Lega Basket Serie A

Lega Basket Serie A

Founded	1920;104 years ago (1920)
First season	1920–21
Country	Italy
Federation	Lega Basket
Confederation	FIBA Europe
Number of teams	16
Level on pyramid	1
Relegation to	Serie A2
Domestic cup(s)	Coppa Italia
Supercup	Supercoppa
International cup(s)	EuroLeague EuroCup Champions League Europe Cup
Current champions	Olimpia Milano (31st title) (2023–24)
Most championships	Olimpia Milano (31 titles)
All-time top scorer	Antonello Riva (14,397)
President	Umberto Gandini
TV partners	DAZN Discovery+ Eurosport
Website	www.legabasket.it
2024–25 LBA season

The Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) is a professional men's club basketball league that has been organised in Italy since 1920. Serie A is organised by Lega Basket, which is regulated by the Italian Basketball Federation (FIP). It is the highest-tier level of the Italian league system. The LBA plays under FIBA rules and currently consists of 16 teams, with the lowest-placed team relegated to the Serie A2 and replaced by the winner of the play-offs of that tier.

A total of 99 teams have competed in the LBA since its inception. Seventeen teams have been crowned champions, with Olimpia Milano having won the title a record 31 times, and Virtus Bologna 16 times. According to FIBA Europe's and Euroleague Basketball's national league coefficients, the LBA was the historically top ranked national domestic league in Europe, for the period 1958 to 2007. Today, the LBA is considered to be one of the top European national basketball leagues. Its clubs have won the most EuroLeague championships (13), the most FIBA Saporta Cups (15), and the most FIBA Korać Cups (10).

History

First years

The first men's basketball championship was held in Italy in 1920, organized by the Royal Italian National Gymnastics Federation and won by S.E.F. Costanza Milano, led by Carlo Andreoli. However, the first championship officially organized by the newly formed Italian Basketball Federation (FIP) was instead disputed in 1922. During the first years, Milan's teams dominated the league: in the initial six seasons, there were five successes for Assi Milano and one for Internazionale Milano. Between 1928 and 1935, Ginnastica Roma and Ginnastica Triestina alternatively won the championship.

In 1936, the championship was won by Olimpia Milano; the title was the first of 28 championships won by Olimpia over the decades. The team, coached by Giannino Valli, won four consecutive championships, only interrupted by Trieste in 1939–1940 and 1940–1941. In 1941–42 and 1942–43, the title was won by Reyer Venezia, however, the following two seasons were never held, due to the break out of World War II on Italian soil.

From 1945 to the 1970s

Bill Bradley with Simmenthal Milano in 1966.

At the end of the war, the league was characterized by the rise of Virtus Bologna, which won four consecutive seasons. ^[1] Virtus would later become one of the most successful teams in Italy, capable of winning 16 titles through its history. From the 1949–50 season, the domination of Olimpia Milano began. Milan's team was able of winning 14 championships out of the 18 played up to 1966–67. The team, coached by Cesare Rubini, marked an unrepeatable dominance on the Italian league thanks to players like Sandro Gamba, Romeo Romanutti, Enrico Pagani and Bill Bradley. From 1954 to 1956, Virtus won the title again, achieving a so-called back-to-back under the leadership of Vittorio Tracuzzi, while in 1961 and 1964, Pallacanestro Varese was crowned Italian champion.

Bob Morse with Ignis Varese in 1973.

After the victory of Pallacanestro Cantù in 1968, Varese opened a new cycle of successes, winning 7 championships in 10 years, between 1968 and 1969 and 1977–78. The team, led by Aldo Ossola, Dino Meneghin, Bob Morse, Manuel Raga and coached by Aza Nikolić, was widely considered one of the best in the history of Italian basketball, capable of winning five European titles during the same period. Olimpia Milano and Cantù respectively won the championship in 1972 and 1975, while Virtus won the title in 1976, coached by Dan Peterson, and achieved a back-to-back in 1978–79 and 1979–80, thanks to Krešimir Ćosić, one of the best centers in Europe, Renato Villalta, Carlo Caglieris and the captain Gianni Bertolotti.

