Basketball Bundesliga
 | |
| Country |
 Germany |
|---|---|
| Confederation | FIBA Europe |
| Founded | 1966 |
| First season | 1966–67 |
| Number of teams | 18 |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| Relegation to | ProA |
| Domestic cup(s) | BBL-Pokal |
| Supercup | BBL Champions Cup |
| International cup(s) |
EuroLeague EuroCup Champions League FIBA Europe Cup |
| Current champions |
Brose Bamberg (9th title) |
| Most championships |
Bayer Giants Leverkusen (14 titles) |
| TV partners | Telekom Entertain |
| Website |
www |
 2017–18 Basketball Bundesliga | |
The Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) (English language: Federal Basketball League), for sponsorship reasons named easyCredit BBL, is the highest level league of professional club basketball in Germany. The league comprises 18 teams. A BBL season is split into a league stage and a playoff stage. At the end of the league stage, the top eight teams qualify for the playoff stage, and the teams positioned in the 17th and 18th places are relegated to a lower tier league. The playoffs are played in a "Best of five" format. The winning team of the final round are crowned the German Champions of that season.
In addition to the league competition, all BBL teams compete for the German Cup (BBL-Cup).[1] Teams playing in the second league (ProA or ProB), or in a lower level Regionalliga, are also eligible to participate in the German Cup.[2] There are always 3 knock-out rounds that are played for the BBL-Cup. If more teams from the leagues below the BBL level apply for participation, then available places, and additional qualification rounds are added for them. The final four remaining teams determine the rankings for bronze, silver, and gold medals, in knock-out matches that are termed the BBL-TOP4. The gold winning team is the German Cup winner.
The Basketball Bundesliga is run by the Basketball Bundesliga GmbH. 74% of BBL GmbH is owned by the AG BBL e.V. (which is composed of the clubs), and 26% by the German Basketball Federation (DBB).[3][4]
History
In Germany, a national domestic basketball championship was first organised in 1939, and it was won by LSV Spandau. By 1944, almost all basketball activity in the country was forced to an end, due to the Second World War. In 1947, MTSV Schwabing München became the first champion of post-war divided Germany.
The creation of a split West-German federal-league, consisting of one northern division and one southern division, each comprising 10 teams, was decided on by the German Basketball Federation (DBB) in 1964. On October 1, 1966, the first season of the so-called Basketball Bundesliga started. Starting with the 1971–72 season, the size of each division was reduced to 8 teams.
With the 1975–76 season, the league structure was changed into a ten team first league (1. Basketball Bundesliga), and a 20 team second league (2. Basketball Bundesliga). Only the second league was split into a northern and a southern division, of 10 teams each. In 1985, the top league was enlarged to a size of 12 teams, and two years later, each division of the second league was also enlarged to 12 teams.
In 1988, the championship mode "Best of five" was applied for the first time. Starting with the 1995–96 season, the first league consisted of 14 teams. The Basketball Bundesliga GmbH (BBL) was founded in October 1996.
The federal leagues received their own administration within the framework of the German Basketball Federation in 1997. Since then, the second league divisions have been administered by the "AG 2. Bundesliga", while the BBL has been responsible for the first league. Two years later, a contract was signed between the BBL and the German Basketball Federation, in which the federation transferred its marketing/events rights to the BBL, for a 10-year duration, and in return, the BBL agreed to pay an annual "amateur support fee" of DM 600,000 (€ 306,775).
Starting with the 2003–04 season, the top league was increased to 16 teams, and in 2006–07, it was further increased to its present size of 18 teams. For the following 2007–08 season, the structure of the second league was reshaped from its northern/southern divisions, into a ProA division, and a ProB division. These divisions remained under the administration by "AG 2. Bundesliga".
Between 1994 and 2001, the highest level German basketball league was called "Veltins Basketball Bundesliga", and from 2001, until 2003, the league was known as "s.Oliver Basketball Bundesliga". Bayer Giants Leverkusen hold the league titles won record, being the winner of 14 German Basketball Championships. However, since 1997, ALBA Berlin has dominated the league, winning their 8th title in 2008. Twenty-one teams have won the championship, since its inception.
