 International Basketball League logo | |
| Sport | Basketball |
|---|---|
| Founded | August 2004; 21 years ago (2004-08) |
| First season | 2005 |
| Ceased | 2014 |
| No. of teams | 13 |
| Countries |  United States |
| Continent | FIBA Americas (Americas) |
| Last champion | Bellingham Slam (2014) |
| Most titles | Bellingham Slam (4) |
| Official website | www |
TheInternational Basketball League (IBL) was asemi-professional men'sbasketballleague featuring teams from theWest Coast of the United States. In 2010 theAlbany Legends became the first team in the Northeastern United States to join. The IBL also sometimes featured teams fromChina andJapan which temporarily relocated to theUnited States for the IBL season. The IBL season typically ran from the end of March through July.
Founded byPortland area sports promoter Mikal Duilio,[1] the league featured rules designed to create a fast-paced, high-scoring brand ofbasketball. Duilio first began planning for the league with a series of test games in Portland andSeattle in November 2003. These games featured a mixture of traditional college andNBA rules, plus two rules created specifically for the league:
The test games proved popular and resulted in the founding of the IBL in August 2004. Founded with eight teams, the league expanded to 17 by the start of the season in April 2005. Each team played approximately 20 regular season games, most of them centered on their home region, with the teams with the two best records playing in a championship game at the end of the season. TheBattle Creek Knights won the inaugural title by going undefeated in the regular season and beating theDayton Jets in the finals.
In the league's first year, the up-tempo rules resulted in the average team scoring 126.9 points per game, nearly 30 points more than the NBA team average in 2004–05, and slightly higher than the NBA record for points per game by a team in a single season, set by theDenver Nuggets in 1981–82.
In 2010, the league launched a winter season which saw nine different teams compete. Four teams played an entire schedule and thus made them eligible for the playoffs.[2]
In July 2011, Duilio sold the league toVancouver,Washington, businessman Bryan Hunter.[3] Sharleen Graf was appointed as the league's new commissioner.[4]
In March 2014 the IBL ceased operation as an independent entity and combined with theWest Coast Basketball League (WCBL).[5] Teams were split into an International Conference and Continental Conference based on geography.
| International Conference Team | City, State | Arena | Founded | Joined |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bellingham Slam | Bellingham,WA | Whatcom Pavilion | 2005 | 2007 |
| Lone Star Strikers | Conroe,TX | Oak Ridge High School | 2013 | |
| Olympia Reign | Olympia,WA | Little Creek Casino | 2008 | |
| Portland Chinooks | Beaverton,OR | Eastmoreland Courts | 2009 | |
| Salem Sabres | Salem,OR | Chemeketa Community College | 2013 | |
| Seattle Flight | Seattle,WA | North Seattle Community College Wellness Center | 2013 | |
| Vancouver Volcanoes | Vancouver,WA | O'Connell Sports Center | 2005 | |
| Continental Conference Team | City, State | Arena | Founded | Joined |
| Hollywood Shooting Stars | Hollywood, California | 2012 | 2014 | |
| Los Angeles Team Macleem | Los Angeles, California | Mt. Carmel Recreation Center | 2014 | 2014 |
| Malibu Beachdogs | Mailibu, California | 2014 | 2014 | |
| Santa Barbara Breakers | Santa Barbara, California | Santa Barbara City College | 2006 | 2014 |
| Santa Monica Jump | Santa Monica, California | 2012 | 2014 | |
| Venice Beach Warriors | Venice Beach, California | 2013 | 2014 |
| Year | Champion | Score | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Battle Creek Knights | 124-121 | Dayton Jets |
| 2006 | Elkhart Express | 119-108 (OT) | Columbus Cyclones |
| 2007 | Elkhart Express | 113-109 | Portland Chinooks |
| 2008 | Bellingham Slam | 118-111 | Elkhart Express |
| 2009 | Los Angeles Lightning | 2-1 (best-of 3) | Oregon Waves |
| 2010 Summer | Albany Legends | 126-111 | Bellingham Slam |
| 2010 Winter | Kankakee County Soldiers | 88-87 | Gary Splash |
| 2011 | Vancouver Volcanoes | 124-116 | Edmonton Energy |
| 2012 | Bellingham Slam | 142-109 | Portland Chinooks |
| 2013 | Bellingham Slam | 117-114 | Vancouver Volcanoes |
| 2014 | Bellingham Slam | 143-126 | Vancouver Volcanoes |
| Team | Championships | Summer Seasons | Winter Seasons |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bellingham Slam | 4 | 2008, 2012, 2013, 2014 | |
| Elkhart Express | 2 | 2006, 2007 | |
| Battle Creek Knights | 1 | 2005 | |
| Los Angeles Lightning | 1 | 2009 | |
| Albany Legends | 1 | 2010 | |
| Kankakee County Soldiers | 1 | 2010 | |
| Vancouver Volcanoes | 1 | 2011 |