Beijing Jinyu Ducks (simpilified chinese: 北京鸭篮球俱乐部) is also referred to as "Beijing Ducks" or "Beijing Jinyu." It reads in Chinese characters as:  (北京金隅) and is a Chinese professional basketball team in the North Division of the Chinese Basketball Association. The team is based in Beijing. They are formerly known as the Beijing Shougang Ducks or Beijing Shougang (北京首钢).  The name change was likely due to a change of corporate sponsorship. They should not be confused with the Beijing Olympians, which is a different team was founded in 1955.

During at least part of the 2003—2004 season, it seems they were known as Beijing Wanfeng Aote (北京万丰奥特); Again, this seems to have had something to do with corporate sponsorship.

The team's corporate sponsor is presumably Beijing Jinyu Group Co., Ltd. (北京金隅集团有限责任公司), the largest construction material conglomerate in China.

In the 2004–2005 season, the Beijing Ducks finished in second place in the North Division, but lost in the quarter-finals to the South Division's Bayi Rockets.

Notable players include Mengke Bateer and former NBA All-Stars Steve Francis and Stephon Marbury, the latter currently playing for the Ducks.

In 2008, the team visited the United States, training at Marquette University and the Milwaukee School of Engineering in Wisconsin, as well as visiting Philadelphia, Madison, WI and Eugene, OR.

The Ducks started out the 2012 season with a 13 game win streak, and eventually finished 2nd in the regular season. The team made it to their first ever CBA Finals match-up thanks to the play of former NBA All-Star Stephon Marbury. They have won their first CBA Title with a score of 4-1 against the Guangdong Southern Tigers. Beijing Jinyu is the first team ever in the CBA that has won the title without any previous Playoffs Finals' experience. It is also the 4th team ever in the CBA that has a Playoff Champion title.

History

The Beijing Ducks were initially formed as the Beijing Men's Basketball Team in 1956. That same year in October, the National Basketball League was held in Chongqing. Team Beijing, with only 7 players registered on their roster won the championship of that NBL edition. The team managed a third place finish in the same competition when the tournament was held in Hangzhou, 1961.

In 1988, the team was sponsored by Shougang Corporation, thus being renamed the Beijing Shougang. When the duck was confirmed as Beijing's mascot in 1995, the team participated in the inaugural season of the Chinese Basketball Association as the Beijing Shougang Ducks Basketball Team. On October 1977, the Shougang Corporation once again renamed the team Beijing Shougang Basketball Club.

The team had a formidable front court duo with Mengke Bateer debuting for Beijing at the age of 18 and Shan Tao, considered to be one of the top Chinese centers at that time. The two helped Beijing to a third place finish in the team's CBA debut.

Courtesy of Wikipedia.org