Sponsorship
In 2016, the BBL joined forces with Tipbet, a Malta-based betting company.[5] This made Tipbet the Official Betting and Premium Sponsor of the league; the sponsorship agreement results in advertising activities throughout the arenas and online, and runs until 2018.[6]
Arena rules
Currently, all Bundesliga clubs must play in arenas that seat at least 3,000 people.
Logos, names, and sponsorship names
Logo of 2010–2016
Teams
The line-up for the 2017–2018 season features the following teams:[8]
| Team | City | Arena | Capacity[9] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brose Bamberg | Bamberg | Brose Arena | |
| Medi bayreuth | Bayreuth | Oberfrankenhalle | |
| Alba Berlin | Berlin | Mercedes-Benz Arena | |
| Telekom Baskets Bonn | Bonn | Telekom Dome | |
| Basketball Löwen Braunschweig | Braunschweig | Volkswagen Halle | |
| Eisbären Bremerhaven | Bremerhaven | Bremerhaven Stadthalle | |
| Skyliners Frankfurt | Frankfurt | Fraport Arena | |
| Gießen 46ers | Gießen | Sporthalle Gießen-Ost | |
| BG Göttingen | Göttingen | Sparkassen Arena | |
| Oettinger Rockets | Gotha | Messe Erfurt | |
| Science City Jena | Jena | Sparkassen-Arena | |
| MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg | Ludwigsburg | MHP-Arena | |
| Mitteldeutscher BC | Weißenfels | Stadthalle Weißenfels | |
| Bayern Munich | Munich | Audi Dome | |
| EWE Baskets Oldenburg | Oldenburg | Große EWE Arena | |
| Tigers Tübingen | Tübingen | Paul Horn-Arena | |
| ratiopharm Ulm | Ulm | Arena Ulm/Neu-Ulm | |
| s.Oliver Würzburg | Würzburg | s.Oliver Arena |
Title holders
- 1938–39 Spandau
- 1939-46 Not held due to World War II
- 1946–47 Schwabing
- 1947–48 Turnerbund Heidelberg
- 1948–49 Schwabing
- 1949–50 Stuttgart-Degerloch
- 1950–51 Turnerbund Heidelberg
- 1951–52 Turnerbund Heidelberg
- 1952–53 Turnerbund Heidelberg
- 1953–54 Bayern Munich
- 1954–55 Bayern Munich
- 1955–56 Düsseldorf
- 1956–57 Heidelberg
- 1957–58 Heidelberg
- 1958–59 Heidelberg
- 1959–60 Heidelberg
- 1960–61 Heidelberg
- 1961–62 Heidelberg
- 1962–63 Alemannia Aachen
- 1963–64 Alemannia Aachen
- 1964–65 Gießen 46ers
- 1965–66 Heidelberg
- 1966–67 Gießen 46ers
- 1967–68 Gießen 46ers
- 1968–69 Osnabrück
- 1969–70 04 Leverkusen
- 1970–71 04 Leverkusen
- 1971–72 04 Leverkusen
- 1972–73 Heidelberg
- 1973–74 Hagen
- 1974–75 Gießen 46ers
- 1975–76 04 Leverkusen
- 1976–77 Heidelberg
- 1977–78 Gießen 46ers
- 1978–79 04 Leverkusen
- 1979–80 Göttingen
- 1980–81 Saturn Köln
- 1981–82 Saturn Köln
- 1982–83 Göttingen
- 1983–84 Göttingen
- 1984–85 Bayer 04 Leverkusen
- 1985–86 Bayer 04 Leverkusen
- 1986–87 Saturn Köln
- 1987–88 Saturn Köln
- 1988–89 Steiner Bayreuth
- 1989–90 Bayer 04 Leverkusen
- 1990–91 Bayer 04 Leverkusen
- 1991–92 Bayer 04 Leverkusen
- 1992–93 Bayer 04 Leverkusen
- 1993–94 Bayer 04 Leverkusen
- 1994–95 Bayer 04 Leverkusen
