Shenzhen Leopards

(Redirected from Shenzhen Aviators)

The Shenzhen New Century Liebao Club, also known as Shenzhen Marco Polo or Shenzhen Leopards (previously Shenzhen Aviators) are a Chinese professional basketball team which plays in the Southern Division of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). New Century is the club's corporate sponsor.

Shenzhen Leopards
Shenzhen Leopards logo
LeaguesCBA
Founded2003; 21 years ago (2003)
HistoryDongguan New Century Leopards
(2003–2015)
Shenzhen New Century Leopards
(2015–2019)
Shenzhen Aviators
(2019–2021)
Shenzhen Leopards
(2021–present)
ArenaShenzhen Universiade Sports Centre
Capacity18,000[1]
LocationLonggang, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
Team colorsWhite, Red, Gold
     
Head coachZheng Yonggang (郑永刚)
ChampionshipsNone
Shenzhen Leopards
Traditional Chinese深圳領航者
Simplified Chinese深圳领航者

The team is based in Longgang District, Shenzhen, Guangdong, and plays its home games at the Shenzhen Universiade Sports Centre (SUSC).

History edit

The club was founded in 2003 as Dongguan New Century Leopards and was initially located in Dongguan, Guangdong. After twelve seasons, the team relocated to nearby Shenzhen in 2015. Success came early in their existence for the Leopards, as they were the runners-up in the 2004 Chinese Basketball League (CBL) championship, and were promoted to the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) for the 2005–06 season.

In its first season in the CBA in 2005–06, Dongguan finished in seventh and last place in the South Division, and was out of the playoffs. The team would soon battle its way to respectability, however, becoming somewhat regular participants in the CBA's postseason over the ensuing years.

In July 2011, NBA point guard Jeremy Lin played for the team at the ABA Club Championship, and was named the MVP of the tournament.[2]

On December 26, 2013, Bobby Brown scored a franchise-record 74 points in a game against Sichuan Blue Whales.[3]

Current roster edit

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationality not displayed.

Shenzhen Leopards roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Ht. Wt.
C 0   Jared Sullinger 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) 127 kg (280 lb)
SF 1   Wu Zihan 2.05 m (6 ft 9 in) 89 kg (196 lb)
SF 2   Lu Pengyu 1.97 m (6 ft 6 in) 83 kg (183 lb)
G/F 3   He Xining 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) 90 kg (198 lb)
PG 4   Daryl Macon 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) 84 kg (185 lb)
G 5   Sun Haoqin 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) 84 kg (185 lb)
SG 6   Liu Changjiang 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) 80 kg (176 lb)
PG 8   Rong Zifeng 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) 82 kg (181 lb)
F 9   Zhou Peng 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) 104 kg (229 lb)
PG 10   Bai Haotian 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) 87 kg (192 lb)
C 11   Shen Zijie 2.11 m (6 ft 11 in) 106 kg (234 lb)
F 12   Gu Quan 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) 98 kg (216 lb)
C 15   Hu Xiaolong 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) 117 kg (258 lb)
SG 17   Ma Mingkun 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) 95 kg (209 lb)
C 21   Li Muhao 2.18 m (7 ft 2 in) 120 kg (265 lb)
PF/C 22   Liao Zhipeng 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) 100 kg (220 lb)
SF 25   Li Jinglong 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) 94 kg (207 lb)
PG 30   Jovan Novak 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) 85 kg (187 lb)
PF 33   Wang Haoran 2.05 m (6 ft 9 in) 97 kg (214 lb)
G 35   Li Binzhuo 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in) 81 kg (179 lb)
Head coach
  •   Zheng Yonggang
Assistant coach(es)
  •   Yu Shulong
  •   Isidoros Kusos

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  •   Injured

Updated: October 9, 2023

Notable players edit

- Set a club record or won an individual award as a professional player.
- Played at least one official international match for his senior national team at any time.

References edit

  1. ^ "Shenzhen Universiade Sports Center".
  2. ^ Robbins, Len (February 15, 2012). "Lin found game on other side of the world". The New York Post. Retrieved August 9, 2012.
  3. ^ Bobby Brown scores 74 points and the game winner in China!
  4. ^ a b Shenzhen beats Qingdao, Ningbo suffers 9th straight defeat China Internet Information Center, 6 November 2021. Accessed 8 November 2021.

External links edit