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 court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

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-lev ...

, 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 basi ...

(CBA). The Shanxi Fenjiu Company is the club's corporate sponsor, while its mascot is a dragon. 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 no ...

—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 (Henan), 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 ...

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 al ...

. 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 t ...

. 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 ( ; ; ), 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 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, 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. The ...

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

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

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

. They were housed at the United States Basketball Academy.

Roster

Notable players

Current International players *

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 dra ...

(2019–present) * Eric Moreland (2019–present) Former Chinese players * Shan Tao (2007–08) * Shang Ping (2010–12) * Wang Lei (2005–07) * Wu Tai-hao (2015–2018) Former International players * Zaid Abbas (2014–15) * Yancy Gates (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 sele ...

(2008–09) * Tim Pickett (2009) * Leon Rodgers (2010–11) * Donta Smith (2008–10) * Shawn Taggart (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 ...

(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 Bobcat ...

(2014–15) * Von Wafer (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 (2015–17) *

(2015–17) * Henry Sims (2016–17) * Brandon Jennings (2017–18) * Luis Scola (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