The Shanghai Sharks () are a

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 ...

team based in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

. It is best known outside China as the club that developed Yao Ming before he entered the

National Basketball Association 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 S ...

. With Yao on the team, the Sharks made the finals for three seasons in a row (in 1999–2000, 2000–01, and 2001–02), facing 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 ...

each time. They were runners-up the first two years, but won the CBA championship for the first time on their third try, snapping a string of six Bayi Rockets championships in a row. The team faced serious financial issues in the 2008–09 season, and were in danger of not being able to compete in the 2009–10 season due to their shaky finances. On July 16, 2009, Chinese media reported that Yao had stepped in to purchase the team. For the 2021–22 Chinese Basketball Association season, they have been on the country's top teams after they accomplished a major winning streak.CBA Roundup: Liaoning, Shanghai earn eight straight wins
Xinhua (

China Internet Information Center China Internet Information Center (; or 中国网/网上中国) is a state-run web portal of the People's Republic of China and published under the auspices of the State Council Information Office and the China International Publishing Group. I ...

), 11 November 2021. Accessed 11 November 2021. The team has been guided by head coach Li Chunjiang. The team itself has become an

internet meme An Internet meme, commonly known simply as a meme ( ), is an idea, behavior, style, or image that is spread via the Internet, often through social media platforms. What is considered a meme may vary across different communities on the Internet ...

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 ...

fans. The team is jokingly referred to as a future landing spot for players, mainly high profile stars, who under-perform in a game or series; particularly in the playoffs.

Honours

; CBA :Champions (1): 2001–02 :''Runners-up (2):'' 1999–2000, 2000–01 ;

Merlion Cup The Merlion Cup was an invitational football tournament that was held in Singapore annually from 1982–1986, in 1992, 2009 and 2019. Participants included full national sides, Olympic sides, Invitational XI's and club teams. After the 1986 tou ...

:Winners (1):

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

Players

Roster

Sponsorship

As of 2021, the team's jersey sponsor has been the Chinese sportswear brand

Li-Ning Li-Ning Company Limited is a Chinese sportswear and sports equipment company founded by former Olympic gymnast Li Ning. The company endorses a number of athletes and teams worldwide. History The company was founded in 1989 by Li Ning, a former ...

.Ein Veteran für die Towers
Ralf Schmitt (

Bild ''Bild'' (or ''Bild-Zeitung'', ; ) is a German tabloid newspaper published by Axel Springer SE. The paper is published from Monday to Saturday; on Sundays, its sister paper ''Bild am Sonntag'' ("''Bild on Sunday''") is published instead, which ...

), 25 October 2021. Accessed 26 October 2021.

Notable players

- Set a club record or won an individual award as a professional player.
- Played at least one official international match for his senior national team at any time.
*

Wang Zhelin Wang Zhelin (, pronounced ; born January 20, 1994) is a Chinese basketball player for the Shanghai Sharks in the Chinese Basketball Association. He was drafted in Round 2 (Number 57 overall) in the 2016 NBA Draft by the Memphis Grizzlies. Prof ...

* Yao Ming *

Jamaal Franklin Jamaal Eric Franklin (born July 21, 1991) is an American professional basketball player, who most recently played for the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He was selected with the 41st overall pick in the 2013 NBA draf ...

Ray McCallum Jr. Ray Michael McCallum Jr. (born June 12, 1991) is an American professional basketball player for Legia Warszawa of the Polish Basketball League. In the 2012–13 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, he was named the Horizon League Player of ...

References

External links

Official website

SINA.com.cn profile
Sports teams in Shanghai Chinese Basketball Association teams Basketball teams established in 1996 1996 establishments in China Internet memes Internet memes introduced in 2021 {{PRChina-basketball-team-stub