# 2016 VBA season

The 2016 VBA season is the inaugural season of the Vietnam Basketball Association. The regular season began on August 6, 2016, and ended on October 23, 2016. The playoffs began on October 26, 2016, and ended with the 2016 VBA Finals on November 16, 2016, with the Danang Dragons winning the inaugural VBA title after sweeping the Hochiminh City Wings in 2 games.

## Teams
### Venues and locations

| Team | Home city | Arena |
| Cantho Catfish | Cần Thơ | Da Nang Sports Arena |
| Danang Dragons | Đà Nẵng | Quan Khu 5 Sports Arena |
| Hanoi Buffaloes | Hà Nội | Bach Khoa Sports Arena |
| Hochiminh City Wings | Ho Chi Minh City | Ho Xuan Huong Sports Arena |
| Saigon Heat | Ho Chi Minh City | CIS Sports Arena |

### Personnel and sponsorship

| Team | Head coach | Captain | Kit manufacturer |
| Cantho Catfish | David Singleton | Tam Dinh | Hemero |
| Danang Dragons | Donte' Hill | Stefan Nguyen | Hemero |
| Hanoi Buffaloes | Todd Purves | Nguyễn Thành Đạt | Hemero |
| Hochiminh City Wings | Mika Turunen | Triệu Hán Minh | Hemero |
| Saigon Heat | Tony Garbelotto | David Arnold | Hemero |

## Import players

Each team is allowed 2 heritage players and 1 foreign player.
| Team | Heritage 1 | Heritage 2 | Foreign |
| Cantho Catfish | Tam Dinh | Sang Dinh | Tavarion Nix |
| Danang Dragons | Horace Nguyen | Jimmy Kien | Rudolphe Joly |
| Hanoi Buffaloes | Anthony Phan | Ryan Arnold | Trevor Berkeley |
| Hochiminh City Wings | Justin Young | - | Jaywuan Hill |
| Saigon Heat | David Arnold | Khoa Tran | Darrell Miller |

## Regular season

The regular season began on August 6 with the Hanoi Buffaloes hosting the Saigon Heat, and ended on October 23 with the Heat hosting the Buffaloes.

### Standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | PCT | GB |
| 1 | Saigon Heat | 16 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .688 | — |
| 2 | Hochiminh City Wings | 16 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .688 | — |
| 3 | Hanoi Buffaloes | 16 | 9 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .563 | 2 |
| 4 | Cantho Catfish | 16 | 5 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .313 | 6 |
| 5 | Danang Dragons | 16 | 4 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .250 | 7 |

#### Tiebreakers

The Heat clinched #1 seed over the Wings based on head-to-head record (3–1).

## Playoffs

The 2016 VBA playoffs began on October 26, 2016, and ended on November 12, 2016.

### Bracket

| Wildcard | Wildcard |
| 4 Cantho Catfish | 66 |
| 5 Danang Dragons | 72 |
| Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Finals | Finals | Finals | Finals |
| 1 Saigon Heat | 1 Saigon Heat | 73 | 80 |
| 5 Danang Dragons | 5 Danang Dragons | 76 | 86 | | | | |
| 5 Danang Dragons | 5 Danang Dragons | 76 | 86 | 5 Danang Dragons | 5 Danang Dragons | 69 | 85 |
| | | | | 2 Hochiminh City Wings | 2 Hochiminh City Wings | 55 | 78 |
| 2 Hochiminh City Wings | 64 | 77 | 74 | 2 Hochiminh City Wings | 2 Hochiminh City Wings | 55 | 78 |
| 3 Hanoi Buffaloes | 84 | 66 | 71 | | | | |

## Statistics
### Individual statistic leaders

| Category | Player | Team | Statistic |
| Points per game | Rudolphe Joly | Danang Dragons | 24.2 |
| Rebounds per game | Tavarion Nix | Cantho Catfish | 15.8 |
| Assists per game | David Arnold | Saigon Heat | 5.9 |
| Steals per game | Phạm Duy Hậu | Saigon Heat | 2.0 |
| Blocks per game | Darrell Miller | Saigon Heat | 2.0 |
| Turnovers per game | Rudolphe Joly | Danang Dragons | 4.9 |
| Fouls per game | Dmytri Guchko | Saigon Heat | 4.0 |
| Minutes per game | Trevor Berkeley | Hanoi Buffaloes | 38.2 |
| FG% | Ken Le | Danang Dragons | 0.670 |
| FT% | Lại Xương Thanh | Hochiminh City Wings | 1.000 |
| 3P% | Hồng Gia Lân | Hochiminh City Wings | 0.670 |

### Team statistic leaders

| Category | Team | Statistic |
| Points per game | Hochiminh City Wings | 75.7 |
| Rebounds per game | Hochiminh City Wings | 36.4 |
| Steals per game | Hanoi Buffaloes | 9.7 |
| Blocks per game | Hochiminh City Wings | 3.4 |
| FG% | Danang Dragons Saigon Heat | 0.440 |
| FT% | Hochiminh City Wings Cantho Catfish | 0.570 |
| 3FG% | Hochiminh City Wings Danang Dragons | 0.300 |

## Awards

* Season MVP: Rudolphe Joly (Danang Dragons)
* Season Local MVP: Lê Ngọc Tú (Hochiminh City Wings)
* Defensive Player of the Year: Justin Young (Hochiminh City Wings)
* Rising Star: Khoa Tran (Saigon Heat)
* Sixth Man of the Year: Nguyễn Phú Hoàng (Hanoi Buffaloes)
* Coach of the Year: Todd Purves (Hanoi Buffaloes)
* Favorite Player of the Year: Nguyễn Phú Hoàng (Hanoi Buffaloes)
* All-VBA First Team
** C Rudolphe Joly (Danang Dragons)
** F Darrell Miller (Saigon Heat)
** F Jaywuan Hill (Hochiminh City Wings)
** G Tam Dinh (Cantho Catfish)
** G David Arnold (Saigon Heat)