Korisliiga

Last updated

Korisliiga
Korisliiga 2015-16 logo.png
Formerly
  • Koripallon SM-sarja
  • 1939–1999
  • SM-koris
  • 1999–2004
  • Sparliiga
  • 2004–2005
Founded1939
Country Finland
Federation Basketball Finland
Confederation FIBA Europe
Number of teams 12
Level on pyramid1
Relegation to I-division A
International cup(s) Champions League
FIBA Europe Cup
Current champions Salon Vilpas
(2025–26)
Most championships Pantterit (14 titles)
TV partners
Website korisliiga.fi
Basketball current event.svg 2025–26 Korisliiga season

Korisliiga is the top-tier professional basketball league in Finland, comprising the top-twelve teams of the country. Pantterit hold the record for the most league titles won, with fourteen. Salon Vilpas are the reigning Finnish Champions (SM) after winning the playoff finals versus Joensuun Kataja in 2026.

Contents

The league was founded by Basketball Finland in 1939 as Koripallon SM-sarja (lit. 'Basketball Finnish Championship' or 'Basketball Finnish Championship series'). [a] It was renamed SM-koris ('Finnish Champion[ship] Basket') in 1999 and was known as Sparliiga during the 2004–05 season due to a sponsorship agreement with Spar. The current league name, Korisliiga ('Basket League'), has been used since 2005.

Season format

In its current format, each team plays all other teams two times in the regular season, once at home and once away, for a total of 22 regular season games. The top six teams advances continues to upper stage and the bottom six teams plays lower stage after 22 games, 5 games at home and 5 games at away versus all other teams in stage. The best two teams from lower group joins to playoffs with upper group teams.

Playoffs are played best of seven format, except the quarter-finals which are played best of 5 format.

Teams

The official Korisliiga logo used until the 2015-16 season Korisliiga logo.png
The official Korisliiga logo used until the 2015–16 season

Current teams

TeamCityHome arenaFoundedHead coach
Helsinki Seagulls Helsinki Töölön kisahalli 2013 Timo Saukkola
Joensuun Kataja Joensuu Motonet Areena 1949 Petri Virtanen
Kauhajoen Karhu Kauhajoki IKH Areena 1910 Janne Koskimies
Kobrat Lapua Kobra-Areena 1989 Ville Turja
Korihait Uusikaupunki Uusikaupunki Areena 1974 Ivan Ivanovic
Kouvot Kouvola MLL Areena 1964 Kari Kurronen
KTP-Basket Kotka Steveco Areena 1927 Darko Mihajlovic
BC Nokia Nokia Harjuniityn palloiluhalli 1997 Greg Gibson
Salon Vilpas Salo Salohalli 1908 Jussi Savolainen
Tampereen Pyrintö Tampere Pyynikin palloiluhalli 1896 Tero Vasell
Bisons Loimaa Loimaa Loimaan liikuntahalli 1964 Konsta Mastomäki
Tapiolan Honka Espoo Tapiolan Urheiluhalli 1957 Aapo Heinonen

From 2000s, Korisliiga in timeline

2000–
2001 		2001–
2002 		2002–
2003 		2003–
2004 		2004–
2005 		2005–
2006 		2006–
2007 		2007–
2008 		2008–
2009 		2009–
2010 		2010–
2011 		2011–
2012 		2012–
2013 		2013–
2014 		2014–
2015 		2015–
2016
Pyrbasket Pyrintö
KTP
Kouvot
Kataja
Namika Lahti
Vilpas
Korihait
Karhu
LrNMKY N. Lpr
Espoon Honka
Tapiolan Honka
Tarmo
LoKoKo
ToPo
Seagulls
Kobrat
FoKoPo
T. Comp.
Pussihukat
Aura Basket
Huima
BC Jyväskylä
BC Nokia
SäyRi
Pantterit

