 | |
| Founded | 1987; 38 years ago (1987) |
|---|---|
| First season | 1987–88 |
| Folded | 2023–24 |
| Replaced by | Super League Basketball (SLB) |
| Country |  Great Britain |
| Federation | British Basketball |
| Confederation |  FIBA Europe |
| Number of teams | 10 |
| Level onpyramid | 1 |
| Domestic cup(s) | BBL Cup BBL Trophy |
| International cup(s) | EuroCup Basketball Champions League FIBA Europe Cup |
| Last champions | London Lions (3rd title) (2023–24) |
| Most championships | Newcastle Eagles (7 titles) |
| TV partners | Sky Sports YouTube |
| Website | BBL.org.uk |
TheBritish Basketball League (BBL) was a men'sprofessional basketballleague inGreat Britain. Since its establishment in 1987 the BBL represented the highest level of basketball competition within theUnited Kingdom. The organisation that operated the competition, Basketball League Limited, folded in July 2024 after theBritish Basketball Federation terminated its operating license. It was succeeded as the top-level men's basketball competition withSuper League Basketball.
The BBL operated as afranchise model where each member team is located within a separate franchise area. Most recently (in 2023/24), the League featured 10 member franchises fromEngland andScotland who jointly own the organisation[1] and a chairman was elected by the teams to oversee operations. The League offices were located inLeicester[2] where the country's oldest team, theLeicester Riders, is also based.
The BBL sat above the EnglishNational Basketball League and theScottish Basketball Championship, which effectively formed the second tier of basketball competition in Great Britain. Due to the franchise model there was nopromotion or relegation between the lower leagues and the BBL, although several BBL member teams had previously competed in the National Basketball League.
In addition to the regular season Championship, the BBL also staged two knockout competitions; theBBL Trophy and the end-of-seasonBBL Playoffs. Previously the organisation also ran theBBL Cup andBBL Cup Winners' Cup competitions, though these were last contested in 2023 and 2009 respectively. In partnership withBasketball England the organisation launched a women's league in 2014, branded as theWomen's British Basketball League (WBBL).[3]
Competitive national basketball inGreat Britain has existed since 1936 when theAmateur Basket Ball Association (ABBA) founded theABBA National Championship, a knockout competition featuring the regional champions from acrossEngland and Wales.[4] Anequivalent competition forScotland was formed by theAmateur Basketball Association of Scotland in 1947.[5] As fully amateur championships, the competitions were largely dominated by victorious teams from universities,YMCAs andRoyal Air Force stations. A short-lived attempt at establishing a truly national league competition in the 1960s was met with some success; at its height the competition, known as the 'Rosebowl', featured 16 teams from across England, Scotland andWales. In 1969, Scotland established its ownnational league with the ABBA following shortly after, with the formation of theNational Basketball League (NBL) in 1972.
Over the next 15 years, basketball's popularity in Great Britain grew steadily and annual revenues for the ABBA – renamed as the English Basket Ball Association (EBBA) in 1975 – increased from £23,440 in 1972 to £303,500 in 1981.[6][7][8] With the increased commercial potential of basketball and the NBL evident, teams started to attract entrepreneurial owners and benefactors along with football clubs, such asManchester United andPortsmouth, looking to replicate the multi-modalsporting club patented by European powerhouses such asReal Madrid andBarcelona.[9] In 1982, the NBL reached a broadcasting deal with newly launched television channelChannel 4, further increasing the visibility of the league to a national audience.[10] The NBL's upward commercial trajectory continued with the EBBA signing sponsorship agreements with major national companies such asPrudential Insurance,Bell's whisky and theCarlsberg Group, generating an estimated income of £1,196,000.[11] A joint venture company, Basketball Marketing Limited, was established in 1982[12] by the EBBA and team owners to market the league collectively to potential sponsors and share revenue from TV contracts; with the agreement that 40% of revenue was held by the EBBA and the remaining 60% shared between all member teams.[13][8]
In 1983, the Basketball Owners' Association (BOA) was established by owners of 9 different NBL teams to represent their interests[14] as internal conflict arose regarding the financial relationship between them and the EBBA. Kevin Routledge, a director atLeicester Riders, claimed at the time that "there was a feeling about men's clubs that insufficient emphasis was being given to them, particularly recognising that in terms of spectator, sponsorship and media appeal they were very much top of the heap."[15] The sentiment was echoed by Dave Elderkin, Manager ofSunderland 76ers, who noted that sponsorship revenue was divided between the EBBA's 650 member clubs, and though the Division 1 teams generated the most sponsorship they were only receiving a small fraction of the return; Sunderland were reportedly paid just £2,000 from central sponsorship earnings in 1986.[16]
