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

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

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 (appro ...

team based in

Taiyuan Taiyuan; Mandarin pronunciation: (Jin Chinese, Taiyuan Jin: /tʰai˦˥ ye˩˩/) is the capital of Shanxi, China. Taiyuan is the political, economic, cultural and international exchange center of Shanxi Province. It is an industrial base foc ...

Shanxi Shanxi; Chinese postal romanization, formerly romanised as Shansi is a Provinces of China, province in North China. Its capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-level cities are Changzhi a ...

, which plays in the Northern Division of the

Chinese Basketball Association The Chinese Basketball Association (), often abbreviated as the CBA, is the first-tier men's professional 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 Magic (supernatural), magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but European dragon, dragons in Western cultures since the Hi ...

. 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 () due to corporate sponsorship by the Henan Renhe Group (), the team rebranded as a result of an agreement signed with the Henan Jiyuan Iron & Steel Group () 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 is the capital of Henan, China. Located in northern Henan, it is one of the nine National central city, national central cities in China, and serves as the political, economic, technological, and educational center of the province. Th ...

Jiyuan Jiyuan ( zh, s= , t=濟源 , p=Jìyuán) 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 ...

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

Luoyang Luoyang ( zh, s=洛阳, t=洛陽, p=Luòyáng) is a city located in the confluence area of the Luo River and the Yellow River in the west of Henan province, China. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zheng ...

Henan Henan; alternatively Honan is a province in Central China. Henan is home to many heritage sites, including Yinxu, the ruins of the final capital of the Shang dynasty () and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the historical capitals of China, Lu ...

. 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. Traditionally, 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 who was also the head coach for the Beijing Royal Fighters of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) from 2019–2023. After his freshman year ...

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

Foshan Foshan (, ; Chinese: 佛山) 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 Pearl River Delta m ...

, and eventually

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

. In August 2011, the Brave Dragons played an exhibition game against the

Georgetown University Hoyas The Georgetown Hoyas are the collegiate athletics teams that officially represent Georgetown University, located at Washington, D.C. The Georgetown's athletics department fields 24 men's and women's varsity level teams and competes at the Natio ...

during the

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

squad's two-week summer trip to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, 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 most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

. 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 for the Guangzhou Loong Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). Franklin played college basketball for San Diego State, where he was the Mountain ...

(2019–present) *

Eric Moreland Eric Andrew Moreland (born December 24, 1991) is an American professional basketball player for the Guangdong Southern Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He played college basketball for the Oregon State Beavers. High school car ...

(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 former professional basketball player who played in the Chinese Basketball Association. He is a tall power forward- center, and his nickname is "T ...

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

Zaid Abbas Zaid Abbas (Arabic: زيد عباس; born November 21, 1983, in Nablus) is a Jordanian professional basketball player. He last played for Orthodox Basketball Club of the Jordanian Premier Basketball League. He also was a member of the Jordan ...

(2014–15) *

Yancy Gates Yancy Grayson Gates (born October 15, 1989) is an American professional basketball player who last played for Plateros de Fresnillo of the Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional. He played college basketball for the University of Cincinnati. Co ...

(2015) * Alexander Johnson (2011) *

Dominique Jones Dominique O'Neal Jones (born October 15, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for the Changsha Wantian Yongsheng of the National Basketball League. A noted scorer in college at the University of South Florida, Jones had the se ...

(2015) *

(2010) *

Olumide Oyedeji Olumide Oyedeji (born 11 May 1981) is a Nigerian former professional basketball center. He is now President oHoops N' Readbasketball club. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for three seasons. He is the President of Nig ...

(2008–09) * Tim Pickett (2009) *

Leon Rodgers Leon Rodgers (born June 19, 1980) is an American-born Venezuelan retired basketball player. Standing at , he played as small forward. Over his career, Rodgers played in the Netherlands, China, France, Germany, Puerto Rico, Philippines and Colombia ...

(2010–11) *

Donta Smith Donta Lamont Smith (born November 27, 1983) is an American-Venezuelan professional basketball player for Trotamundos de Carabobo of the Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coa ...

(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 for the Michigan Wolverines and was ...

(2009–10) *

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

(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 t ...

(2014–15) *

Bonzi Wells Gawen DeAngelo "Bonzi" Wells (born September 28, 1976) is an American college basketball coach and former professional player who is currently an assistant coach at Georgia Tech and previously was head coach at LeMoyne-Owen. He played college ba ...

(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 N ...

(2015–17) *

(2015–17) * Henry Sims (2016–17) *

Brandon Jennings Brandon Byron Jennings (born September 23, 1989) is an American former professional basketball player who played nine seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is known for being the first American high school prospect to bypass c ...

(2017–18) *

Luis Scola Luis Alberto Scola Balvoa (born 30 April 1980) is an Argentine former basketball player and the chief executive officer for the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) team Pallacanestro Varese. A three-time All-EuroLeague Team, All-EuroLeague selecti ...

(2017–18)

Trivia

The team and their former coach

Bob Weiss Robert William Weiss (born May 7, 1942) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. Early life and education Weiss was born on May 7, 1942, in Easton, Pennsylvania. He played high school basketball at Athens Area High School ...

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

Shanxi Loongs on Weibo.com
{{CBA teams Chinese Basketball Association teams International Basketball League teams Sport in Shanxi National Basketball League (China) former teams