Title holders

Finals

SeasonChampionRunner-upFinals scoreBronze medal
1980–81 Torpan Pojat Tampereen Pyrintö 3–0 Hyvinkään Tahko
1981–82 Turun NMKY Pantterit 3–2 KTP Basket
1982–83 Torpan Pojat Pantterit 3–2 Turun NMKY
1983–84 Helsingin NMKY Tapiolan Honka 3–0 KTP Basket
1984–85 Helsingin NMKY KTP Basket 3–1 UU
1985–86 Torpan Pojat KTP Basket 3–1 Helsingin NMKY
1986–87 Helsingin NMKY KTP Basket 3–0 UU
1987–88 KTP Basket Helsingin NMKY 3–2 Torpan Pojat
1988–89 Helsingin NMKY HoNsU 3–2 Pantterit
1989–90 UU KTP Basket 3–1 Helsingin NMKY
1990–91 KTP Basket HoNsU 3–2 Torpan Pojat
1991–92 Helsingin NMKY Pantterit 4–2 UU
1992–93 KTP Basket Torpan Pojat 3–0 HoNsU
1993–94 KTP Basket Torpan Pojat 3–2 Forssan Koripojat
1994–95 Kouvot Korihait 3–1 Torpan Pojat
1995–96 Torpan Pojat Namika Lahti Espoon Honka
1996–97 Torpan Pojat Kouvot Espoon Honka
1997–98 Torpan Pojat Kouvot Espoon Honka
1998–99 Kouvot Espoon Honka 3–1 Turun NMKY
1999–00 Namika Lahti Torpan Pojat 3–2 Espoon Honka
2000–01 Espoon Honka Tampereen Pyrintö 3–0 Namika Lahti
2001–02 Espoon Honka Namika Lahti 3–2 Kataja
2002–03 Espoon Honka Kataja 3–1 Pussihukat
2003–04 Kouvot Namika Lahti 3–1 KTP Basket
2004–05 Lappeenrannan NMKY Pussihukat 3–2 Kataja
2005–06 Lappeenrannan NMKY Kataja 3–2 Espoon Honka
2006–07 Espoon Honka Namika Lahti 3–0 Kataja
2007–08 Espoon Honka Kouvot 3–1 Lappeenrannan NMKY
2008–09 Namika Lahti Kataja 3–0 Tampereen Pyrintö
2009–10 Tampereen Pyrintö Torpan Pojat 3–2 Kouvot
2010–11 Tampereen Pyrintö Kataja 3–2 KTP Basket
2011–12 Bisons Loimaa Kataja 3–1 Torpan Pojat
2012–13 Bisons Loimaa KTP Basket 3–2 Kataja
2013–14 Tampereen Pyrintö Kataja 3–1 Bisons Loimaa
2014–15 Kataja Bisons Loimaa 3–2 KTP
2015–16 Kouvot Tampereen Pyrintö 4–1 BC Nokia
2016–17 Kataja Salon Vilpas 4–2 Helsinki Seagulls
2017–18 Kauhajoki Karhu Salon Vilpas 4–2 Helsinki Seagulls
2018–19 Kauhajoki Karhu Kouvot 4–1 KTP
2019–20 Not awarded due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2020–21 Salon Vilpas Kauhajoki Karhu 4–2 Helsinki Seagulls
2021–22 Kauhajoki Karhu Salon Vilpas 3–1 Helsinki Seagulls
2022–23 Helsinki Seagulls Kauhajoki Karhu 4–2 Kataja Basket
2023–24 BC Nokia Helsinki Seagulls 4–3 Kauhajoki Karhu
2024–25 Helsinki Seagulls Kauhajoki Karhu 4–0 Salon Vilpas
2025–26 Salon Vilpas Kataja BC 4–3 Helsinki Seagulls

Performance by club

Korihait against Topo in 2010 Korihait-Topo.jpg
Korihait against Topo in 2010

Teams shown in italics are no longer in existence.

Korisliiga winners by club
ClubWinsSeasons won
Pantterit 141944, 1945, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1959, 1980
Torpan Pojat 91960, 1966, 1978, 1981, 1983, 1986, 1996, 1997, 1998
Espoon Honka 81974, 1976, 1979, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2008
Helsingin NMKY 71946, 1947, 1984, 1985,1987, 1989, 1992
KTP 61958, 1967, 1988, 1991, 1993, 1994
HKT 51961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965
Tapiolan Honka 51968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972
Turun NMKY 41973, 1975, 1977, 1982
Kouvot 41995, 1999, 2004, 2016
Pyrintö 32010, 2011, 2014
Kauhajoki Karhu 32018, 2019, 2022
Namika Lahti 22000, 2009
Lappeenrannan NMKY 22005, 2006
Bisons Loimaa 22012, 2013
Kataja 22015, 2017
Salon Vilpas 22021, 2026
Helsinki Seagulls 22023, 2025
Ylioppilaskoripalloilijat 11939
Eiran Kisa-Veikot 11940
Kadettikoulu 11941
Korihait 11990
BC Nokia 12024

