The British Basketball League Championship, often shortened to the BBL Championship, is the top-level men's professional basketball league in the United Kingdom. Established in 1987, the competition is administered by the British Basketball League and comprises 10 teams from both England and Scotland. Each team plays a 36-game regular season, from September until April, with the team that finishes in first place being crowned as League champions.
Following the end of the regular season, the top eight-placed teams advance to the postseason Playoffs tournament to decide the winner of the BBL Playoffs.
There is currently no promotion or relegation between the second-tier English and Scottish leagues and the BBL Championship because of the franchise system in use in the BBL, although several clubs have been elected from the English Basketball League in recent years.
History
Since 1972, the English Basketball Association-operated semi-professional National Basketball League provided competition for the country's top basketball clubs. The league started with six clubs, but grew each year to include multiple divisions featuring teams from across England. However, by the mid-1980s, following an increase in the sport's popularity due to coverage from television network Channel 4, the League's foremost clubs – looking to improve the basketball's image through greater professionalism – broke away from the English Basketball Association and formed their own administration. The new organisation, simply called the Basketball League, was established in 1987 and saw a franchise-based set-up where every member would have an equal shareholding and a representative on the League's Board of Directors, and with no promotion or relegation to the lower leagues aiming at increasing the league's stability. The NBL's sponsorship deal from the Carlsberg Group continued with the new organisation and the newly founded Carlsberg League tipped off its inaugural season in 1987. A total of 15 teams took to the floor for the 1987–88 season, with the new League including all 13 former NBL teams present as well as drafting in new entrants Oldham Celtics (promoted from NBL Division 2) and Livingston (elected from the Scottish National League). The new league continued the NBL's policy of allowing only two import players to be registered per team. Portsmouth were the early pace-setters and pipped Kingston to the first regular-season League title but it was underdogs Livingston, the only member based outside England, that claimed the first Championship thanks to an 81–72 victory over Portsmouth in the Play-off Final.
Portsmouth's dominance was short-lived however and after a failed attempt to relocate to Reading, the franchise withdrew from the League in 1988. This was the beginning of a membership crisis for the Carlsberg League, with no fewer than seven teams withdrawing from the competition by the start of the 1989–90 season. With a lack of teams, the League opened up for expansion and brought in the newly rebranded London Docklands team along with Cheshire Jets and Worthing Bears from the NBL, whilst readmitting Birmingham Bullets and Hemel Royals over the next couple of seasons. In 1990, the league was rebranded as the Carlsberg League Division One, after the Carlsberg Group decided to extend its sponsorship to the lower leagues. Kingston dominated the League throughout its early years and under the guidance of Coach Kevin Cadle – the most successful coach in British Basketball history – netted four consecutive regular season and Championship titles from 1989 (as Glasgow Rangers) to 1992.
In 1993, the competition was rebranded again due to new sponsorship deal from Budweiser, thus becoming the Budweiser Basketball League. The addition of Sheffield Sharks (from the NBL) and the London-based Leopards in 1994 ushered in a new era for the League, with both teams utilising multimillion-pound arenas to stage home games. It was a huge step away from the traditional, small sports centre venues that were commonplace throughout the League (though London Docklands briefly used London Arena for home games). With financial backing from the Chrysalis Group, Sheffield stormed to their first League title in 1994–95 season – their rookie season. Following the demise of Kingston, who had since moved to Guildford to become the Guildford Kings, Worthing made their mark in history with three back-to-back Play-off Finals victories from 1993 to 1995. In 1995, the Budweiser League secured a deal with BSkyB to broadcast games live on its Sky Sports platform, which brought a greater following and popularity to the League. To increase playing standards and game quality, the League amended its rules a year later to allow teams to include five imported players on their roster.
By 1996, the Budweiser League had become more stable and comprised 13 teams, all of which were based in England and five of which were located in and around London (Crystal Palace, Hemel Royals, Leopards, London Towers and Thames Valley Tigers). The capital city enjoyed huge success throughout this period with Towers taking the 1996 League crown and Leopards scoring back-to-back League titles in 1997 and 1998 – where they won via head-to-head results over second placed Birmingham Bullets after both teams finished with 58 points. The spell of dominance from the South was broken by Birmingham's two Championship Final's victories in 1996 and 1998, against the Towers and Thames Valley Tigers respectively. The 1998–99 season saw a new addition to the League with the expansion of Edinburgh Rocks, who became the League's first Scottish-based team since Glasgow Rangers' and Livingston's participation in 1989. The 1999 Budweiser League title came down to a final game between title-chasing rivals Sheffield and Manchester Giants in front of more than 11,000 fans at Manchester's MEN Arena. With both teams tied on points at the top of the League table, and tied at 85–85 with just 3.5 seconds left in the game, Terrell Myers' last-gasp 18-foot buzzer-beating jump-shot claimed the regular season title for Sheffield.[1] However it was the third-seed London Towers who went all the way in the post-season play-offs and took home the Championship crown.
