The Beijing Olympians or Beijing Aoshen Olympians or Beijing Aoshen () was a Chinese professional men's
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
team that formerly played in the
Chinese Basketball Association
The Chinese Basketball Association (), often abbreviated as the CBA, is the first-tier professional men's basketball league in China.
The league is commonly known by fans as the CBA, and this acronym is even used in Chinese on a regular basis ...
and the
West Coast Pro Basketball League
The West Coast Professional Basketball League, often abbreviated to the WCBL, was an American professional men's spring basketball minor league featuring teams from the West Coast of the United States. It operated from 2007 to 2013.
Teams Fina ...
. They have also played in the
American Basketball Association
The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger, American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, ...
. Some sources refer to them (slightly ungrammatically) as the Beijing Olympicians. They should not be confused with the
Beijing Ducks
The Beijing Shougang Ducks (''simplified Chinese'': 北京首钢鸭俱乐部篮球队), also known as Beijing Shougang or Beijing Ducks, are a professional basketball team based in Beijing, China, which plays in the North Division of the Chin ...
, which is a different team based in
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
.
In the 2003–04 season, they finished 7th out of 12 teams in the CBA regular season, and were eliminated in the quarter-finals by the
Jiangsu Dragons
Jiangsu Dragons Kentier (), also known as Jiangsu Dragons or Jiangsu Kentier, are a Chinese professional basketball team in the Southern Division of the Chinese Basketball Association, based in Nanjing, Jiangsu.
History
In the 2004–05 seaso ...
. They were disqualified from play for the 2004–05 season (see below), and although it was intended that they would return for the 2005–06 season, negotiations to rejoin the league broke down at the end of June 2005.
The Beijing Olympians joined the new
American Basketball Association
The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger, American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, ...
for the 2005–06 season and played in the
Spencer Haywood
Spencer Haywood (born April 22, 1949) is an American former professional basketball player and Olympic gold medalist. Haywood is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, being inducted in 2015.
High school career
In 1964, Hayw ...
Division of the Red Conference. In their inaugural season in the ABA they played their home games in
Maywood,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
rather than
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
. In 2006–07, the team moved to the
Felix Events Center
The Felix Events Center is a 3,500-seat multi-purpose arena in Azusa, California, United States. It hosts locals sporting events and concerts. It is home of the Azusa Pacific University Cougars men's and women's basketball teams and volleyball tea ...
at
Azusa Pacific University
Azusa Pacific University (APU) is a private, evangelical Christian university in Azusa, California. The university was founded in 1899, with classes opening on March 3, 1900, in Whittier, California, and began offering degrees in 1939. The uni ...
, former home of the
SoCal Legends
The Southern California Legends, known commonly as the SoCal Legends, were a team in the Continental Basketball Association.
The Legends are owned and coached by former NBA player Gary Grant. They played their home games at Azusa Pacific Unive ...
, who switched their affiliation to the
Continental Basketball Association
The Continental Basketball Association (CBA) (originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association) was a men's professional basketball m ...
, and relocated to
Thousand Oaks
Thousand Oaks is the second-largest city in Ventura County, California, United States. It is in the northwestern part of Greater Los Angeles, approximately from the city of Los Angeles and from Downtown. It is named after the many oak tree ...
. For the 2007–08 season, the team moved again, this time to
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
. In 2008–09, the team moved back to
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, this time to
Don Bosco Technical Institute
Don Bosco Technical Institute (commonly called "Bosco Tech" or "The Tech") is an all-male (grades 9-12), private, Catholic high school in Rosemead, California, combining college-preparatory academic courses and technological education. The acade ...
in
Rosemead.
The Beijing Olympians was officially disbanded on 4 December 2013. The announcement did not come as a surprise after the club's controversial and mysterious owner, a
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
real estate
Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more general ...
tycoon and billionaire named Li Su (; often referred to in the Western media as Winston Li), suddenly died in mid September due to
acute myocardial infarction
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...
() at the age of 55.
History
For two seasons (1999–2000 and 2000–01) they were known as the Vanguard Aoshen (); this team represented a merger between Vanguard () and the then-existing Beijing Aoshen team. Occasionally the name Qianwei Aoshen was used instead (here, the word ''qianwei'' for "vanguard" is transliterated rather than translated). After that, however, the team used the Beijing Aoshen name once again.
The Vanguard team had a long history. It was founded in the 1950s and had some success over the years. The team played in the first CBA season in 1995–96, but finished last out of 12 teams and left the CBA. Meanwhile, the original Beijing Aoshen team was formed in 1997 as the Beijing Aosheng (), and in 1998 won the "B" league championship to win promotion to the CBA. Soon after that they represented China in the
Asian club championship
The AFC Champions League (abbreviated as ACL) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's top-division football clubs. It is the most prestigious club competition ...
, changing their name to Aoshen at the start of that competition, which they won (some Chinese media reports at the time incorrectly gave their name as the "北京奥盛").
The newly promoted Beijing Aoshen then made their CBA debut in the 1998–99 season. A key player on the team was
Ma Jian (). In an unprecedented move, they hired a female head coach,
Li Xin (), who thus became the first ever female head coach in the CBA, but she was fired after only five games and replaced by
Mike McGee, a former player of the
Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...