By April 1986, still unsatisfied by the relationship with the EBBA, a contingent of team owners set forth to organise a breakaway competition, dubbed theBritish Basketball League.[17] The initiative was led by John Deacon, owner ofPortsmouth, who had rallied support for the new league from fellow teamsBracknell Pirates,Crystal Palace,Edinburgh,Hemel Hempstead & Watford Royals,Kingston and Sunderland, with each team contributing a £5,000 entry fee. Not all teams were initially onboard with the new proposals however, as established names likeBirmingham Bullets first rejected the move and opted to stay within the existing EBBA structure.[18] The EBBA established a Committee of Inquiry to conduct a review and establish the terms of the handover, and a new organisation – the Basketball League Limited – was formed by the team owners to oversee the operations of the new competition.[19]
The new organisation proposed commencing with a new 16-team league competition for the1987–88 season, that would include the 13 existing teams of the NBL Division 1 along with two promoted teams from Division 2, plus Scottish championsLivingston and a possibility of future expansion intoScotland andIreland.[16] Some reports also suggestedWales-based Rhondda were approached as a potential addition.[17] Additional proposals for the new league included prize money being awarded to competition winners, a new supplementary League Cup competition for member teams, and the removal ofrelegation between the new league and NBL Division 2 for the first two seasons, to encourage financial stability for its member teams; promotion would still be offered to the top two teams within Division 2, subject to financial and facility guarantees.[16][20] Furthermore, all member teams within the Basketball League Limited would be equal shareholders of the new organisation and be eligible to compete in European competitions, whilst the EBBA would retain disciplinary powers, appointment of match officials and remain completely in control of other competitions, such as theNational Cup.[20]
Following the conclusion of the1986–87 season, the EBBA signed a formal agreement with the Basketball League Limited, handing over full control and administration of the top national basketball competition to the new organisation. The agreement was signed atOld Trafford football stadium, home of Manchester United, whosebasketball team would feature in the newly formed league. Signing the agreement to establish the new league was Keith MitchellOBE and Mel Welch, President and Secretary of the EBBA respectively, along with John Deacon, Chairman of the Basketball League Limited, and John Barr, Treasurer of the new organisation.[21][22]
At official launch, the 16 confirmed teams to feature in the new league were announced as:[21]
The new league faced challenges from the off-set when Rhondda – the league's only Wales-based team – folded in August 1987, just weeks before the start of the new season. The sudden loss of a major sponsor meant the team were unable to finance the upcoming campaign, where they would compete against teams with budgets of up to £250,000.[23] London-basedBrunel Crystal Palace also faced similar financial challenges during the off-season, searching for additional sponsors to cover their £100,000 outgoings.[24] Despite these setbacks, the fledging organisation did achieve some immediate commercial success; a new 3-year sponsorship agreement with the Carlsberg Group saw the new competition branded as theCarlsberg Basketball League, along with additional naming-rights deals for the postseason playoffs and the Tournament of Champions, both of which were also sponsored by Carlsberg.[25] The newly-establishedLeague Cup competition was branded as theNatWest Bank Trophy following a deal withNational Westminster Bank.[26]
The EBBA's player import rules – where teams were restricted to having two foreign "import" players plus one "naturalised" British player – were carried over to the new competition. A small complication arose as the league also featured Scotland-based Livingston, and the ruling meant that English players would count as foreign players for teams based in Scotland.[27]
The first game of the new Carlsberg Basketball League and the1987–88 season took place on 13 September 1987, whenScotland-basedLivingston defeated Oldham Celtics, 98–81, at the Forum Arena inLivingston.[28] The formerScottish National League team went on to have a very successful season overall. WhilstPortsmouth were successful in retaining their national champions title in the inaugural league championship – continuing their success from the previousNational Basketball League – they were soundly defeated by Livingston in both the Playoff Final (81–72) andNatWest Bank Trophy Final (96–91).