Records

All-time table of teams

Updated after the 2021–22 season. [1]

RankTeamSeasonsGPWLDW%Gold medal icon.svgSilver medal icon.svgBronze medal icon.svg
1. KTP-Basket 67228312731009155.86712
2. Torpan Pojat 511663995662659.8997
3. Tampereen Pyrintö 571921962950950.1351
4. Kouvot 311311711600054.2441
5. Kataja Basket 291230705525057.3265
6. Pantterit 541284695582754.11443
7. Korihait 401542664878043.1113
8. Helsingin NMKY 481191645543354.2738
9. Namika Lahti 351249639610051.2241
10. Tapiolan Honka 00ers 361089600489055.1655

All-time individual player records

Career leaders

The following table lists the all-time cumulative record holder in each category, inclusive of regular season and playoff games. [2]

CategoryPlayerTotalGames
played
Games Flag of Finland.svg Timo Heinonen
1,023
N/a
Points Flag of the United States.svg / Flag of Finland.svg Gerald Lee Sr.  [ fi ]
14,088
639
Rebounds Flag of the United States.svg Damon Williams
5,674
580
Assists Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina.svg Bojan Šarčević  [ fi ]
3,379
772
Steals Flag of the United States.svg / Flag of Finland.svg Gerald Lee Sr.
1,267
639
Blocks Flag of Finland.svg Pekka Markkanen
678
426

Single-season leaders

The following table lists the single-season record holder in each category, only regular season statistics are included. [3]

CategoryPlayerTotalSeason
Points Flag of the United States.svg Joe Wright
1,367
1991–92
Rebounds Flag of the United States.svg Raymond White
692
1981–82
Assists Flag of Finland.svg Teemu Rannikko
336
2015–16
Steals Flag of the United States.svg Obie Trotter
136
2009–10
Blocks Flag of the United States.svg Faisal Abraham
149
1998–99

Single-game records

The following table lists the single-game record holder in each category, inclusive of regular season and playoff games. [4]

CategoryPlayerRecordDateGame
Points Flag of the United States.svg Joe Wright 7912 February 1992Turun NMKY 117–145 Pantterit
Rebounds Flag of the United States.svg / Flag of Finland.svg Garcia Hopkins  [ fi ]4216 February 1986Tampereen Pyrintö 131–80 Säynätsalon Riento
Assists Flag of Finland.svg Petri Niiranen  [ fi ]2316 February 1992Helsingin NMKY 129–112 Turun NMKY
Efficiency Flag of the United States.svg / Flag of Finland.svg Larry Pounds  [ fi ]7024 November 1985KTP-Basket 100–73 Säynätsalo Riento
Steals Flag of the United States.svg / Flag of Finland.svg Gerald Lee Sr.  [ fi ]1215 February 1989Uudenkaupungin Urheilijat 108–91 Pantterit
Blocks Flag of the United States.svg Damon Vance 1423 March 1988Forssan Koripojat 102–111 Salon Palloilijat
2-point
field goals 		Flag of the United States.svg Cheyenne Jones 254 December 1982Joensuun Kataja 92–96 Tampereen Pyrintö
3-point
field goals		 Flag of the United States.svg Adonis Jordan 1417 October 1999Espoon Honka 98–84 Pussihukat
Free throws Flag of the United States.svg Joe Wright2115 January 1992Turun NMKY 112–102 KTP-Basket

Awards

Seasonal awards

Attendance

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Historia". www.basket.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  2. ↑ "Player statistics > Totals > All seasons, All stages, All positions". Basketball Finland . Retrieved 24 May 2026.
  3. ↑ "History > Statistics and records > Player totals > Regular season". Basketball Finland . Retrieved 24 May 2026.
  4. ↑ "History > Statistics and records > Player highs > All stages". Basketball Finland . Retrieved 24 May 2026.
  5. ↑ "Korisliigan yleisöennätys 7420 katsojaa". basket.fi (in Finnish). Finnish Basketball Federation. 7 November 2005. Retrieved 17 November 2014.

Notes

  1. ↑ Koripallo is the Finnish term for basketball, from kori meaning 'basket' and pallo meaning 'ball.' The abbreviation 'SM-sarja' is the shortened form of Suomen mestaruussarja, meaning 'Finnish championship' or 'Finnish championship series.' See Finnish Champion for more.
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