Season of superlatives

CBA league goes from strength to strength as bubble action proves huge hit

On and off the court, the 2020-21 Chinese Basketball Association season has been the perfect antidote to the national team's likely Olympic absence.

The continuing rise of young domestic talent and a fierce playoff battle gave fans plenty to cheer about, while league officials can point to a spike in social media followers as evidence that Team China's struggles on the international stage have not been too damaging for the sport's reputation with the public.

Considering all these strides have been made with players locked inside a bio-secure bubble in Zhuji, Zhejiang province for seven months－and without spectators for most of the campaign－the CBA has good reason to argue this has been the most intriguing season in the league's 26-year history.

With experience and depth on their side, the Guangdong Southern Tigers outplayed the Liaoning Leopards to win a hard-fought finals series 2-1. The triumph secured a coveted three-peat for Guangdong and was a record-extending 11th championship trophy for the southern franchise.

Since October's tip-off, the league has garnered 6 million new followers across five major social media platforms, including Weibo and Douyin. Topics related to the finals went viral on Weibo to accumulate 1.24 billion views over five days, according to official league data.

Those figures prove the game remains popular even with the men's national team almost certain to miss out on qualification for this summer's delayed Tokyo Olympics.

"It's really a unique season that left us unforgettable memories,"CBA president Yao Ming said in a China Central Television program aired on Monday.

"So much effort was made with so many people staying together, isolated from their family and pulling through it over seven months ... Hopefully, we can rebuild the confidence for whatever challenges lie ahead in the future."