The 1990s also saw a growth in popularity and commercialism within the league. Games were televised and the league picked up sponsors such asPeugeot,Lego,Playboy andBudweiser, while attendances at games also increased. TheManchester Giants opened the1995–96 season in front of a record 14,251 fans at theNynex Arena against theLondon Leopards, a record crowd for a basketball game in Great Britain. It stood until 2006, when theNBA started staging games at theO2 Arena inLondon.
London clubs dominated the league, withLondon Towers,Crystal Palace and theGreater London Leopards all sharing success in the mid-1990s. In 1999, a Conference format similar to the NBA was introduced, with clubs split North and South. The two Conference champions met in a Championship series to decide the champions for the next three years.
A single division format returned in 2002 and five different franchises won the Championship title in the five years after that. The new millennium, however, also saw a series of setbacks for the BBL. The collapse ofITV Digital cost the league financially, with many franchises struggling to recover from the lost revenue that the £21 million contract was providing. Long established franchises such as theManchester Giants,Essex Leopards,Derby Storm,Thames Valley Tigers andBirmingham Bullets withdrew from the league, though new teams have been formed under theGiants andLeopards names. The membership crisis brought about the addition of new franchises such asGuildford Heat (formed by supporters of the defunct Thames Valley Tigers), and elected teams from the lower-tierEnglish Basketball League, including thePlymouth Raiders. Both teams made a refreshing impact on the old boys, with the Heat qualifying for the Play-offs in their rookie season.
During the same seasonNewcastle won 30 of their 40 regular season league fixtures to clinch the Championship crown – the previous season saw the Eagles win 31 matches but lose out toChester Jets in the final week, by just two points. That title was one of four pieces of silverware won during the dubbed "clean-sweep" season of2005–06, the Eagles marching on to claim the BBL Cup, BBL Trophy and Playoff's – the complete set.
The intervening years saw the perennial success of theNewcastle Eagles, the reemergence of theLeicester Riders as a dominant force in the domestic game, and the rise and fall of teams based inLondon,Birmingham,Liverpool,Essex,Durham andWorthing. Long term franchiseMilton Keynes relocated to London, to become a2012 Olympics legacy tenant at theCopper Box Arena, and a new incarnation of the famousManchester Giants name re-entered the league in the same year.
The 2015 Playoffs Final took place atThe O2 Arena, London, following a string of sell-out attendances atWembley Arena between 2012 and 2014.[29] The event saw a record breaking crowd of 14,700.[30]
As of the2016–17 BBL season Italian sportswear manufacturerKappa have been the exclusive kit supplier for all teams, replacing a previous deal withSpalding.[31]
The past decade has seen sustained growth across the league, with the biggest advances in facilities. Some clubs have now built their own venues, includingNewcastle,Leicester,Sheffield andCaledonia, andManchester,Cheshire andSurrey and have moved into much improved facilities, whilePlymouth, and the most recent election from the EBL, theBristol Flyers, have announced plans for their own arenas. The 2018–19 season saw, for the first time in 11 years, British participation in European competition when Leicester competed in theBasketball Champions League andFIBA Europe Cup.