The Golden Age of 1980s and 1990s

The 1980s and the 1990s are widely considered as the "golden age" of Italian basketball; ^[2] during these decades, the Italian championship became one of the most competitive in the world, often considered to be the second one after NBA. ^[3] The 1980s were characterized by a predominance of Olimpia Milano. The so-called "red shoes" were capable of winning five titles between 1981 and 1989, thanks to outstanding players like Mike D'Antoni, Bob McAdoo and Dino Meneghin. ^[4] Cantù won its third title in 1981, while Virtus Roma won its first and only championship in 1983, under the leadership of the American point guard Larry Wright. ^[5] In the 1983–84 season, Virtus Bologna won its tenth national title, defeating Olimpia Milano in the finals, while Victoria Libertas Pesaro was crowned Italian champion twice in 1988 and 1990. ^[6] The 1990s began with the historic success of Nando Gentile and Vincenzo Esposito's Phonola Caserta; as of today, this title is still the only one won by a team from Southern Italy. ^[7] While the 1991–92 season was won by Toni Kukoč's Benetton Treviso. However, the 1990s were deeply marked by the dominance of Virtus Bologna: the "Black V" was able of winning four titles from 1992 to 1998, thanks to its Serbian star, Predrag Danilović, but also important players like Antoine Rigaudeau, Alessandro Abbio and Zoran Savić. ^[8] Treviso won the title again in 1997, while Varese won its tenth national championship in 1999, thanks to young and talented players like Andrea Meneghin and Gianmarco Pozzecco.

The league through the 2000s and 2010s

The 1999–2000 championship was won by Carlton Myers's Fortitudo Bologna, winning for the first time after three consecutive lost finals between 1995 and 1996 and 1997–98. In the following season, Virtus Bologna of Manu Ginóbili was crowned national champion once again. Moreover, the Black V was able of winning both the Italian Cup and the EuroLeague, achieving a so-called Triple Crown (known in Italy as Grande Slam). ^[9] From 2002 to 2006, the Serie A was marked by a harsh rivalry between Benetton Treviso and Fortitudo Bologna: Treviso won the title in 2002, 2003 and 2006, always defeating Fortitudo in the national finals; Bologna's team won the title in 2005 against Olimpia Milano.

Shaun Stonerook with Montepaschi Siena in 2012.

In 2004, Mens Sana Siena won its first title, but it was only three years later, in 2007, that Siena would begun its dominance over the Italian league. From 2007 to 2013, the Tuscan team was able of winning seven consecutive titles, under the leaderships of Terrell McIntyre, Shaun Stonerook and Romain Sato. However, on 7 October 2016, following an investigation for accounting and fiscal fraud, the Court of the Italian Basketball Federation has revoked the championship titles awarded to Siena for the 2011–12 and 2012–13 seasons, two Italian Cups (2012 and 2013) and the 2013 Supercoppa. ^{[10] [11]} Following Siena's relegation, Olimpia Milano, under the new ownership of Giorgio Armani, won the championship again in 2014, 2016 and 2018, while Dinamo Sassari won its first title in 2015, becoming the first team from Sardinia to do so. In 2017 and 2019, Reyer Venezia returned to the top of Italian league after more than seven decades.

Recent seasons

The 2019–20 regular season saw a strong prominence of Virtus Bologna, however, the season was cancelled prematurely because of the COVID-19 pandemic and, for the first time since 1945, the Italian league did not assigned the title. In the following season, Miloš Teodosić's Virtus Bologna won its 16th title, defeating 4–0 its historic rival Olimpia Milano in the national finals. It was Virtus's first title after twenty years. ^[12] In the following season, in a rematch of the latest finals, Olimpia Milano defeated Virtus Bologna 4–2.

Title sponsorships

From 1993 to 2022, the LBA had title sponsorship rights sold to ten companies; UnipolSal was the most recent title sponsor, having sponsored the LBA from 2020 to the present.

