The Shanxi Loongs, also known as Shanxi SDIC Raptors Club or Shanxi Fenjiu Shares are a Chinese professional

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 based in

Taiyuan Taiyuan (; ; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ; also known as (), ()) is the capital and largest city of Shanxi Province, People's Republic of China. Taiyuan is the political, economic, cultural and international exchange center of Shanxi Province. ...

Shanxi Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-leve ...

, which plays in the Northern Division of 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 ...

(CBA). The Shanxi Fenjiu Company is the club's corporate sponsor, while its mascot is a

dragon A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted a ...

. The team was known in English as the Shanxi Brave Dragons from the Summer of 2007 until September 2018, when a rebranding ceremony was held, unveiling a new logo and nickname. Loong is the Chinese word for dragon, in both Mandarin and Cantonese.

History

Originally known as the Henan Renhe Dragons (河南仁和) due to corporate sponsorship by the Henan Renhe Group (河南仁和集团), the team rebranded as a result of an agreement signed with the Henan Jiyuan Iron & Steel Group (河南济源钢铁集团) in early November, just before the CBA's 2004–05 regular season began (''jigang'' is an abbreviation for ''jiyuan gangtie'' or Jiyuan Iron & Steel). In conjunction with this change—the club moved from its original home city of

Zhengzhou Zhengzhou (; ), also spelt Zheng Zhou and alternatively romanized as Chengchow, is the capital and largest city of Henan Province in the central part of the People's Republic of China. Located in north-central Henan, it is one of the Nationa ...

Jiyuan Jiyuan () is a sub-prefecture-level city in northwestern Henan province, People's Republic of China. It borders the prefecture-level cities of Jiaozuo and Luoyang to the east and southwest respectively, as well as the province of Shanxi to the n ...

—in the middle of its first season. From 2004 to 2006 they were known as the Henan Jigang Dragons (河南济钢猛龙) or Henan Jigang or Henan Dragons, and were based in both Jiyuan and

Luoyang Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River and Yellow River in the west of Henan province. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the southeast, Nanyan ...

Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is a ...

. During the 2004–05 CBA season, the team's first in the league, the Henan Dragons finished in seventh and last place in the CBA's North Division and out of the playoffs. In the 2005–06 CBA season they suffered the same fate yet again. Before the 2006–07 CBA season, the team headed to

, and changed its name to the Shanxi Yujun Dragons or Shanxi Yujun or Shanxi Dragons. They signed with a new sponsor the following year, and became known as the Shanxi Zhongyu Brave Dragons, but the club has fared little better on the court since its relocation. In January 2010, the Brave Dragons signed former

NBA All-Star The National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star Game is an annual exhibition basketball game. It is the main event of the NBA All-Star Weekend. Originally, the All-Star Game featured a conference-based format, featuring a team composed of ...

Stephon Marbury Stephon Xavier Marbury (born February 20, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player and current head coach in the Chinese Basketball Association. After his freshman year with the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, he was selected as th ...

. He only stayed with Shanxi through the end of the 2009–10 CBA season, before leaving for

Foshan Foshan (, ), alternately romanized as Fatshan, is a prefecture-level city in central Guangdong Province, China. The entire prefecture covers and had a population of 9,498,863 as of the 2020 census. The city is part of the western side of the ...

, and eventually

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...

. In August 2011, the Brave Dragons played an exhibition game against the Georgetown University Hoyas during the Washington, D.C. squad's two-week summer trip to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

, but lost by a final score of 98–81.

Playing in the IBL

The Shanxi Zhongyu Brave Dragons participated in the 2008 season of the

International Basketball League The International Basketball League (IBL) was a semi-professional men's basketball league featuring teams from the West Coast of the United States. In 2010 the Albany Legends became the first team in the Northeastern United States to join. Th ...

(IBL). The IBL is a spring/summer league based in Portland,

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

. They were housed at the United States Basketball Academy.

Roster

Notable players

Current International players * Jamaal Franklin (2019–present) * Eric Moreland (2019–present) Former Chinese players * Shan Tao (2007–08) *

Shang Ping Shang Ping ( (pronounced Shung); born December 23, 1984), also known as Eric Shang, is a Chinese professional basketball player who most recently played for the Tianjin Gold Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association. He is a 2.06 m (6'9") ta ...

