Former NBA star Stephon Marbury, who played for Shanxi last year, arrives in the airport to join Foshan for the new season.

China's basketball league has never been more popular after a number of former NBA players jump on Marbury's bandwagon and sign up to play.

High-profile former NBA players will enhance the competitiveness and expand the influence of the 2010-2011 Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) season, which will tip off with a game between Zhejiang Guangsha and Fujian SBS on Dec 12, according to the top official of the governing body.

"Our league has benefited a lot from high level foreign players for years. And we are happy to see more NBA stars join us this season," said Liu Xiaonong, vice-head of the Chinese Basketball Administrative Center (CBAC), at a media conference to launch the new CBA season on Thursday.

The former NBA roster Liu mentioned became more dazzling when Steve Francis, Yao Ming's former Houston Rockets teammate, signed a contract with CBA club Beijing Jinyu on Nov 30.

On the same day, Stephon Marbury, another NBA all-star guard, who was unexpectedly released by last season's employer Shanxi Zhongyu just two weeks before its opening game, inked a one-year deal with new CBA club Foshan Longshi.

Playing as teammates at the New York Knicks four years ago, Marbury's battle against Francis on the CBA court is expected to be the most eye-catching spectacle of the new season. According to the schedule, the two will meet for the first time on Jan 1, 2011, when Beijing plays Foshan at home.

The use of foreign players was once regarded as a detriment to the development of local youngsters. However, that mindset appears to have changed and more fans and greater media interest have been drawn to the league by the overseas "mercenaries".

According to figures from the Swiss-based Infront corporation, the CBA's marketing operator, last year's TV audience was more than 400 million. That is expected to rise even more this year.

"Bringing more experienced foreign players, especially former NBA players, is definitely beneficial for our league. It is an effective way to enhance the CBA's level and profile. It's also a powerful catalyst to draw fans back and attract sponsorship support," said Bai Xilin, the competition department head of the CBAC.

Apart from the former Knicks backcourt duo, another two former NBAers - Fred Jones and Ricky Davis - are also well worth watching.

Jones, who won the NBA slam dunk contest in 2004 wearing the Indiana Pacers' jersey, is likely to play for Guangdong Hongyuan. Davis, a veteran swingman with 12 years' of NBA experience, will represent the Jiangsu Dragons.

According to Bai, 32 foreign athletes including nine former NBA players and four Asian players have signed with the 17 clubs. Each team can have at most two overseas players, while last season's bottom five clubs are free to sign one more from Asia to boost their squads.

Although the same rule from last season that each team's two overseas players are allowed to play a total of six quarters per game still applies, the monthly salary cap of $60,000 has been canceled this coming season. That means more big names will be available to appear on CBA courts.

Apart from the boost from more NBA stars, a rules' revision, emulating the NBA's model should be another highlight of the new season.

After a trial run during last season's playoffs, the CBA's three-point line will be formally extended to 6.75 meters, 50 centimeters farther than before. The three-second area will be expanded and an offensive foul protection area will be added under the basket, said Bai.

"The new rules will bring new changes to each team's tactics and formations; it's a better way to follow the world and keep up our games' suspense," said Liu.

According to figures released at the launch of the competition, 28 new faces will debut this season. The average age of the 237 players in the league will be about 23. The regular season, which comprises 309 games, will be played on a round-robin, home-and-away basis with a three-games-per-week schedule from Dec 10, 2010, to March 11, 2011.

While the league appears to be on an upswing, organizers are concerned about match fixing.

The gambling scandals that have rocked the nation's premier soccer league have also set off alarm bells in the basketball community.

"We will pay close attention to any suspicious conduct. We have revised the clubs' access standards, regulations and the penalty provision. We will even introduce judicial organs to investigate (suspicious activities) and will have no mercy on those found guilty," Liu said.

"Clean matches are the basis of the league; we are ready to do all we can to ensure fair play."