Period	Sponsor	Name
1993–1996	Luxottica	Luxottica Cup
1996–1998	Polo	Polo Cup
1998–1999	Ford Puma	Ford Puma Trophy
1999–2000	SportWeek	SportWeek Cup
2000–2003	Foxy	Foxy Cup
2003–2009	TIM	Serie A TIM
2009–2012	Agos Ducato	Agos Ducato Serie A
2012–2016	Beko	Serie A Beko
2016	No sponsor	LBA
2016–2019	PosteMobile	PosteMobile Serie A
2019–2020	No sponsor	LBA
2020–present	UnipolSai	LBA UnipolSai

Following the end of the 2015–16 season, LBA has a new sponsor. The Turkish brand Beko left LBA after four years of sponsorship, and all its other basketball team sponsorships in Europe. Beko would focus on their sponsorship of the Spanish football team Barcelona. ^[13]

In December 2016, President Egidio Bianchi had communicated to have reached an agreement with PosteMobile to become the title sponsor of the LBA. ^[14] In July 2019, LBA announced that the agreement with PosteMobile for LBA ended on 30 June. ^[15]

Competition format

Scudetto patch

The competition format follows a double round-robin format. During the course of a season, which lasts from October to May, each club plays each other twice (once at home and once away), for a total of 30 games. Teams rankings at season end is determined by receiving two points for a win and no points for a loss. At season end, the eight top teams play-off, pitting the first place standings team against the 8th place team, and so on.

There are three playoff rounds. The Quarterfinals are best of five, while the semi-finals and finals series are best of seven (in the 2012–13 season, all series were best-of-seven). The winner of the finals round is the champion of the LBA.

At season's end, the last qualified club of the regular season is relegated to Serie A2 Basket, and replaced by the winner of the playoffs of this league.

Arena rules

LBA clubs must play in arenas that seat at least 3,500 people. ^[16] From 2017 to 2018 season, clubs must host their home playoffs matches in arenas that have a seating capacity of at least 5,000 people. ^[17]

Clubs composition

Each team is allowed either five or seven foreign players under two formulas:

1. 5 foreigners from countries outside the European Union
2. 3 foreigners from countries outside the E.U., 4 foreigners from E.U. countries (also including those from countries signatory of the Cotonou Agreement)

Each club can choose the 5+5 formula, that consists of five Italian players and five foreign players, and the 3+4+5 formula, with five Italian players, three foreigners from countries outside the E.U. and four foreigners from E.U. countries or "Cotonou Countries". ^[18]

At the end of the season there is a prize of €500,000 for the top three ranked teams, that had chosen the 5+5 formula, considering the playing time of Italian players, and €200,000 for those teams that will obtain the best results with their youth sector. ^[19]

Qualifying for European competitions

In summer 2016, four Italian teams (Reggio Emilia, Trento, Sassari and Cantù) were forced to withdraw from EuroCup because of the FIBA and Euroleague Basketball controversy. ^[20]

From 2017 to 2018 season, Italian Basketball Federation would allow LBA clubs to rejoin EuroCup. There will be at least six teams in Europe. One in EuroLeague (Olimpia Milano directly enter the EuroLeague as licensed club), two in EuroCup (but they are negotiating with ECA for a third spot) and three in Basketball Champions League. ^[21] Lega Basket decided Italian Clubs will be free to choose in which European Cup they want to play, based on final ranking and sports merit. ^[22]

Media

For the 2017–18, 2018–19 and 2019–20 seasons, domestic TV rights are shared by Rai Sport and Eurosport. The new frame shows Rai airing one game every Sunday on free TV, while Eurosport is the new owner of the pay TV, international and internet rights of the LBA. ^[23] Eurosport has TV rights also for Supercoppa and Coppa Italia. ^[24]

All matches are broadcast live on internet pay TV service. ^[25]

Current clubs

Venues and locations

Brescia

Derthona

Brindisi

Pistoia

Scafati

Milano

Pesaro

Reggio Emilia

Sassari

Trento

Treviso

Cremona

Varese

Venezia

Napoli

Virtus Bologna

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Location of teams in 2023–24 LBA season