On 2 December 2021 theMiami-based investment firm 777 Partners bought 45.5% of the shares of the league. The company invested £7 million in the league, that also saw an organisational reform which included the appointment of a CEO.[32]
On 14 June 2024British Basketball, the national governing body for basketball in the UK, terminated the league's licence,[33] meaning that the UK men's professional league would no longer be run by the current operating company behind the BBL. British Basketball cited financial concerns as a principal driver of the decision, and promised that interim measures would be put in place to ensure that a 2024/25 season takes place.
| Team | Location | Arena | Capacity | Founded | Joined |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bristol Flyers |  Bristol | SGS College Arena | 750 | 2006 | 2014 |
| Caledonia Gladiators |  East Kilbride | Playsport Arena | 1,800 | 1998* | |
| Cheshire Phoenix | Ellesmere Port | Cheshire Oaks Arena | 1,400 | 1984 | 1991 |
| Leicester Riders | Leicester | Mattioli Arena | 2,400 | 1967 | 1987 |
| London Lions | London(Stratford) | Copper Box Arena | 6,000 | 1977* | 1987 |
| Manchester Giants | Manchester | National Basketball Centre | 2,000 | 2012 | |
| Newcastle Eagles | Newcastle upon Tyne | Vertu Motors Arena | 2,800 | 1976* | 1987 |
| Plymouth City Patriots | Plymouth | Plymouth Pavilions | 1,500 | 2021 | |
| Sheffield Sharks | Sheffield | Canon Medical Arena | 2,500 | 1991 | 1994 |
| Surrey Scorchers | Guildford | Surrey Sports Park | 1,000 | 2005 | |
The most recent round of expansion took place in 2014 when the League admitted two teams,Bristol Flyers andLeeds Carnegie, into the organisation; an ill-fated application from a third team, Edinburgh-basedEast Scotland Warriors, was rejected at the final stages to concerns over its financial backing.[34]Plymouth City Patriots were admitted into the League for the2021–22 season as a direct replacement for thePlymouth Raiders, who withdrew prior to the season starting.[35]
As of 2023, the League does not have any confirmed plans to introduce more teams in new cities or locations, however there are interested parties fromBelfast,Birmingham,Cardiff,Dublin,Leeds andLiverpool looking at establishing a potential expansion franchise.[36] In 2022, media outlets also reported interest from a Birmingham-based consortium which included formerNBA star andHall of Famer,Hakeem Olajuwon,[37] as well as additional interest from the city ofEdinburgh andNBL powerhouseReading Rockets.[38][39] Of these interested cities, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Leeds and Liverpool have all, at some point in time, previously hosted a BBL team since 1987.
The league was an independent company owned by its member clubs andMiami-based investment firm 777 Partners, who bought 45.5% of the shares of the league, investing £7million, in December 2021.Each club, or franchise, now had an equal shareholding of 5.45%. The 8-person management board is made up of an independent chairperson, non-affiliated non-executives, Investor Directors and a minority representation of BBL Club Directors.[1]Sir Rodney Walker is the current elected chairperson.
On 14 June 2024British Basketball, the national governing body for basketball in the UK, terminated the league's licence[33] citing financial concerns.
TheBBL Championship is the flagship competition of the British Basketball League and features all member teams playing a doubleround robin (home and away) league season,[40] from September through to April.[41] Matches are played according toFIBA rules and games consist of four-quarters of 10 minutes each. Two points are awarded for a win,[40] withovertime 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.[42] Following the completion of the Championship regular season, the top eight ranked teams advance into the post-season Playoffs which usually take place during April.[43]
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 four or five home games consecutively followed by a straight set of away games. As the regular 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 theNational Basketball Association[citation needed] and other North American sports.
The post-seasonPlayoffs usually takes place in April, featuring the top eight ranked teams from the Championship regular season compete in aknockout 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 three-game series, with the higher seed getting two home games either side of the lower seeds home game. The team that wins two of the three games advances to the next round.[40][42] 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 post-season is the grand Final, held atThe O2 Arena in London, which sees the two Semi-final winners play a one-game event to determine the Playoff Champions.
