The first round of the 2023-2024 Chinese Basketball Association is over. A closer look at the standings shows that it could be a bumpy ride or a crash.
Let’s take a look at the overall standings after the first round.
The undefeated Wonju DB and Anyang Jungkwanjang are in first and second place. Busan KCC, Seoul Samsung, and Daegu KOGAS, who are all winless, are in eighth through 10th place.
Conversely, four teams with five or more consecutive wins occupy the top four spots, while three teams with four or more consecutive losses have fallen to the bottom.
The low number of games played shows that winning streaks and losing streaks are closely related to the rankings.
There’s one more thing that stands out here.
Even if a team has a 5-game winning streak in the 10th game, only 4 teams have a long winning streak of 5 or more games in a row, while 7 teams have a losing streak of 3 or more games.
This is the first time that four teams have recorded five or more consecutive wins in the first round as of game number 45.
At the end of the 2020-2021 season, there were four teams with five or more consecutive wins (KCC with 12, Hyundai Mobis with seven, KGC with six, and KT with seven). This alone shows how rare it is to have four teams with five consecutive wins in the first round.
The previous record for 5+ wins in the first round was set by three teams in the 2003-2004 season (TG Sambo 7 wins, Samsung 6 wins, and E-Land 5 wins).
On the flip side, seven teams had three consecutive losses+ in the first round, which is second only to the 2017-2018 season. In the 2017-2018 season, six teams (Hyundai Mobis, Electroland, KGC, Samsung, LG, and Orion) lost three games in a row, and then-Busan KT lost five in a row.
This season’s first round will feature the most five-game winning streaks+ and three-game losing streaks+ in history.
In other words, if you let your guard down, you can slip, and if you stay focused, you can win.
What’s more, the second round will bring in players returning from military service or injury.
Expect the race for the top spot to get even more interesting as the remaining 225 games are filled with upsets and falls.
The first round leaderboard says it all.