Team	Home city	Arena	Capacity	2022–23 result
Banco di Sardegna Sassari	Sassari	PalaSerradimigni	5,000 [26]	4th
Bertram Derthona Basket Tortona	Tortona	PalaFerraris	3,510 [27]	3rd
Carpegna Prosciutto Basket Pesaro	Pesaro	Vitifrigo Arena	10,323 [28]	8th
EA7 Emporio Armani Milano	Milan	Mediolanum Forum	12,331 [29]	1st
Estra Pistoia	Pistoia	PalaCarrara	3,916 [30]	Promoted to LBA
Dolomiti Energia Trento	Trento	BLM Group Arena	4,360 [31]	6th
Germani Brescia	Brescia	PalaLeonessa	5,200 [32]	9th
Givova Scafati	Scafati	PalaMangano	3,700 [33]	10th
Gevi Napoli	Naples	PalaBarbuto	5,500 [34]	12th
Happy Casa Brindisi	Brindisi	PalaPentassuglia	3,534 [35]	7th
NutriBullet Treviso	Treviso	PalaVerde	5,134 [36]	11th
Openjobmetis Varese	Varese	Enerxenia Arena	5,107 [37]	13th
Umana Reyer Venezia	Venice	Palasport Taliercio	3,506 [38]	5th
UNAHOTELS Reggio Emilia	Reggio Emilia	PalaBigi	4,530 [39]	14th
Vanoli Cremona	Cremona	PalaRadi	3,519 [40]	Promoted to LBA
Virtus Segafredo Bologna	Bologna	Segafredo Arena	9,980 [41]	2nd

Source: ^[42]

List of champions

Main article: List of Italian basketball champions

Source: ^[43]

1920: Costanza 1921: Assi Milano 1922: Assi Milano 1923: Internazionale Milano 1924: Assi Milano 1925: Assi Milano 1926: Assi Milano 1927: Assi Milano 1928: Ginnastica Roma 1929: Not held 1930: Ginnastica Triestina 1931: Ginnastica Roma 1932: Ginnastica Triestina 1933: Ginnastica Roma 1934: Ginnastica Triestina 1935: Ginnastica Roma 1935–36: Borletti Milano 1936–37: Borletti Milano 1937–38: Borletti Milano 1938–39: Borletti Milano 1939–40: Ginnastica Triestina 1940–41: Ginnastica Triestina 1941–42: Reyer Venezia 1942–43: Reyer Venezia 1943–44: Not held due to WWII 1944–45: Not held due to WWII 1945–46: Virtus Bologna 1946–47: Virtus Bologna 1947–48: Virtus Bologna 1948–49: Virtus Bologna 1949–50: Borletti Milano 1950–51: Borletti Milano 1951–52: Borletti Milano 1952–53: Borletti Milano 1953–54: Borletti Milano

1954–55: Minganti Bologna 1955–56: Minganti Bologna 1956–57: Simmenthal Milano 1957–58: Simmenthal Milano 1958–59: Simmenthal Milano 1959–60: Simmenthal Milano 1960–61: Ignis Varese 1961–62: Simmenthal Milano 1962–63: Simmenthal Milano 1963–64: Ignis Varese 1964–65: Simmenthal Milano 1965–66: Simmenthal Milano 1966–67: Simmenthal Milano 1967–68: Oransoda Cantù 1968–69: Ignis Varese 1969–70: Ignis Varese 1970–71: Ignis Varese 1971–72: Simmenthal Milano 1972–73: Ignis Varese 1973–74: Ignis Varese 1974–75: Birra Forst Cantù 1975–76: Sinudyne Bologna 1976–77: Mobilgirgi Varese 1977–78: Mobilgirgi Varese 1978–79: Sinudyne Bologna 1979–80: Sinudyne Bologna 1980–81: Squibb Cantù 1981–82: Billy Milano 1982–83: Banco di Roma 1983–84: Granarolo Bologna 1984–85: Simac Milano 1985–86: Simac Milano 1986–87: Tracer Milano 1987–88: Scavolini Pesaro 1988–89: Philips Milano

