Liaoning crowned champion again as emergence of promising young talents overshadowed by controversies

The emergence of a new generation of hoops stars was overshadowed by controversies on and off the court in an eventful Chinese Basketball Association season.

After enticing fans back to the stands and resuming the home-and-away format to shake off the pandemic chill, the positives of the 2022/23 season were offset by a lopsided Finals series and a match-fixing scandal involving two renowned coaches.

Roared on by 10,000 home fans, the Liaoning Flying Leopards routed Zhejiang Golden Bulls 106-70 on Monday to wrap up a 4-0 clean sweep in the best-of-seven Finals and earn the club's second straight league trophy — its third in total.

Despite Liaoning's dominance on the scoreboard, the series was a bruising affair and certainly did not lack for physicality, underlined by the injury-forced absences of key players on both teams. However, the obvious gap in talent and depth between the two clubs ultimately made for an underwhelming advertisement for the league.

Liaoning point guard Zhao Jiwei was named Most Valuable Player of the Finals for a second straight season after averaging 20 points, 8.8 assists, 3 rebounds and 3.5 steals over the four games.

His impressive individual performance, though, needs to be put in context, with Zhejiang starting guard Wu Qian and prolific American scorer Jarmar Gulley both limited by injuries throughout the series.

Liaoning head coach Yang Ming, however, took pride from the resilience and solidarity that carried the Flying Leopards through a challenging season.

"I think we deserve a lot of credit. We proved that we are the champions," Yang, a former national team guard, said at the postgame news conference.

"It's been a season full of ups and downs with a lot of challenges, especially during the regular phase when the pandemic prevention measures were still in place.

"There were several pauses in the season to accommodate the national team's schedule, which disrupted our momentum.

"Our key players were carrying injuries, yet someone always stepped up and contributed when it mattered.

"I am so proud of our group and the Liaoning fans as a whole."