The British Basketball League (BBL) is a men's professional basketball league in the United Kingdom and represents the highest level of play in the country. The league is contested by 10 teams from England and Scotland. There are no clubs however from Wales or Northern Ireland. The BBL runs three additional knockout competitions alongside the BBL Championship which are the BBL Cup, the BBL Trophy and the end-of-season BBL Play-offs.
The Newcastle Eagles are a professional basketball team based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England.
The Surrey Scorchers are an English professional basketball team based in Guildford, Surrey, that compete in the British Basketball League.
The 2006–07 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 Scottish Basketball Championship is the national basketball league of Scotland. The league forms the second and third tiers of British basketball after the professional setup of the British Basketball League, where Scotland currently has one representative in the Glasgow Rocks.
The Ayrshire Tornadoes are a Scottish basketball club based in Dalry, North Ayrshire.
The 2005–06 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.
Andrew Derek "Drew" Sullivan is a British retired basketball player. In his career he played for several clubs in Europe and was the captain of the Great Britain national team. He was a two-time MVP of the British Basketball League.
Darius Defoe is a British basketball player. Defoe is a 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) power forward, who is able to play in the center. Since 2005, Defoe is a member of the Newcastle Eagles.
The British Basketball League Cup, often shortened to the BBL Cup, is an annual cup competition for British basketball teams organised by the United Kingdom's top professional league, the British Basketball League. It is one of two peripheral competitions operated by the League during the regular season, with the other being the BBL Trophy. The competition is usually played as a single game knock-out tournament, and is 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 British basketball teams organised by the United Kingdom's top professional league, the British Basketball League. It is one of two peripheral competitions operated by the League during the regular season, with the other being the BBL Cup. The competition's structure and format vary from season to season and often includes invited clubs from the English Basketball League and the Scottish Basketball League. The final takes place in March, usually at a neutral venue.
The Glasgow Rocks are a professional basketball club in Glasgow, Scotland. The Rocks compete in the British Basketball League, the top tier of British basketball. Since 2012, the Rocks have played their home games at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow. The Rocks’ traditional rivals are the Newcastle Eagles. The club was formed in 1998 as the Edinburgh Rocks, it was renamed to the Scottish Rocks in 2002, and the Glasgow Rocks in 2009.
The 2007–08 season, the 21st since the establishment of the British Basketball League, commenced on 9 September 2007, when the Plymouth Raiders succumbed to the Guildford Heat in the inaugural Cup Winners' Cup competition. The regular season started two weeks later on 21 September with 12 teams including new additions Birmingham Panthers, Everton Tigers and London Capital the later of whom stepped up from EBL Division 1 during the summer. After just one season in the top-flight, London United were forced to drop out due to the loss of its financial backer just weeks before the start of the season.
The Mersey Tigers were a professional basketball team based in the city of Liverpool, England. The club was established in 2007 as a start-up franchise of the British Basketball League, the country's elite competition. The Tigers started competing at the start of the 2007–08 season, and won the BBL Cup in their second season as well as finishing as runners-up in the league. In 2013 it was officially announced that the Tigers franchise had been withdrawn from the BBL due to financial difficulties that had plagued the club throughout the previous season, which resulted in the Tigers becoming the first ever BBL club to complete an entire season without a single victory.
Skouson Harker is a Canadian former professional basketball player of the FIBA European Leagues. Harker is from Raymond, Alberta, Canada. After five seasons as a Head Coach in the British Basketball League, Harker most recently coached the Edmonton Energy of the International Basketball League.
Graham Ian Hunter is a professional basketball player from Glasgow.
The 2011–12 season was the 25th campaign of the British Basketball League since the league's establishment in 1987. The season featured 11 teams from across England and Scotland, with Durham Wildcats appearing in their first campaign after election from EBL Division 1. The League did not feature two teams from the previous season; Worthing Thunder had stepped down to the EBL, whilst Essex Pirates withdrew just two weeks prior to the season starting due to the loss of a major sponsor. There was also uncertainty regarding the participation of reigning champions Mersey Tigers, who had to postpone their first game due to off-court problems and operational issues.
Charles Smith is an American-born British former professional basketball player. A forward, he played 14 seasons with the Newcastle Eagles of the British Basketball League (BBL). Smith has been considered one of the greatest BBL players ever, representing both the Eagles and Scottish Rocks and most notably winning the BBL Most Valuable Player Award in 2015. Originally from Philadelphia, he competed for Rider at the college level. His professional career spanned across several countries, including Austria, Turkey, Portugal, and Spain, although a majority of his years were spent in Great Britain.
The 2016–17 British Basketball League season was the 30th campaign of the British Basketball League since the league's establishment in 1987. The season featured 12 teams from across England and Scotland. The season started on September 23, 2016, and ended on May 14, 2017.
Rahmon L. D. Fletcher is an American professional basketball player for the Manchester Giants of the British Basketball League (BBL). Originally from Kansas City, Missouri, he competed with Green Bay at the college level. Since then, Fletcher has played with multiple teams in Europe, winning the BBL Most Valuable Player Award twice with the Newcastle Eagles.