1989–90: Scavolini Pesaro 1990–91: Phonola Caserta 1991–92: Benetton Treviso 1992–93: Knorr Bologna 1993–94: Buckler Beer Bologna 1994–95: Buckler Beer Bologna 1995–96: Stefanel Milano 1996–97: Benetton Treviso 1997–98: Kinder Bologna 1998–99: Varese Roosters 1999–00: Paf Wennington Bologna 2000–01: Kinder Bologna 2001–02: Benetton Treviso 2002–03: Benetton Treviso 2003–04: Montepaschi Siena 2004–05: Climamio Bologna 2005–06: Benetton Treviso 2006–07: Montepaschi Siena 2007–08: Montepaschi Siena 2008–09: Montepaschi Siena 2009–10: Montepaschi Siena 2010–11: Montepaschi Siena 2011–12: Montepaschi Siena [44] (Revoked) 2012–13: Montepaschi Siena [44] (Revoked) 2013–14: EA7 Emporio Armani Milano 2014–15: Banco di Sardegna Sassari 2015–16: EA7 Emporio Armani Milano 2016–17: Umana Reyer Venezia 2017–18: EA7 Emporio Armani Milano 2018–19: Umana Reyer Venezia 2019–20: Cancelled due to COVID-19 2020–21: Virtus Segafredo Bologna 2021–22: AX Armani Exchange Milano 2022–23: AX Armani Exchange Milano 2023–24: AX Armani Exchange Milano

Performance by club

Club	Winners	Championship seasons [43]
Olimpia Milano	31	1935–36, 1936–37, 1937–38, 1938–39, 1949–50, 1950–51, 1951–52, 1952–53, 1953–54, 1956–57, 1957–58, 1958–59, 1959–60, 1961–62, 1962–63, 1964–65, 1965–66, 1966–67, 1971–72, 1981–82, 1984–85, 1985–86, 1986–87, 1988–89, 1995–96, 2013–14, 2015–16, 2017–18, 2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24
Virtus Bologna	16	1945–46, 1946–47, 1947–48, 1948–49, 1954–55, 1955–56, 1975–76, 1978–79, 1979–80, 1983–84, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1994–95, 1997–98, 2000–01, 2020–21
Varese	10	1960–61, 1963–64, 1968–69, 1969–70, 1970–71, 1972–73, 1973–74, 1976–77, 1977–78, 1998–99
Mens Sana 1871	6	2003–04, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11
Assi Milano	6	1921, 1922, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1927
Trieste (formerly Ginnastica Triestina)	5	1930, 1932, 1934, 1939–40, 1940–41
Treviso	5	1991–92, 1996–97, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2005–06
Ginnastica Roma	4	1928, 1931, 1933, 1935
Reyer Venezia	4	1941–42, 1942–43, 2016–17, 2018–19
Cantù	3	1967–68, 1974–75, 1980–81
Victoria Libertas	2	1987–88, 1989–90
Fortitudo Bologna	2	1999–00, 2004–05
Costanza	1	1920
Internazionale Milano	1	1923
Virtus Roma	1	1982–83
JuveCaserta	1	1990–91
Dinamo Sassari	1	2014–15

Bold indicates clubs which will play in the 2020–21 LBA season.

Italian basketball clubs in European and worldwide competitions

Main article: Italian basketball clubs in European and worldwide competitions

Individual awards

Main article: Lega Basket Serie A awards

• LBA Most Valuable Player Award
• LBA Finals Valuable Player Award
• LBA Best Player Under 22
• LBA Best Coach
• LBA Best Executive
• LBA Best Defender

