The league had 12 teams for its inaugural campaign and every club played each other twice in the regular season.

Total points were used to decide the winner.

[2] The first CBA All-Star Game was played on April 9, 1996, in Beijing.

The Blue Team, featuring players including Wang Zhizhi and Adiljan Jun, defeated the White Team 106–98.

[1] These are the award winners for the 1995-96 CBA regular season.