League reaches for the stars thanks to Yao's bold reforms

Editor's note: This is the first in a China Daily series examining the progress of national sports reform over the past five years.

Chinese basketball will begin a brave new era of top-tier professionalism when the new CBA season tips off on Oct 28.

Retired former NBA All-Star and CBA chairman Yao Ming has masterminded a series of wide-ranging reforms as the league leaves its previous State-run model behind.

The CBA was formerly run by government officials promoted from within the country's sports administrative system. They exercised complete control over all facets of the professional game, from on-court governance to development strategies and commercial operations.

However, the new CBA League (Beijing) Sports Co, encompassing all 20 clubs, will now manage the league akin to how team owners and executives run the NBA.

"The upcoming 23rd season of the CBA marks a new beginning for our domestic league as it will be the first time it will stand on its own and be operated with a fully professional approach," said Yao, the first CBA chief drawn from outside government ranks.

Yao, who retired from the NBA in 2011 due to injury, stressed the CBA will now put the clubs' interests at its core.

"Our attitude will be to help every participant benefit from the league operation so we can improve as a whole to boost the game's development at every level," he said.

"We should allow the league to operate through an enterprise model in a market-oriented environment without as much administrative intervention as we used to have."

As part of the reforms, extending the season by a month will afford teams more television time, making the league more appealing to sponsors.

The schedule of the regular season will be six match days a week, from Tuesday to Sunday, with fewer games each day compared to the previous arrangement of a three-day week.

"I think it's a good idea that every team has more time to recover and travel in between rounds. And fans will have games to watch almost every day throughout a week," said Ding Wei, head coach of the Beijing Beikong Fly Dragons.

To improve officiating, the league has also followed the NBA's example by building its own replay center for video reviews of disputed calls.

Referees will be assigned randomly by computer while all game officials will be assessed after each round under a reward-and-punishment system.

Other major changes include increasing the number of playoff spots from the eight to 10, a new league of reserve teams, modeled after the NBA's G League (formerly the D-League), and a streamlined draft system.

Fang Shuo of the three-time league champion Beijing Shougang Ducks said he was impressed by the overhaul.

"It shows the league company has made some real changes toward professionalism. Each and every step the league has made is good for growing the market and taking our fan following to the next level," said the China international.

The central government's push for sports reform in recent years has been concurrent to boosting the nation's sports industry.

In response to a proposal submitted in 2014 by Yao, also a member of the country's top political advisory body, the State Council, China's cabinet issued a regulation urging the country's top sports governing body and its affiliated administrative centers to loosen their grip on the sports industry and to allow private investors more freedom to stage events.

Yao's reform plan has also earned enthusiastic approval in the corridors of power, with Vice-Premier Liu Yandong backing the initiative during a meeting with sports officials in April.

A country's prowess in ball games such as soccer and basketball reflects its status as a world sporting power, she stated, so the CBA's reforms fit perfectly with this quest.

The vice-premier also urged the CBA to continue China's improvement on the court in time for the 2019 FIBA World Cup, which will be staged in eight cities nationwide, including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

sunxiaochen@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 10/19/2017 page22)