TheBBL Cup emerged from a breakaway of theEnglish Basketball Association-organisedNational Cup and was contested for the first time in the2003–04 season, whenSheffield Sharks were the inaugural winners. Since the 2019–20 season, the competition has a group stage followed by a knockout stage. The group stage consists of the teams being split into north and south groups and within each playing adouble round-robin system. The top 4 teams from each group are thenseeded with 1st of each group playing 4th in the other and 3rd in each group playing 2nd in the other. The winner of theAggregate score going through to the semi-final. The winner of the aggregate score of each match in the semi-final then goes through to the BBL Cup Final.[44] The Cup final is played at theArena Birmingham in Birmingham, usually in early January.[45]
TheBBL Trophy traces its origins back to a previous competition known as the Anglo-Scottish Cup – and subsequently the British Master's Cup – which was founded in 1984 and was initially a competition between teams from both the English and Scottish leagues. Following the launch of the new British Basketball League administration in 1987 – who assumed control over the National Basketball League from theEnglish Basketball Association – the British Master's Cup was scrapped and replaced with the newly formedLeague Trophy.[46] The Trophy competition has historically had around-robin group stage format used for the first round, however the current competition is aknockout tournament with pairings drawn completely at random – there are noseeds, and a draw takes place after the majority of fixtures have been played in each round. As well as including all BBL member clubs, invited teams from theEnglish Basketball League, and occasionally theScottish Basketball League, often take part in the Trophy.[47] The Final is usually played in March at a neutral venue.[48]
In 2018, theLeicester Riders competed in Europe's third tier of continental basketball, theBasketball Champions League, losing in the first qualification round on aggregate to theBakken Bears.[49] They became the first British team to compete in European competition since theGuildford Heat featured in theULEB Cup during the2007–08 season.
Following their elimination from the Basketball Champions League, the Leicester Riders played in the2018–19 FIBA Europe Cup, Europe's fourth tier.[50][51]
To be eligible for entry into theBasketball Champions League or theFIBA Europe Cup, teams must play in arenas with a capacity of at least 2,000 people.[52]
British Basketball League rules currently allow for each team to have a maximum of three "import" players – from outside of theEuropean Union (EU) and require awork permit to play – whilst the remaining players on the roster must havecitizenship of an EU country, either by birth or bynaturalisation.[53] The current ruling was integrated at the beginning of the 2006–07 season, reverting from the previous law which allowed for up to four non-EU players on a roster, along with naturalised players.
New rules introduced for the2012–13 season allow teams to field a maximum of five non-British players per game (including up to three work permitted players), further demonstrating the League's commitment towards developing British players.[54]
Prior to the2022–23 season, a "Team Payments Cap" limited teams to spend no more than £250,000 on player salaries per season with the aim of keeping overall costs down for the teams whilst also ensuring competitive balance. The Team Payments Cap was dropped in August 2022 as it was stated to hamper the growth of BBL teams playing in European competitions.[55]
According to BBL rules, teams must field no more than six import (non-EU) players in any one season, though only three are allowed to be registered to a roster at any one time. Signings are allowed to be made throughout the pre-season and during the regular season until the league's transfer deadline on 28 February, or if during aleap year, the date is 29 February.
Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility atFIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed.
| Criteria |
|---|
To appear in this section a player must have either:
|
Homegrown
Kieron AcharaJohn AmaechiMatthew Bryan-AmaningSteve BucknallDaniel ClarkDave GardnerMyles HessonRoger Huggins Colin IrishKyle JohnsonIain MacLeanRichard MidgleyLuke NelsonGabe OlaseniPeter ScantleburyOvie SokoDrew SullivanNaturalised British