- 1995–96 Bayer 04 Leverkusen
- 1996–97 Alba Berlin
- 1997–98 Alba Berlin
- 1998–99 Alba Berlin
- 1999–00 Alba Berlin
- 2000–01 Alba Berlin
- 2001–02 Alba Berlin
- 2002–03 Alba Berlin
- 2003–04 Opel Skyliners
- 2004–05 GHP Bamberg
- 2005–06 RheinEnergie Köln
- 2006–07 Brose Baskets
- 2007–08 Alba Berlin
- 2008–09 EWE Baskets
- 2009–10 Brose Baskets
- 2010–11 Brose Baskets
- 2011–12 Brose Baskets
- 2012–13 Brose Baskets
- 2013–14 Bayern Munich
- 2014–15 Brose Baskets
- 2015–16 Brose Baskets
- 2016–17 Brose Baskets
Titles by club
| Club | Titles | Winning years |
|---|---|---|
| Bayer 04 Leverkusen | |
1969–70, 1970–71, 1971–72, 1975–76, 1978–79, 1984–85, 1985–86, 1989–90, 1990–91, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1994–95, 1995–96 |
| Heidelberg | |
1947–48, 1950–51, 1951–52, 1952–53, 1956–57, 1957–58, 1958–59, 1959–60, 1960–61, 1961–62, 1965–66, 1972–73, 1976–77 |
| Brose Baskets | |
2004–05, 2006–07, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17 |
| Alba Berlin | |
1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–00, 2000–01, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2007–08 |
| Gießen 46ers | |
1964–65, 1966–67, 1967–68, 1974–75, 1977–78 |
| Saturn Köln | |
1980–81, 1981–82, 1986–87, 1987–88 |
| Bayern Munich | |
1953–54, 1954–55, 2013–14 |
| Göttingen | |
1979–80, 1982–83, 1983–84 |
| Alemannia Aachen | |
1962–63, 1963–64 |
| Schwabing | |
1946–47, 1948–49 |
| Spandau | |
1938–39 |
| Stuttgart-Degerloch | |
1949–50 |
| Düsseldorf | |
1955–56 |
| Osnabrück | |
1968–69 |
| Hagen | |
1973–74 |
| Steiner Bayreuth | |
1988–89 |
| Opel Skyliners | |
2003–04 |
| RheinEnergie Köln | |
2005–06 |
| EWE Baskets | |
2008–09 |
Finals
Awards
Finals MVPs
- Player nationality by national team.
See also
- Basketball in Germany
- German Basketball League Champions
- German Basketball League Awards
- German Basketball Cup
- German Basketball Supercup
- German League All-Star Game
References
- ↑ Ausschreibung BBL-Pokal 2009 BBL (in German).
- ↑ Ausschreibung für den Vereinspokal-Wettbewerb Herren 2008/2009 DBB (in German).
- ↑ Struktur beko-bbl.de
- ↑ Governance of Professional Sports Leagues - Cooperatives versus Contracts, page 24 ftp.repec.org
- ↑ "BBL partners with Tipbet". SportsPro. SportsPro. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
- ↑ "Tipbet.com is The Official Betting and Premium Sponsor of the German easyCredit Basketball Bundesliga". Tipbet.
- ↑ Fünf Jahre Vertrauen: easyCredit neuer Namensgeber und strategischer Partner der Basketball Bundesliga
- ↑ Team-Übersicht beko-bbl.de
- ↑ Teams
- ↑ Auszeichnungen & Awards der Bundesligageschichte beko-bbl.de
- ↑ Brad Wanamaker von Brose Baskets Bamberg als Finals-MVP ausgezeichnet m.sport1.de
External links
- Official website (in German)
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