Another change of sponsorship in 1999 saw the competition renamed as the Dairylea Dunkers Championship, whilst the League radically changed its structure to incorporate a conference-based system. The League's 13 teams were geographically divided into two conferences – seven teams in the North and six teams in the South – with the top four-placed teams in each conference advancing to the play-offs. Towers had dominated the South, whilst Giants gained revenge on Sheffield, pipping them to the Northern Conference crown. The Northern and Southern winner's were kept apart throughout the play-offs until the Final, where Manchester went on to beat Birmingham for the post-season title. The new millennium saw yet another name change as the competition was rebranded as the British Basketball League Championship following the end of Darylea's sponsorship in 2000 and the 2000–01 season saw one of the biggest upsets in BBL history as Leicester Riders, who finished with a 17–19 record in the regular season and were the lowest seeded team in the play-offs, went all the way to take the Championship silverware with a 75–84 in the Final over Sheffield. Following that season the League's TV broadcasting deal transferred from BSkyB to ITV Digital in a three-year contract agreement.[2] Just months later the Manchester Giants became the first franchise to be removed from the competition by League officials due to unfulfilling a fixture and a lack of finance.[citation needed]
The 2001–02 season was a remarkable one for minor North-west club Chester Jets who were victorious in all four BBL competitions, winning the Northern Conference title, as well as the Play-off Championship, the BBL Trophy and the National Cup. The accomplishment was dubbed the "Jetwash" by fans and the media, and had last been achieved by the former Kingston franchise in 1992.[3] By the end of the campaign though, the BBL had lost another franchise following Derby Storm's decision to withdraw, and the collapse of ITV Digital during the summer of 2002 brought financial instability to the League and due to the decreased membership, the competition abolished its Conference structure and returned to a single league format. Scottish Rocks went on to win the 2003 Championship title becoming the first non-English team to win since Glasgow Rangers 14 years earlier. With the loss of the Leopards franchise in 2003, the Championship now consisted of just 10 teams. Plymouth Raiders, a powerhouse of the lower divisions, stepped up to the BBL in 2004 and joined as the Championship's eleventh team. The withdrawal of Thames Valley Tigers in 2005 brought about another membership shake-up as Tigers fans, determined not to lose professional basketball in their locality, established the Guildford Heat as the BBL's first supporter-owned franchise.[4] The 2005–06 season saw Newcastle Eagles enjoy their most successful season to date and as they joined Chester and Kingston as the only teams to win a "grand slam" of League, Play-off, BBL Trophy and Cup titles in the same season.
The summer of 2006 saw major upheaval within the BBL's membership as three long-standing franchises – Birmingham Bullets, Brighton Bears and London Towers – all withdrew from the League.[5] With no BBL representation from the country's two biggest cities (Birmingham and London), the League elected lower division teams London United and Midlands-based Worcester Wolves to keep the number of teams at 10 for the upcoming season.[6] United's stay within the BBL lasted only for one season as they too would be forced to withdraw prior to the start of the 2007–08 season due to the loss of its major sponsor. However the Championship saw the addition of three more teams prior to the season tip-off, with English Basketball League team London Capital stepping-up and new franchises Birmingham Panthers and Everton Tigers bringing the number of competing teams to 12. This kick-started another period of instability which saw no fewer than 12 new expansion franchises being drafted in over a period seven years (until 2014), six of which later withdrew or folded due to various issues. Newcastle continued their dynasty of success by claiming a further five Championship titles in seven seasons, from 2005 to 2012, along with many other accolades. Only Guildford Heat in 2008 and Everton/Mersey Tigers, in 2010 and 2011, were able to break their run. Challenging Newcastle's dominance were Leicester Riders who, despite finishing as Finalists in 2012 to Eagles, claimed a treble the following season with victories in the League, Championship Play-offs and BBL Cup.
