Guangdong Vermilion Birds is a Chinese professional women's basketball club based in Dongguan, Guangdong, playing in the Women's Chinese Basketball Association (WCBA). It was known as Guangdong Dolphins from 2007–2018 and Guangdong Kapok before 2007.
The Vermilion Bird is a mythical creature in Chinese culture.
History The team was founded in 1954 as the Guangdong women's basketball team. The team has a long and rich history and has won numerous accolades over the years. In 2017, the Guangdong women's basketball team won the first National Games championship. In 2018, the team helped the men's basketball women's basketball team win the championship at the Asian Games. Both the men's and women's three-man basketball teams also won gold at the Asian Games. In 2019, the Guangdong women's basketball team was renamed Dongguan Vermilion Birds Women's Basketball. That same year, the team won the WCBA League championship for the first time, achieving the double glory of the 2019 Dongguan Men's and Women's Basketball League.
In 2023, the team won the 10th "Guangdong Youth May Fourth Medal" collective award, which is the first time that the team has been honored with this award.
The team changed its name from Guangdong women's basketball team to Dongguan Vermilion Birds Women's Basketball Team and its logo from "Dolphin" to "Suzaku", which means auspicious, brave, and powerful.
The team held a meeting for the new season in 2018, and Liu Kejun, vice chairman of the Chinese Basketball Association and president of the Provincial Basketball Association, Huang Huihong, director of the Municipal Sports Bureau, Ye Shufan, member of the town party committee, and relevant personnel such as Xintongsheng Industrial Development Co., Ltd., and New Century Basketball Club unveiled the new team logo.
The Vermilion Birds won their second WCBA title in 2025 against the Sichuan Yuanda, winning the series 3-1.
The Vermilion Birds won their first Women's Basketball League Asia title in 2025.
Season-by-season records Season Corporate Sponsor Home City Final Rank Record (including playoffs) Head coachWL% Guangdong Kapok2002Dongguan JundaDongguan3rd10471.4 Zheng Wei2002–032nd15865.22004Foshan Hongjia AluminumFoshan6th5550.02004–056th9950.02005–06Dongguan10th91636.02007Sunray Cave7th4833.3 Guangdong Dolphins2007–08Asia AluminumZhaoqing6th81044.4 Zheng Wei2008–09Foshan6th121250.0 Zhao Li2009–105th141058.3 Chen Duan2010–112nd23874.2 Pan Wei2011–127th151060.02012–13Dongguan Daily NewsDongguan8th101441.7 Bo Overton2013–145th141058.3 Ma Yongzhong2014–15Dongguan Songshan Lake7th131743.3 Yoo Soo-jong2015–16Dongguan Marco Polo Group4th172045.9 Wang Wei-chieh2016–176th181948.62017–18Guangdong Xintongsheng4th161748.5 Lin Yaosen Guangdong Vermilion Birds2018–19Guangdong XintongshengDongguan Lin Yaosen
Current players
Notable former players
Deanna Jackson (2002–05) Chasity Melvin (2008–09) Swin Cash (2009–12) Ashley Corral (2012) Tamika Catchings (2012–13) Aneika Henry (2014–15) Yelena Leuchanka (2015–17) Candace Parker (2016) Glory Johnson (2017) Amber Harris (2017–18) Yui Hanada (2009–10) Yang Ya-hui (2015–17) Xu Chunmei (2002) Pan Wei (2002–05) Song Xiaoyun (2002–09) Guan Xin (2004–13) Wei Wei (2004–14) Huang Hongpin (2007–14, 2017–18)
References