Statistical leaders

Main article: Lega Basket Serie A statistical leaders

Lega Basket All Star Game

Main article: Lega Basket All Star Game

References

1. Virtus, secondo conflitto mondiale e dopoguerra, BasketCity
2. Le squadre che hanno scritto la storia della Serie A di basket, Basket Inside
3. Quali sono le migliori squadre della storia del Campionato di basket di Serie A?. Whilliam Hill
4. L'impero del basket. I favolosi anni '80 dell'Olimpia Milano, Alessandro Ruta
5. Le squadre più forti di sempre: il Banco di Roma campione d'Europa con Wright e Bianchini
6. Alla Virtus Granarolo lo "scudetto della stella", Biblitoeca Salaborsa
7. Basket, trent’anni fa il “miracolo” di Caserta che portò lo scudetto al Sud. Marcelletti: “Fu la vittoria degli italiani. Oggi? Quasi impossibile”, Il Fatto Quotidiano
8. Predrag Danilovic, Virtuspedia
9. Tre volte Vrtus Bologna: il grande slam del 2001, La Giornata Tipo
10. "Basket Serie A, revocati due scudetti di Siena" [Basket Serie A, Siena's two championship titles have been revoked]. corrieredellosport.it (in Italian). Retrieved 10 October 2016.
11. "Federation revokes Siena titles (3)". ansa.it. Archived from the original on 22 March 2019. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
12. Virtus, sei magnifica! Bologna, scudetto dopo 20 anni, Milano schiacciata 4–0, Gazzetta dello Sport
13. "Il marchio Beko lascerà il basket. Il CEO Mangiacotti avrà un futuro in Lega?" [Beko is going to leave basketball. Mangiacotti (CEO of Beko) could have a future in Lega]. basketnet.it (in Italian). Retrieved 19 June 2016.
14. "PosteMobile nuovo sponsor Lega Basket" [PosteMobile is the new sponsor of Lega Basket]. www.ansa.it (in Italian). Retrieved 17 December 2016.
15. "Lega Basket: non ci saranno più né Avellino né Poste Mobile" [Lega Basket: there will be no more Avellino nor Poste Mobile]. basketuniverso.it (in Italian). Retrieved 12 July 2018.
16. Lega Società di Pallacanestro Serie A, REGOLAMENTO ESECUTIVO#Chapter 3.2 (G), Page 4 Archived 11 February 2017 at the Wayback Machine
17. "Consiglio FIP sugli impianti per i playoff: dal 2017–2018 non meno di 5.000 posti" [FIP Board on the arenas for the playoffs: from 2017-2018 no less than 5,000 seats]. sportando.com (in Italian). Retrieved 5 March 2017.
18. "Serie A, dal prossimo anno i Cotonou saranno considerati comunitari" [Serie A, from the next year the Cotonou players will be considered as Europeans]. sportando.com (in Italian). Retrieved 26 June 2012.
19. "Premio italiani a quota 700.000 euro" [Italian prize will be of 700,000 Euros]. sportando.com (in Italian). Retrieved 11 October 2014.
20. "Italian teams withdraw from Eurocup!". Eurohoops.net. 8 July 2016. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
21. "Italian teams to compete in EuroCup again from next season". sportando.com. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
22. "Italian Serie A Clubs will be free to choose in which European Cup they want to play next season". sportando.com. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
23. "Italian League assembly approves sale of TV rights". Sportando.com. 13 July 2017. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
24. "Ad Eurosport il pacchetto PAY di Serie A, Supercoppa e Coppa Italia. Il GM di Discovery: Gran colpo" [Eurosport has pay TV rights for Serie A, Supercoppa and Coppa Italia. GM of Discovery Channel: Great hit]. Sportando.com (in Italian). 12 July 2017. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
25. "Egidio Bianchi: svolta epocale per la LBA. Tutte le gare saranno trasmesse live su Internet" [Egidio Bianchi: Epoch-making for the LBA. All competitions will be broadcast live on Internet]. Sportando.com (in Italian). 13 July 2017. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
26. Banco di Sardegna Sassari (in Italian)
27. Bertram Yachts Derthona Basket
28. Carpegna Prosciutto Pesaro (in Italian)
29. EA7 Emporio Armani Milano (in Italian)
30. Estra Pistoia (in Italian)
31. Dolomiti Energia Trento (in Italian)
32. Germani Brescia (in Italian)
33. Givova Scafati (in Italian)
34. GeVi Napoli (in Italian)
35. Happy Casa Brindisi (in Italian)
36. NutriBullet Treviso Basket
37. Openjobmetis Varese (in Italian)
38. Umana Reyer Venezia (in Italian)
39. UNAHOTELS Reggio Emilia (in Italian)
40. Vanoli Cremona (in Italian)
41. Virtus Segafredo Bologna
42. Legabasket.it
43. "Gli Albi D'oro". Classifiche (in Italian). Legabasket.it. Archived from the original on 28 June 2018. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
44. Following an investigation for accounting and fiscal fraud, the Italian Basketball Federation revoked all the domestic titles won by the club during the 2011–12 and 2012–13 seasons.

External links

• Italy Lega Serie A at Basketball-Reference.com
• Serie A page at Eurobasket
• Lega A fixtures, results and standings at sportstats
• Official Website (in English and Italian)