On December 27th, the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) has announced three pieces of news. First, in preparation for the 2025 National Games, the 2025-26 CBA season will start in early December. This news may disappoint many basketball fans, but adjustments are necessary for the sake of event uniformity.
Typically, the new CBA season begins in October, with some starting around the 20th, and the 24-25 season began around the 10th, earlier than previous years. To prepare for the new season, CBA teams usually hold warm-up matches and preseason games starting in September.
However, with the 25-26 season postponed to December, all schedules must be adjusted. Fans are most concerned about the shortened regular season schedule, which means fewer games to watch, as the finals typically end around mid-May. Summer months often feature national team games and vacation time for fans, making it impossible to extend the season into July. Since the playoffs cannot be compressed, cuts must be made to the regular season.
Some media professionals believe that the postponement of the CBA schedule will also affect teams' ability to recruit foreign players, as other international basketball leagues begin around October, and top players will likely secure contracts early, while the CBA doesn't start until mid-December, causing a significant delay.
Nonetheless, decisions have been made and must be implemented. The 24-25 season is not yet halfway through, so there's no point in considering next season too much. Moreover, the 2025 National Games will offer a diverse range of competitions, including intense basketball rivalries, keeping many players busy.
The second piece of news is that the Shanghai Sharks have released an updated injury report: Li Hongquan will miss one week due to a cold, Liu Zheng suffered a right ankle sprain and is expected to be out for 1-2 weeks. Liu Lijia has a right knee ligament injury and will be sidelined for 3-4 weeks. Wan Menglin has right elbow bone edema and is expected to be out for 1-2 weeks.
This sudden wave of injuries is undoubtedly bad news for the Shanghai team. For instance, Li Hongquan is a key offensive player, and Liu Zheng, who has played in the CBA for many years, is an underrated defensive powerhouse.
The two younger players will be out for longer, especially Liu Lijia, who was called up to the national team by Guo Shiqiang in the summer and has great potential for growth.
In December, the Shanghai team made a remarkable comeback, securing nine consecutive victories and quickly returning to the playoff ranks, despite only winning one game in the first stage. Fortunately, the situations of the absent players vary, with the more important Li Hongquan and Liu Zheng needing only about a week's rest, which won't affect them for long.
The third piece of news concerns Ding Yanyuhang, whose failure to pass the physical test has disappointed fans. Guangzhou Loong Lions head coach Mitchell discussed Ding's situation, stating that he is already training with the team. However, his future depends on when he can pass the physical test and be ready to play.
During the CBA physical test on December 25th, Ding passed the strength test, scoring full marks in the squat test, but failed to meet the required number of attempts in the shooting category, receiving zero points, and subsequently withdrew from the 17-fold project.
It's clear that Ding has no issues with strength, but his shooting touch isn't at its best. The next test shouldn't pose a significant problem, especially the challenging 17-fold, which some others have also failed, such as Zhao Rui, who took a long time to recover and wasn't fully adapted to the test, but still managed to pass the supplementary test.
Signing Ding Yanyuhang was seen as a publicity stunt by the Guangzhou team, not expecting him to contribute significantly, but rather to boost attention alongside Guo Ailun. However, players need to deliver actual performances. Even if Ding has passed his peak, as long as he can play for about ten minutes off the bench without hindering the team, it would excite fans.