Format
Regular season
The competition features all member teams playing a 30-game regular season (in a round robin format), from September through to April.[7] Matches are played according to FIBA rules and games consist of four quarters of 10 minutes each. Two points are awarded for a win,[7] with overtime used if the score is tied at the final buzzer – unlimited numbers of 5 minute overtime periods are played until one team is ahead when a period ends. At the end of the regular season, the team with the most points is crowned as winners of the BBL Championship, and thus British Champions. If points are equal between two or more teams then head-to-head results between said teams are used to determine the winners. In the case of a tie between multiple teams where this does not break the tie, the winners are then determined by the points difference in the games between said teams.[7] Following the completion of the Championship regular season, the top-eight ranked teams advance into the post-season Championship Play-offs which usually take place during April.[7]
In the regular season, team schedules are not identical and neither are matchdays, with games scheduled mainly around venue availability. Because of this, teams may find themselves playing a series of home games consecutively followed by a straight set of away games. As the season is also particularly short many games are played over weekends as 'doubleheaders, whereby a team will play games (possibly a home and away game) on consecutive days, something that is not commonplace in British sports, although often seen in the National Basketball Association and other North American sports.
BBL Playoffs
The postseason BBL Playoffs usually takes place in April and May, featuring the top eight ranked teams from the regular season compete in a knockout tournament. Teams are seeded depending on their final positioning in the Championship standings, so first-place faces eighth-place, second versus seventh-place, third against sixth-place and finally fourth plays the fifth-placed team. Both the Quarterfinals and the succeeding Semifinals are played over a two-game series (home & away) with the higher seed having choice of home advantage in the either the first or second leg – an aggregated score over the two games will determine which team will advance to the next stage.[7][8] As with the Quarterfinals, teams in the Semifinals are also seeded, with the highest-ranking team drawn against the lowest-ranking team in one Semifinal and the two remaining teams drawn together in the other Semifinal. The culmination of the postseason is the Grand Final, held at The O2 Arena in London, which sees the two Semifinal winners play a one-game event to determine the BBL Playoff winners.
Sponsorship
Throughout its history the competition has been sponsored by several businesses, which have resulted in the trophy being renamed in accordance with the sponsor's branding.
The Sheffield Sharks, currently known as "B.Braun Sheffield Sharks" for sponsorship reasons, are a professional basketball team from the city of Sheffield, England. The Sharks compete in the British Basketball League and play their home matches at Park Community Arena, which opened in 2023. They are one of the most successful teams in the history of British basketball and dominated domestic competitions throughout the 1990s and early 2000s.
The British Basketball League (BBL) is a men's professional basketball league in Great Britain and represents the highest level of play in the countries. The league is contested by 10 teams from England and Scotland. There are no clubs from Wales, or Northern Ireland. The BBL runs three additional knockout competitions alongside the BBL Championship which are the BBL Cup, BBL Trophy and the end-of-season BBL Playoffs. In March 2024, there will be a BBL All-Star game which will replace the BBL Cup knockout competition.
London Towers were a professional basketball team based in London, England. They enjoyed considerable success in the 1990s and early 2000s, collecting 3 titles in the British Basketball League (BBL) as well as regularly competing in European competitions such as the Euroleague and EuroCup. They contested a fierce rivalry with fellow London team Greater London Leopards for much of this spell. After several years of decline with financial difficulties and venue issues, owner Costi Zombanakis pulled the first team from the BBL in the summer of 2006, and although the club's second team continued in the regional English Basketball League, the London Towers brand folded in 2009.
The Surrey Scorchers are an English professional basketball team based in Guildford, Surrey, that compete in the British Basketball League.
Brighton Bears was a British basketball team based in Brighton, Sussex. From 1984 to 1999 the club was known as the Worthing Bears and was based in the town of Worthing, 12 miles west of Brighton. The Bears played in the top-flight British Basketball League (BBL) until 2006 when the franchise folded. The final season was notable for the signing of former NBA star Dennis Rodman, who played three games for the Bears. The league's franchise for the Brighton-area, originally put on hold, was intended to be occupied by the Brighton Cougars from the 2008–09 season but the Cougars bid was rejected, with the league favouring rival candidate Worthing Thunder.
The 2006–07 BBL season, the 20th since its establishment of the British Basketball League, started on 29 September 2006 when reigning champions Newcastle Eagles began with an 85–83 loss away to Sheffield Sharks.
The 2005–06 BBL season was the 19th season of the British Basketball League, which ran from 23 September 2005 through to 11 April 2006. The season started earlier than usual because of England's participation in the 2006 Commonwealth Games, which took place during the regular season.
