The 25th season of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) will get underway on Friday. With a new coach in legendary Stephon Marbury, new players, and a new name, the Beijing Royal Fighters, formerly the Beikong Fly Dragons, are ready to carve out a new path this campaign. 

The home court for the Royal Fighters, the National Olympic Sports Center has been upgraded with a new large screen, sound and light system, and seats. The Royal Fighters made some big changes in the off-season, most notably making Marbury, who played his last professional season with the team last year, the new coach.

Sun Tonglin and Wang Zirui have joined from Xinjiang. Sun Yue's addition has garnered significant attention as he returns to the CBA after two years. The No.1 overall pick in this year's CBA Draft, Wang Shaojie will also help bolster the squad and has gained some experience during the pre-season.

This will be the fourth season in the CBA for the franchise and their goal is to make the playoffs for the first time. With his side determined to do well in the upcoming season, CBA icon and Royal Fighters coach Marbury said, "It's a challenge. It's something new. It's something that I have never done before. I have been in basketball for over 22 years as a professional basketball player. So I do have some deep understandings about how the game is supposed to be played.

"I have been playing basketball for my entire life since I was two years old. The love of the game and you know you have a different type of insight," Marbury added.

Meanwhile, one of his side's stalwart and spearhead Sun Yue mentioned, "As a veteran, I played basketball for many years and now I need to help the new players in the team. I will give them some advice on the court based on my experiences. And I will also help them to get into the team soon."