Flinder BoydAlton Byrd Alan CunninghamTony DorseyFabulous FlournoyDanny LewisByron MullensTerrell MyersTarik Phillip
Kareem QueeleyNate ReinkingBilly SingletonCharles SmithLynard StewartTony WindlessRest of the World
Julius Hodge
Greg FrancisSkouson Harker
Ricardo Greer
Kosta Koufos
Darjuš LavrinovičKšyštof Lavrinovič
Pero Cameron
Miye OniOlumide OyedejiRobert ChurchwellCharles ClaxtonTerry CrosbySam DekkerRichard DumasChuck EvansChris FinchDonte GranthamKenny GregoryPhil HandyDeAndre LigginsLoren MeyerDwayne MortonDavid NwabaNick NurseCraig RobinsonDennis RodmanAndre SmithJordan TaylorDaryl ThomasClyde VaughanJerry WilliamsVoise Winters| Club | Champions | Runners-up | Last league title |
|---|---|---|---|
| Newcastle Eagles | 7 | 6 | 2014–15 |
| Leicester Riders | 6 | 4 | 2021–22 |
| Sheffield Sharks | 4 | 5 | 2002–03 |
| London Lions | 3 | 2 | 2023–24 |
| Cheshire Phoenix[i] | 2 | 2 | 2004–05 |
| Surrey Scorchers[ii] | 1 | 1 | 2006–07 |
| Caledonia Gladiators[iii] | 0 | 1 | — |
| Bristol Flyers | — | — | — |
| Manchester Giants | — | — | — |
| Plymouth City Patriots | — | — | — |
| Season | Champions | Runners Up | Third Place |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987–88 | Portsmouth (1) | Kingston Kings | Murray Livingston |
| 1988–89 | Glasgow Rangers (1) | Murray Livingston | Bracknell Tigers |
| 1989–90 | Kingston Kings (1) | Manchester Giants | Sunderland 76ers |
| 1990–91 | Kingston Kings (2) | Sunderland Saints | Thames Valley Tigers |
| 1991–92 | Kingston Kings (3) | Thames Valley Tigers | Worthing Bears |
| 1992–93 | Worthing Bears (1) | Thames Valley Tigers | London Towers |
| 1993–94 | Thames Valley Tigers (1) | Worthing Bears | Manchester Giants |
| 1994–95 | Sheffield Sharks (1) | Thames Valley Tigers | London Towers |
| 1995–96 | London Towers (1) | Sheffield Sharks | Birmingham Bullets |
| 1996–97 | Leopards (1) | London Towers | Sheffield Sharks |
| 1997–98 | Leopards (2) | Birmingham Bullets | Newcastle Eagles |
| 1998–99 | Sheffield Sharks (2) | Manchester Giants | London Towers |
| Season | North Champions | North Runners Up | South Champions | South Runners Up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999–00 | Manchester Giants | Sheffield Sharks | London Towers | Thames Valley Tigers |
| 2000–01 | Sheffield Sharks | Chester Jets | London Towers | Greater London Leopards |
| 2001–02 | Chester Jets | Sheffield Sharks | London Towers | Brighton Bears |
| Season | Champions | Runners Up | Third Place |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002–03 | Sheffield Sharks (3) | Brighton Bears | Chester Jets |
| 2003–04 | Brighton Bears (2) | Sheffield Sharks | London Towers |
| 2004–05 | Chester Jets (1) | Newcastle Eagles | London Towers |
| 2005–06 | Newcastle Eagles (1) | Scottish Rocks | Sheffield Sharks |
| 2006–07 | Guildford Heat (1) | Sheffield Sharks | Newcastle Eagles |
| 2007–08 | Newcastle Eagles (2) | Guildford Heat | Plymouth Raiders |
| 2008–09 | Newcastle Eagles (3) | Mersey Tigers | Leicester Riders |
| 2009–10 | Newcastle Eagles (4) | Sheffield Sharks | Glasgow Rocks |
| 2010–11 | Mersey Tigers (1) | Newcastle Eagles | Sheffield Sharks |
| 2011–12 | Newcastle Eagles (5) | Leicester Riders | Worcester Wolves |
| 2012–13 | Leicester Riders (1) | Newcastle Eagles | Glasgow Rocks |
| 2013–14 | Newcastle Eagles (6) | Sheffield Sharks | Worcester Wolves |
| 2014–15 | Newcastle Eagles (7) | Leicester Riders | Worcester Wolves |
| 2015–16 | Leicester Riders (2) | Newcastle Eagles | Sheffield Sharks |
| 2016–17 | Leicester Riders (3) | Newcastle Eagles | Glasgow Rocks |
| 2017–18 | Leicester Riders (4) | London Lions | Newcastle Eagles |
| 2018–19 | London Lions (1) | Leicester Riders | Newcastle Eagles |
| 2019–20 | Season cancelled due to theCOVID-19 pandemic | ||
| 2020–21 | Leicester Riders (5) | London Lions | Plymouth Raiders |
| 2021–22 | Leicester Riders (6) | Sheffield Sharks | London Lions |
| 2022–23 | London Lions (2) | Leicester Riders | Bristol Flyers |
| 2023–24 | London Lions (3) | Cheshire Phoenix | Caledonia Gladiators |
| Rank | Team | Wins | RU | Wins | RU | Wins | RU | Wins | RU | Wins | RU |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BBL Championship | BBL Playoffs | BBL Cup | BBL Trophy | Total | |||||||
| 1 | Newcastle Eagles | 7 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 28 | 19 |
| 2 | Leicester Riders | 6 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 19 | 16 |
| 3 | Guildford Kings† | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 15 | 3 |
| 4 | Sheffield Sharks | 4 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 14 | 13 |
