# 2002–03 Chinese Basketball Association season

The 2002–03 CBA season is the eighth CBA season.
The season ran from December 7, 2002 to April 23, 2003. Beijing Olympians and Xinjiang Flying Tigers were promoted from the Second Division. Hong Kong club Flying Dragons joined CBA in this season.

## Regular Season Standings

| # | 2002–03 CBA season | 2002–03 CBA season | 2002–03 CBA season | 2002–03 CBA season | 2002–03 CBA season | 2002–03 CBA season | 2002–03 CBA season | 2002–03 CBA season |
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Tiebreaker |
| 1 | Guangdong Southern Tigers | 23 | 3 | .885 | - | 12–1 | 11–2 | GD 2-0 BY |
| 2 | Bayi Rockets | 23 | 3 | .885 | - | 12–1 | 11–2 | GD 2-0 BY |
| 3 | Jilin Northeast Tigers | 17 | 9 | .654 | 6 | 11–2 | 6–7 | |
| 4 | Xinjiang Flying Tigers | 15 | 11 | .577 | 8 | 10–3 | 5–8 | XJ 1-1(202-190) SD |
| 5 | Shandong Flaming Bulls | 15 | 11 | .577 | 8 | 11–2 | 4–9 | XJ 1-1(202-190) SD |
| 6 | Zhejiang Cyclones | 14 | 12 | .538 | 9 | 9–4 | 5–8 | ZJ 2-0 BO |
| 7 | Beijing Olympians | 14 | 12 | .538 | 9 | 8–5 | 6–7 | ZJ 2-0 BO |
| 8 | Beijing Ducks | 12 | 14 | .462 | 11 | 8–5 | 4–9 | BJ 1-1(235-226) JS |
| 9 | Jiangsu Dragons | 12 | 14 | .462 | 11 | 10–3 | 2–11 | BJ 1-1(235-226) JS |
| 10 | Shanghai Sharks | 11 | 15 | .423 | 12 | 8–5 | 3–10 | |
| 11 | Liaoning Hunters | 10 | 16 | .385 | 13 | 7–6 | 3–10 | |
| 12 | Shaanxi Kylins | 8 | 18 | .308 | 15 | 7–6 | 1–12 | |
| 13 | Sina Lions | 7 | 19 | .269 | 16 | 5–8 | 2–11 | |
| 14 | Hong Kong Flying Dragons | 1 | 25 | .040 | 22 | 1–12 | 0–13 | |
Key to colors :
* Top 8 teams advance to the Playoffs
* Bottom 2 teams advance to the Relegation Round
* Relegated Directly
* 1 2 Hong Kong Flying Dragons was facing financial difficulties after the Regular Season. The team couldn't afford to play the Relegation Round, and was relegated directly.

## Playoffs

The top 8 teams in the regular season advanced to the playoffs.
In the Final series, Bayi Rockets defeated Guangdong Southern Tigers (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 5 | Quarterfinals Best of 5 | Quarterfinals Best of 5 | Semifinals Best of 5 | Semifinals Best of 5 | Semifinals Best of 5 | Finals Best of 5 | Finals Best of 5 | Finals Best of 5 |
| 1 | Guangdong Southern Tigers | 3 | | | | | | |
| 5 | Shandong Flaming Bulls | 0 | | | | | | |
| 5 | Shandong Flaming Bulls | 0 | 1 | Guangdong Southern Tigers | 3 | | | |
| | | | 8 | Beijing Ducks | 0 | | | |
| 4 | Xinjiang Flying Tigers | 1 | 8 | Beijing Ducks | 0 | | | |
| 8 | Beijing Ducks | 3 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Beijing Ducks | 3 | | | | 1 | Guangdong Southern Tigers | 1 |
| | | | | | | 2 | Bayi Rockets | 3 |
| 2 | Bayi Rockets | 3 | | | | | | | 2 | Bayi Rockets | 3 |
| 6 | Zhejiang Cyclones | 0 | | | |
| 6 | Zhejiang Cyclones | 0 | 2 | Bayi Rockets | 3 | Third place Best of 3 | Third place Best of 3 | Third place Best of 3 |
| | | | 3 | Jilin Northeast Tigers | 0 |
| 3 | Jilin Northeast Tigers | 3 | 3 | Jilin Northeast Tigers | 0 | 3 | Jilin Northeast Tigers | 2 |
| 7 | Beijing Olympians | 2 | | | | 8 | Beijing Ducks | 0 |

## Relegations

2 teams played the relegation round by a best-of-five series.
Sina Lions, with Hong Kong Flying Dragons, was relegated to the Second Division. As a matter of fact, Hong Kong Flying Dragons dissolved after this season, while Sina Lions dropped out of the league and went back to Taiwan.
| Relegation Round Best of 5 | Relegation Round Best of 5 | Relegation Round Best of 5 |
| Shaanxi Kylins | Shaanxi Kylins | 3 |
| Sina Lions | Sina Lions | 0 |