Chinese Basketball Association president Guo Zhenming addressed the national team’s struggles on Monday afternoon, warning that the domestic league had reached a critical juncture in its bid to improve standards in the country.

Speaking at the season launch press conference, Guo placed the burden of accountability squarely on the domestic competition as he discussed the state of the national squad.

“We must clearly recognise that Chinese basketball is at a critical juncture of climbing a slope and crossing a hurdle, where falling behind is inevitable if we do not advance,” Guo said. “There remains a clear gap between the national team’s results and the expectations of the public.”He said the national team’s results are the most direct external test of the league’s value, saying the two “share a common destiny”.

“This assessment places the responsibility squarely on the league itself, if the competitive quality of the league fails to rise, the foundation of the national team is out of the question.”Guo highlighted that the new campaign would feature a notable increase in regular-season and play-off fixtures, alongside an upgraded developmental league to provide younger talent with essential match exposure.

“In the new season, I hope all members of the CBA [Chinese Basketball Association] will unite, uphold the sporting spirit, and deliver exciting and civilised games to fans nationwide, using the high-quality development of the league to help Chinese basketball continually climb,” Guo added.

“Let us work together with the mindset of ‘success does not need to be in my name, but success will certainly involve my contribution’ ... and contribute more basketball strength to building a sports powerhouse.”The 2026-27 CBA campaign is scheduled to tip off on Friday, with defending champions Shanghai Sharks hosting Shenzhen Leopards following an opening ceremony featuring the raising of the 2025-26 championship banner and the presentation of championship rings.

CBA Company chairman Yang Yang outlined the technical overhauls heading into the season, chief among them the reintroduction of promotion and relegation.

Under the new format, promotion and relegation play-offs will be held in April 2027. The 19th and 20th placed teams from the CBA regular season will face the runner-up and champion of the second-tier National Basketball League (NBL) in home-and-away ties.

Winning on the court, however, will not automatically guarantee promotion. Winners of the play-off must pass strict salary cap compliance and governance reviews before gaining eligibility for top-flight entry assessment.

The move ends a 20-year absence of relegation, which was abolished ahead of the 2004-05 season in favour of an entry assessment model. The prolonged lack of relegation pressure had long been blamed for eroding competitive urgency at the bottom of the table.

Yang said the league aimed to enhance openness, competition and standardised governance to drive “survival of the fittest”.

Beyond the shake-up at the bottom of the table, the CBA regular season will expand back to 46 rounds comprising 460 matches, four rounds more than last season, while the play-offs will adopt a 3-5-5-7 series format.

Under this format, the post-season expands progressively at each stage, running as a best-of-three opening first round, best-of-five quarter-finals and semi-finals, and a best-of-seven championship final series.

Roster regulations have also been adjusted to balance minutes between domestic and overseas players. For the 2026-27 season, clubs will be permitted to up to three foreign players simultaneously, reduced from four last season, with a seasonal cap of six player registrations per club, down from eight. The announcements prompted immediate debate across mainland social media.

While a minority accepted the structural changes as a pragmatic step forward, with one user noting, “Although ... but fine, it’s better than nothing,” the prevailing response was heavily sceptical. Many fans dismissed the administrative rhetoric as empty platitudes. “This bureaucratic talk is just for show,” one commenter wrote.

Others questioned the league’s modest schedule: “The schedule is still too short, and there are still too few teams. What happened to the earlier plan to expand to 22 teams?”Debate was also equally divided over the tightened foreign player rules. People backing greater domestic reliance argued that fewer imports would force local athletes to develop composure under pressure.

“Four quarters, four appearances for foreign players is plenty; that way domestic players get tested in crunch time and know how to play when they join the national team,” one fan wrote. “Right now, domestic players are just blue-collar role players in clutch moments.”

Conversely, others insisted that shielding local players from overseas competition was counterproductive: “Open it up to foreign players! That is the only way domestic players can improve.”