Shanghai Sharks cheat, still manage to lose in the end

The Shanghai Sharks are not just a bad basketball team -- they haven't made the CBA playoffs since winning the league title in 2002 (Yao Ming's final season) -- they are cheaters, as well. Statisticians at Shanghai's final home game of the season credited Sharks guard Liu Wei with 16 assists, enough to assure Liu the regular season league assists crown. One problem: Liu only has seven assists in that game.

Cheating and corruption in Chinese professional sports? We are shocked.

Of course, it's possible that Shanghai's statistician is just really bad, like most things associated with the team. Regardless, the league has "scolded" Shanghai for "faking figures" and Jiangsu's Hu Xuefeng has rightfully assumed his spot atop the CBA's assists category.

The CBA is currently in the first round of playoffs. Asia-Basket.com has pretty good and up-to-date coverage.

Also on Shanghaiist:
Vigorous CBA, it's your time!

Photo of Liu Wei from nba.com.