The National Basketball League, or NBL for short, is a league competition representing semi-professional and amateur basketball clubs from England and Wales. It forms levels 2 to 4 on the British basketball pyramid, in line with the Scottish Basketball Championship, sitting directly below the top tier British Basketball League.
The British Basketball League Cup, often shortened to the BBL Cup, was an annual cup competition for the British Basketball League (BBL). It was one of two peripheral competitions operated by the League during the regular season, with the other being the BBL Trophy. The competition was usually played as a single game knock-out tournament, and was only contested by members of the British Basketball League. The final takes place in early January at the Arena Birmingham in Birmingham.
The British Basketball League Trophy, often shortened to the BBL Trophy, is an annual cup competition for the British Basketball League (BBL). It is the unique of peripheral competitions operated by the League during the regular season, The competition's structure and format vary from season to season and, unlike the BBL Cup, often includes invited clubs from the English Basketball League and the Scottish Basketball League, and representatives from Basketball Wales, a novelty in BBL events which gives the competition much of its character.
The 2008–09 BBL season was the 22nd campaign in the history of the British Basketball League (BBL), which commenced on 14 September 2008 with the Cup Winners' Cup. The regular season began a week later with 12 teams competing, though a line-up change saw the Birmingham Panthers withdraw and fold during close season and the inclusion of Worthing Thunder from the English Basketball League.
The 1998–99 BBL season was the 12th season of the British Basketball League, known as the Budweiser Basketball League for sponsorship reasons, since its establishment in 1987. The regular season commenced on September 12, 1998, and ended on April 4, 1999, with a total of 13 teams competing, playing 36 games each. The post-season Play-offs began on April 9 and culminated in the end-of-season finale on May 2 at Wembley Arena.
The 2010–11 BBL season was the 24th campaign of the British Basketball League since the league's establishment in 1987. This season saw the league reduced to 12 teams with the withdrawal of London Capital during the summer and was the first campaign ever to not feature a club from the capital city London.
The 2012–13 BBL season was the 26th campaign of the British Basketball League since the league's establishment in 1987. The season featured 12 teams from across England and Scotland including a new entrant, the reformed Manchester Giants, who were based on the original franchise of the same name that folded in 2001. East London Royals were due to become the 13th member of the League, but after their financial backing fell through weeks before the start of the season, the League deferred their entry until the 2013–14 season. The pre-season also saw long-time member franchise Milton Keynes Lions relocate to London and rebrand itself as the London Lions, whilst Cheshire Jets – encountering severe financial difficulties and threatened with the franchise being dissolved – were saved by campaigning local fans and businessmen and renamed as Cheshire Phoenix midway through the season.
The 1997–98 BBL season was known as the Budweiser League for sponsorship reasons. The league featured the same 13 teams as the previous year, playing 36 games each. The only change saw the Hemel Royals renamed the Watford Royals.
The 1995–96 BBL season was known as the Budweiser League for sponsorship reasons. The league featured a total of 13 teams, playing 36 games each. The division retained the same thirteen teams as the previous year after the BBL rejected an application from Crystal Palace who had sealed the National League Division One title. The main change saw the Sunderland Scorpions renamed the Newcastle Comets due to a change of franchise and venue, their new home would be in Gateshead until the newly built Newcastle Arena opened on 18 November. The Manchester Giants also had a new home at the Nynex Arena and the sport was boosted by the return of TV coverage by Sky Sports.
The 1994–95 BBL season was known as the Budweiser League for sponsorship reasons. The season featured a total of 13 teams, playing 36 games each. A major change saw the Guildford Kings franchise fold due to the club being unable to negotiate a viable contract with the owners of the Guildford Spectrum. The league sold Kings' licence to a group headed by Robert Earl, Ed Simons and Harvey Goldsmith, who established the Leopards. Oldham Celtics dropped down a division to National League Division One.
The 1993–94 BBL season was known as the Budweiser League for sponsorship reasons. The season featured a total of 13 teams, playing 36 games each.
The 1992–93 BBL season was the sixth season of the British Basketball League since its establishment in 1987. The first division featuring a total of 12 teams, playing 33 games each increased in number by one following the admittance of the Oldham Celtics. The Kingston Kings moved from the Tolworth Leisure Centre to new home in Guildford at the Spectrum Arena and became the Guildford Kings.
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2023–24 British Basketball League season 
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