(2010–12) * Wang Lei (2005–07) * Wu Tai-hao (2015–2018) Former International players *

Zaid Abbas Zaid Abbaas (Arabic: زيد عباس; born November 21, 1983 in Nablus) is a Jordanian retired professional basketball player. He last played for Al Ahli of the Jordanian Premier Basketball League. He also was a member of the Jordan men's na ...

(2014–15) *

Yancy Gates Yancy Grayson Gates (born October 15, 1989) is an American professional basketball player who last played for Semt77 Yalovaspor of the BSL. He played college basketball for the University of Cincinnati. College career Gates was a highly touted ...

(2015) * Alexander Johnson (2011) * Dominique Jones (2015) *

(2010) *

Olumide Oyedeji Olumide Oyedeji (born 11 May 1981) is a Nigerian professional basketball center who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for three seasons. Professional career Oyedeji played at the 1999 and 2000 Nike Hoop Summits. He was select ...

(2008–09) *

Tim Pickett Timothy Lenard Pickett (born April 18, 1981) is an American professional basketball player. He played collegiately at Florida State University, and was drafted in the 2nd round of the 2004 NBA draft by the New Orleans Hornets. Career In Februar ...

(2009) * Leon Rodgers (2010–11) *

Donta Smith Donta Lamont Smith (born November 27, 1983) is an American-Venezuelan professional basketball player for Cangrejeros de Santurce of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional. Playing for Maccabi Haifa, he was named the 2014 Israeli Basketball Premier Leag ...

(2008–10) *

Shawn Taggart Shawn Larell Taggart (born March 26, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player who last played for the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). As a junior power forward/center for the Memphis ...

(2011) *

Maurice Taylor Maurice De Shawn Taylor (born October 30, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player. He played power forward and center positions. Originally from Detroit, Taylor played college basketball at Michigan and was selected by the L ...

(2009–10) *

Jeremy Tyler Jeremy Miles Tyler (born June 21, 1991) is an American professional basketball player for the Piratas de Quebradillas of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN). Tyler was drafted with the 39th pick in the 2011 NBA draft by the Charlotte Bobcats bu ...

(2014–15) *

Von Wafer Vakeaton Quamar "Von" Wafer (born July 21, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Florida State Seminoles. Wafer has previously played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the ...

(2014–15) *

Bonzi Wells Gawen DeAngelo "Bonzi" Wells (born September 28, 1976) is an American college basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the LeMoyne-Owen Magicians men's basketball team. He played college basketball at Ball State U ...

(2008–09) * Marcus Williams (2011–14) *

Samuel Dalembert Samuel Davis Dalembert (born May 10, 1981) is a Haitian-Canadian former professional basketball player who played 13 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for Seton Hall University. During his active NB ...

(2015–17) * Jamaal Franklin (2015–17) *

Henry Sims Henry Sims (born March 27, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for Ulsan Hyundai Mobis Phoebus of the Korean Basketball League (KBL). He played college basketball for Georgetown University. High school career Sims played for M ...

(2016–17) *

Brandon Jennings Brandon Byron Jennings (born September 23, 1989) is an American former professional basketball player who played 9 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is known for being one of the first Americans to go from high school to ...

(2017–18) *

Luis Scola Luis Alberto Scola Balvoa (born April 30, 1980) is an Argentine former professional basketball player and current executive who currently serves as the chief executive officer for the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) team Pallacanestro Varese. ...

(2017–18)

Trivia

The team and their former coach

Bob Weiss Robert William Weiss (born May 7, 1942) is an American professional basketball coach and former player. College career Weiss played college basketball at Penn State University from 1963 to 1965 and averaged 16.3 points per game during his senior ...

are subject of the book ''Brave Dragons, A Chinese Basketball Team, an American Coach and Two Cultures Clashing'' which is about the experience of Weiss while he was coaching the team during the 2008–2009 season.

References

External links

United States Basketball Academy official website

Shanxi Zhongyu at Asia-Basket.com website

Shanxi Zhongyu at Sina.com.cn website
{{CBA teams Chinese Basketball Association teams International Basketball League teams Sport in Shanxi