| 5 | Cheshire Phoenix | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 11 | 10 |
| 6 | London Towers† | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 10 | 5 |
| 7 | London Lions | 3 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 12 |
| 8 | Brighton Bears† | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 8 |
| 9 | Thames Valley Tigers† | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 11 |
| 10 | Mersey Tigers† | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 |
| 11 | Surrey Scorchers | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 3 |
| 12 | Manchester Giants† | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 9 |
| 13 | Essex Leopards† | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| 14 | Worcester Wolves† | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| 15 | Caledonia Gladiators | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 9 |
| 16 | Livingston† | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 17 | Birmingham Bullets† | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 18 | Plymouth Raiders† | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 |
| 19 | Portsmouth† | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 20 | London City Royals† | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 21 | Derby Storm† | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 22 | Solent Kestrels | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 23 | Bristol Flyers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 24 | Manchester Giants | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
*Note: † Defunct club.
*Note: This is a ranking of all BBL clubs titles won both throughout BBL history and including pre-BBL titles.
*Note: Manchester Giants refers to the first franchise with this name rather than the current franchise of the same name.
Source:Honours board
Basketball receives little national press coverage in the United Kingdom, although coverage is more extensive from the local newspapers in cities where BBL clubs are based, with publications such asThe Plymouth Herald,Manchester Evening News,Leicester Mercury and theNewcastle Chronicle all having dedicated basketball reporters who cover the respective local team. Some national newspapers list results and occasionally provide short summaries of the League's news, but more extensive coverage remains minimal.
The history of television coverage of the BBL has been sporadic. Previously the League enjoyed coverage fromChannel 4 in the 1980s and Sky Sports from 1995 to 2001, where audiences peaked at around 150,000 viewers.[56] The League signed a three-year broadcast deal with the ill-fated digital TV companyITV Digital in 2001, and coverage suffered a sharp decline as the broadcaster struggled and eventually went out of business, resulting in a significant loss of income to member clubs.[57] Television coverage was then infrequent until the 2007–08 season, when international broadcasterSetanta Sports signed a deal to screen one live game a week.[58] In 2010, the League agreed a broadcast rights deal withSky Sports, marking the return of BBL action on Sky Sports after a 9-year gap.[59] The League's own subscription-based online TV station,BBL TV, took over the broadcast of live games from 2013 to 2015, and during the2013–14 season match highlights were also televised and featured onBritish Eurosport each week.[60]
In July 2016, the league signed a two-year broadcast deal with theBBC, featuring both British Basketball League andWomen's British Basketball League games. The games would be broadcast on theBBC Sport website with the showpiece finals also being broadcast on the BBC Red Button.[61] Alongside the BBC deal, a six-year deal with Perform was signed[62] which saw every BBL game broadcast via LiveBasketball.TV,[63] and a deal followed a year later withUNILAD to broadcast one game a week live via Facebook.[64]FreeSports signed a deal with the league in January 2018 to broadcast games for the remainder of the season, starting with the BBL Cup Final betweenWorcester Wolves andCheshire Phoenix.
In November 2020, coverage of the league returned to Sky Sports in a new two-year deal which sees Sky broadcasting 30 games per season, including BBL Trophy Final, BBL Cup Final and BBL Playoffs.[65] This was later extended to also cover the 2022/23 season.
During the 2023–24 season of the BBL,NESN aired BBL matches in the US.[66]
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