7 | |
| 11 | Beijing Ducks | 7 | 15 | .318 | 12 | 5–6 | 2–9 | |
| 12 | Zhejiang Cyclones | 6 | 16 | .273 | 10 | 4–7 | 2–9 | |
Key to colors :
* Top 8 teams advance to the Playoffs
* Bottom 4 teams advance to the Relegation Round

## Playoffs

The top 8 teams in the regular season advanced to the playoffs. The quarterfinals and semifinals once again used best-of-three series to determine the advancing team.
In the Final series, Guangdong Southern Tigers defeated Bayi Rockets (3-1).
Teams in bold advanced to the next round. The numbers to the left of each team indicate the team's seeding in regular season, and the numbers to the right indicate the number of games the team won in that round. Home court advantage belongs to the team with the better regular season record; teams enjoying the home advantage are shown in italics.
| Quarterfinals Best of 3 | Quarterfinals Best of 3 | Quarterfinals Best of 3 | Semifinals Best of 3 | Semifinals Best of 3 | Semifinals Best of 3 | Finals Best of 5 | Finals Best of 5 | Finals Best of 5 |
| 1 | Guangdong Southern Tigers | 2 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Shaanxi Kylins | 0 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Shaanxi Kylins | 0 | 1 | Guangdong Southern Tigers | 2 | | | |
| | | | 4 | Jilin Northeast Tigers | 1 | | | |
| 4 | Jilin Northeast Tigers | 2 | 4 | Jilin Northeast Tigers | 1 | | | |
| 5 | Xinjiang Flying Tigers | 1 | | | | | | |
| 5 | Xinjiang Flying Tigers | 1 | | | | 1 | Guangdong Southern Tigers | 3 |
| | | | | | | 3 | Bayi Rockets | 1 |
| 2 | Jiangsu Dragons | 2 | | | | | | | 3 | Bayi Rockets | 1 |
| 7 | Beijing Olympians | 0 | | | | | | |
| 7 | Beijing Olympians | 0 | 2 | Jiangsu Dragons | 0 | | | |
| | | | 3 | Bayi Rockets | 2 | | | |
| 3 | Bayi Rockets | 2 | 3 | Bayi Rockets | 2 | | | |
| 6 | Shandong Lions | 0 | | | | | | |

## Relegations

The bottom 4 teams participated in the Relegation Round. Each team played 4 games against each of the other three teams, for a total of 12 games.
2 teams were set to be relegated. However, relegations were abolished after all Relegation Round matches have been played.
| Team | W | L |
| Shanghai Sharks | 7 | 5 |
| Beijing Ducks | 7 | 5 |
| Zhejiang Cyclones | 6 | 6 |
| Liaoning Hunters | 4 | 8 |