, who then became the first ever foreign head coach in the CBA. Aoshen finished fourth and lost in the semi-finals to the
Bayi Rockets
The Bayi Rockets () was a professional basketball team based in Nanchang, Jiangxi, China, which played in the South Division of the Chinese Basketball Association.
On 20 October 2020, Chinese Basketball Association announced that Bayi Rockets h ...
.
The following season, they merged with Vanguard, but struggled and finished sixth. In 2000–01 they continued to struggle: Ma Jian was dropped from the team in mid-season and they finished seventh. So far, they have never equaled their first-year performance.
2004–2005 suspension
On May 17, 2004, the Beijing Olympians were suspended from the CBA for a year for refusing to release
Sun Yue to the national under-20 team. On May 25, 2004 the CBA announced that the winner of the 2004
Chinese Basketball League
The National Basketball League () is a professional basketball minor league in China, called Chinese Basketball League (CBL) before 2006. It is commonly known as the NBL, and this name (spelled out in letters) is often used even in Chinese langua ...
(CBL) season would be promoted to the CBA to take the Olympians' place; that team turned out to be the
Yunnan Bulls
Yunnan Honghe Running Bulls () or Yunnan Honghe or Yunnan Running Bulls were a basketball team in the Southern Division of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA), based in Mengzi, Honghe, Yunnan ().
They won the 2004 Chinese Basketball Leag ...
.
While under suspension from the CBA, Aoshen played a seven-game tour in
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
against each team of the
SBL, sweeping all seven games.
2005–2006
It was intended that the Olympians would return to the CBA for the 2005–06 season, as the CBA expanded from 14 teams to 16, but negotiations broke down and the league only expanded to 15 teams.
Club Withdraws from Top Basketball League
/ref>
As "Beijing Aoshen Olympian", they joined the new American Basketball Association
The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger, American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, ...
for the 2005–06 season.
WCPBL
After the 2008–09 ABA season, it was announced that the Olympians would play in the West Coast Pro Basketball League
The West Coast Professional Basketball League, often abbreviated to the WCBL, was an American professional men's spring basketball minor league featuring teams from the West Coast of the United States. It operated from 2007 to 2013.
Teams Fina ...
for the 2009 season. Since the WCPBL was a spring basketball league, they continued playing in the winter based ABA.
Notable players
* Ma Jian – first Chinese to play college basketball in the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
* DeAngelo Collins
DeAngelo Marquis Collins (born November 21, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player.
High school career
The son of single mother Loretta Marie Taylor, he grew up in Stockton, California in a low-income neighborhood and since ...
* Jevon Crudup
Jevon Crudup (born April 27, 1972) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. After playing college basketball at the University of Missouri, Crudup was drafted by the Detroit Pistons in the 1994 NBA draft.
During his senior ...
* Kevin Salvadori
* Roy Tarpley
Roy James Tarpley (November 28, 1964 – January 9, 2015) was an American professional basketball player. He played the power forward and center positions in the National Basketball Association (NBA), earning an NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award in ...
– Former NBA Sixth Man of the Year
The National Basketball Association's Sixth Man of the Year Award is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1982–83 NBA season to the league's best performing player for his team coming off the bench as a substit ...
* LeRon Ellis
LeRon Perry Ellis (born April 28, 1969) is an American former professional basketball player. Ellis was considered to be one of the premier high school basketball players in the nation among the class of 1987 while playing for the top-ranked Sout ...
* Jason Michael
* Kaniel Dickens
Kaniel Dickens (born July 21, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player. He was selected by the Utah Jazz in the second round (50th pick overall) in the 2000 NBA draft.
College career
Dickens first played college basketball for ...
* Gabe Muoneke
Nnadubem Gabriel Enyinaya Muoneke (born 7 February 1978, in Ann Arbor, Michigan) is a Nigerian American professional basketball player. Despite being born in the United States, Muoneke represents Nigeria internationally.
Muoneke attended Cypress F ...
* Paul Shirley
Paul Murphy Shirley (born December 23, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player who last played for Unicaja Málaga in the Spanish ACB.
Shirley is noted for briefly maintaining an online journal (blog) while playing for the ...
– Former Iowa State and NBA
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...
player, and columnist for ESPN.com
* Fred Vinson
Frederick "Fred" Moore Vinson (January 22, 1890 – September 8, 1953) was an American attorney and politician who served as the 13th chief justice of the United States from 1946 until his death in 1953. Vinson was one of the few Americans to ...
– Former Georgia Tech
The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...
and NBA
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...
player, and NBA Coach for the New Orleans Pelicans
* Sun Yue – 2008-09 NBA champion with the Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...
and two-time CBA champion with the Beijing Ducks
The Beijing Shougang Ducks (''simplified Chinese'': 北京首钢鸭俱乐部篮球队), also known as Beijing Shougang or Beijing Ducks, are a professional basketball team based in Beijing, China, which plays in the North Division of the Chin ...
References
External links
Club official website
{{Los Angeles Sports
Defunct American Basketball Association (2000–present) teams
Chinese Basketball Association former teams
Sport in Beijing
Basketball teams in Los Angeles
Basketball teams established in 1955
1955 establishments in China