University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Incorporating international best coaching practices into Chinese Basketball Association (CBA): Challenges and strategies

Zhou, Peng

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Description

Title
Incorporating international best coaching practices into Chinese Basketball Association (CBA): Challenges and strategies
Author(s)
Zhou, Peng
Issue Date
2025-05-27
Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)
Brownell, Susan
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
  • Sydnor, Synthia
  • Tenorio, Cecilia Marinho
Committee Member(s)
  • Zhu, Weimo
  • Kluch, Yannick
Department of Study
Health and Kinesiology
Discipline
Kinesiology
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Coaching, CBA
Abstract
Despite China’s status as the world’s second-largest economy and basketball’s immense popularity, the national men’s team has failed to qualify for both the 2021 Tokyo and 2024 Paris Olympic Games. The Chinese Basketball Association (CBA), as the primary talent pool for the national team, plays a pivotal role in this context. Although foreign players and coaches have increasingly entered China’s professional sports leagues, their integration—particularly in basketball—has faced significant challenges. This dissertation explores the complexities of incorporating international best practices into professional sports, with a focus on the CBA. It critically examines the multidimensional barriers that hinder the effective adoption of foreign coaching practices within the league. By using a blend of qualitative methodologies (such as literary-cultural analysis, narrative inquiry, archival research, autoethnography) and descriptive research, the dissertation attempts to provide strategies for addressing these challenges from different perspectives of key stakeholders. From the domestic coaches’ viewpoint, it investigates their role in collaborating with foreign coaches to adapt and integrate advanced international practices. From the foreign coaches’ perspective, it assesses how they can adjust their coaching philosophies and mindset through cross-cultural training to align with Chinese basketball’s unique cultural and structural dynamics. At the management level, the research considers how traditional practices and institutional frameworks can evolve to better leverage foreign expertise. The dissertation not only addresses these immediate challenges faced by CBA foreign coaches but also calls for further research into interconnected areas such as youth training systems, referee management, CBA operational improvements, education-sport integration, fan base development, the sports industry’s growth, and the cultivation of a distinctive Chinese basketball culture.
Graduation Semester
2025-08
Type of Resource
Thesis
Handle URL
https://hdl.handle.net/2142/130002
Copyright and License Information
Copyright 2025 Peng Zhou

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