Shanxi Loongs
- Leagues Played
- China - CBA 444 Basketballspiele - 12 Min. 8 Freundschaftsspiele 2 Basketballspiele 2
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Wikipedia - Shanxi Loongs
The Shanxi Loongs, also known as Shanxi SDIC Raptors Club or Shanxi Fenjiu Shares are a Chinese professional basketball team based in Taiyuan, Shanxi, which plays in the Northern Division of the Chinese Basketball Association (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 to Jiyuan—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, Henan.
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 Taiyuan, 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 Stephon Marbury. He only stayed with Shanxi through the end of the 2009–10 CBA season, before leaving for Foshan, and eventually Beijing.
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.
Die Loongs spielen ihre Heimspiele in der Shanxi Sports Center Arena, die 12.000 Zuschauern Platz bietet. Die Mannschaft wird von Trainer Wang Fei betreut, der seit 2015 im Amt ist. Zu den bekanntesten Spielern der Loongs gehören der ehemalige NBA-Spieler Yi Jianlian, der chinesische Nationalspieler Guo Ailun und der amerikanische Importspieler Lester Hudson.
Die Loongs sind eines der beliebtesten Basketballteams in China und haben eine große Fangemeinde. Das Team ist bekannt für seinen schnellen und spektakulären Spielstil. Die Loongs sind auch ein sehr erfolgreiches Team und haben in den letzten Jahren immer wieder um die CBA-Meisterschaft mitgespielt.