The Chinese Basketball Association handed out hefty punishments to two teams accused of fixing playoff games – including one club that counts former NBA stars Eric Bledsoe and Michael Beasley among its players.
Both the Shanghai Sharks, Bledsoe and Beasley’s club, and Jiangsu Dragons have been fined 5 million yuan ($727,135). Furthermore, officials have been banned for years, and the teams have been kicked out of competition, according to the South China Morning Post.
Sharks head coach Li Chunjiang and his Dragons counterpart Li Nan were banned from coaching for five and three years, respectively. Additionally, Sharks FM Jiang Yusheng was given a three-year ban, while the Dragons’ Shi Linjie is suspended for five years.
The story unfolded over a tense weekend of postseason action in the CBA.
In Friday’s Game 3 of the first round of the playoffs, the Dragons led the Sharks 100-96 with 1 minute, 36 seconds left to play.
Devin Williams of the Jiangsu Dragons passes in Friday’s game against the Shanghai Sharks
Eric Bledsoe (R) of Shanghai Sharks goes for a layup against the Nanjing Monkey Kings
Michael Beasley #30 of Shanghai Sharks drives the ball during a game earlier this season
The Dragons then committed a series of turnovers over the next minute, giving the Sharks a 10-point lead. The game ended in a 108-104 win for Shanghai and a 2-1 victory in the series, sending them into the quarterfinals.
Fans immediately cried foul and the CBA, headed by former Houston Rockets eight-time NBA all-star Yao Ming, announced Saturday it was demanding answers.
‘The Chinese Basketball Association has paid great attention to the CBA playoff game between Shanghai and Jiangsu, which has triggered huge doubts from media and fans,’ the association said in a statement on its social media account.
‘We have tasked the CBA League (Beijing) Sports Co., Ltd. with launching an investigation into the matter, and requested the two clubs to submit their reports on the match,’ the statement said. Punishments would be meted out for any violations found, it said, without giving specifics.
Fans cried foul and the CBA, headed by former Rockets eight-time NBA all-star Yao Ming
Match-fixing in China is believed to be controlled by influential gambling syndicates, with players, coaches, referees and association officials all involved. Soccer has been much more heavily targeted than basketball, where compensation, sponsorships and prize money are less generous.
Basketball remains enormously popular in China, mostly because of Yao’s storied NBA career. That’s despite a year-long ban on NBA games being shown in the country after a team executive angered Beijing with remarks supporting Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement.
The CBA has produced relatively few international stars in recent years, with the last, Zhou Qi, playing one season for the Rockets in 2017-2018.
In a league statement this week, the CBA expressed its belief that both teams will learn a lesson from this punishment.
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‘All league participants must firmly establish correct values, the concept of honor and disgrace, and earnestly abide by national laws, regulations and various management systems of the league,’ the social media post said.
‘[We are] to further create a clean and upright league environment, and make unremitting efforts to create a game that satisfies the people.’
Antonio Blakeney (C) of Jiangsu Dragons vies for the ball during the playoff game
Fans were split on the punishment, according to the South China Morning Post.
‘This is not bad, at least the association is doing something,’ one fan wrote on Weibo, as quoted by the SCMP.
‘The penalties are not harsh enough,’ read another post. ‘They should ban the head coaches forever, and disqualify both teams from competing in the league again.’
A former second-overall draft pick, Beasley has been out of the NBA since 2019, and is currently in his first season with the Sharks, but his second in China.
Bledsoe previously played for the Los Angeles Clippers, Phoenix Suns, Milwaukee Bucks and New Orleans Pelicans before signing in Shanghai in 2022.
Neither are believed to be in any legal trouble in China at this time, and they have not been specifically implicated in the alleged scheme.
