 | |
| Founded | 2009; 16 years ago (2009) |
|---|---|
| First season | 2009–10 |
| Country | Russia |
| Confederation | FIBA Europe FIBA Asia |
| Number of teams | 11 |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| Domestic cup | Russian Cup |
| Supercup | VTB League Supercup |
| International cup(s) | EuroLeague (suspended) EuroCup (suspended) Champions League (suspended) Europe Cup (suspended) West Asia Super League |
| Current champions | CSKA Moscow (12th title) (2024–25) |
| Most championships | CSKA Moscow (12 titles) |
| Website | vtb-league |
 2024–25 | |
TheVTB United League (Russian:Единая Лига ВТБ) is an international professional men's clubbasketballleague that was founded in 2009. As of the 2025–26 season, it consists exclusively of Russian clubs. Since2013, it is thefirst tier of Russian professional club basketball. Therefore, the highest placed Russian team in the league can also be named theRussian national champions.[citation needed] The league is sponsored by Russian state-ownedVTB Bank. In 2009CSKA Moscow wonVTB United League Promo-Cup, but this competition does not count as official VTB title. CSKA has dominated the league, having won majority of titles its existence. The VTB United League also holds a youth competition, theVTB United Youth League.
The first step in the creation of the league was a competition named theVTB United League Promo-Cup held in Moscow in December 2009.[1] The final of the Promo-Cup was played on December 22, 2009, and was won byCSKA Moscow, who defeatedKhimki 70–66.Kyiv ended third.[2]
In May 2012, all the PBL clubs gathered to decide which format would be used for the next season, and some club's directors raised the possibility of uniting with the VTB United League, to produce greater competition between the Russian basketball clubs. They suggested that the new league be named the Eastern European Professional Basketball League.[3][4][5]
In July 2012, the Council of VTB United League decided that the PBL league would continue for one more year, with some games of the VTB United League that took place between two Russian clubs being counted as PBL games.[6] Thefirst tier Russian clubs then replaced the PBL with the VTB United League as their new national domestic league, starting with the 2013-14 season.[citation needed]
The VTB United League was recognized byFIBA Europe in September 2013.[7][8] The league was then officially recognized byFIBA World in October 2014. The league needed to be recognized by both bodies, because it contains clubs that come from countries that are part of both the European and Asian FIBA zones.[citation needed]
The honorary head of the league isSergei Ivanov and its official sponsor isPavel Vrublevsky ofChronoPay.[9][10][11]
In its inaugural 2009–10 season, the VTB United League featured clubs fromEstonia,Latvia,Lithuania, Russia, andUkraine. For the 2010–11 season, teams from Belarus,Finland, andPoland were added to the league. The 2011–12 season featured 18 teams, with new teams being added from theCzech Republic and Kazakhstan.[12] In the 2012–13 season, the number of teams increased to 20. The number of teams decreased to 16 for the 2014–15 season, and the teams fromLithuania andUkraine dropped out of the league.
During the2021–22 season, ten teams were left to compete after the Polish and Estonian clubs withdrew from the league in protest against theRussian invasion of Ukraine.[13]
As of the 2025–26 season, the VTB United League consisted of 11 teams:
In order for clubs to play in the VTB United League, they must have a home arena that has a seating capacity of at least 3,000 seats.[14]
| Participants | 2008 | 09–10 | 10–11 | 11–12 | 12–13 | 13–14 | 14–15 | 15–16 | 16–17 | 17–18 | 18–19 | 19–20 | 20–21 | 21–22 | 22–23 | 23–24 | 24–25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 8 | 12 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 16 | 16 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 12 | |
 Tsmoki-Minsk | GS | GS | GS | GS | 14th | 12th | 12th | 9th | 14th | (13th) | 13th | 9th | 12th | 14th | |||
 Nymburk | GS | GS | GS | 15th | QF | ||||||||||||
 Kalev/Cramo | GS | GS | GS | GS | 9th | 14th | 11th | 12th | QF | (8th) | 10th | Ret | |||||
 Bisons Loimaa | 13th | 13th | |||||||||||||||
| Espoon Honka | GS | ||||||||||||||||
| Torpan Pojat | QR | ||||||||||||||||
 VITA Tbilisi | 16th | ||||||||||||||||
 Astana | 1/8 | 1/8 | QF | 15th | QF | 10th | QF | (9th) | 12th | 10th | 11th | 13th | 12th | ||||
 ASK Rīga | 7th | ||||||||||||||||
| VEF Rīga | GS | GS | QF | GS | GS | 11th | QF | QF | 10th | ||||||||
 Lietuvos rytas | GS | 3rd | GS | SF | |||||||||||||
| Neptūnas | GS | GS | |||||||||||||||
| Šiauliai | QR | ||||||||||||||||
| Žalgiris | 5th | 3rd | 1/8 | 1/8 | 3rd | ||||||||||||
 Anwil | QR | ||||||||||||||||
| Prokom | 8th | GS | GS | ||||||||||||||
| Turów | GS | GS | |||||||||||||||
| Zielona Góra | 12th | (7th) | QF | Ret | |||||||||||||
 Avtodor | QF | QF | 10th | QF | 11th | (12th) | 9th | QF | QF | 9th | QF | ||||||
| CSKA | 1st | 1st | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | (2nd) | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 1st | 1st |
| Dynamo | 4th | ||||||||||||||||
| Enisey | GS | GS | 1/8 | 11th | 10th | QF | 13th | 9th | (11th) | 11th | QF | 9th | QF | 10th | |||
| Khimki | 2nd | 4th | 1st | QF | 4th | QF | 2nd | SF | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | (1st) | QF | ||||
| Krasny Oktyabr | 1/8 | 12th | 9th | ||||||||||||||
| Krasnye Krylia | GS | QF | QF | 16th | |||||||||||||
| Lokomotiv Kuban | 4th | 2nd | QF | SF | QF | SF | QF | QF | (3rd) | SF | 4th | 2nd | 4th | 4th | |||
| MBA Moscow | QF | 10th | 9th | ||||||||||||||
| Nizhny Novgorod | 1/8 | QF | 2nd | SF | QF | 9th | QF | QF | (10th) | QF | QF | QF | 12th | QF | |||
| Parma | 13th | 11th | 13th | (5th) | QF | QF | QF | QF | QF | ||||||||
| Samara | 10th | QF | 11th | ||||||||||||||
| Spartak | QF | 1/8 | 1/8 | ||||||||||||||
| Triumph | 1/8 | QF | |||||||||||||||
| UNICS | 2nd | 3rd | 2nd | QF | SF | QF | 2nd | QF | 4th | SF | (4th) | 2nd | 3rd | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | |
| Uralmash | QF | QF | |||||||||||||||
| Zenit | QF | SF | SF | 3rd | SF | (6th) | SF | 1st | 4th | 3rd | 2nd | ||||||
 Azovmash | 6th | GS | 4th | GS | GS | GS | |||||||||||
| Budivelnyk | GS | ||||||||||||||||
| Dnipro | GS | QR | |||||||||||||||
| Donetsk | GS | 1/8 | GS | ||||||||||||||
| Kyiv | 3rd |
| VTB United League Promo-Cup |
2008 tournament does not count as official VTB title.
| Club | Champions | Runners-up | Winning years |
|---|---|---|---|
| CSKA Moscow | 12 | 2 | 2010, 2012-19, 2021, 2024, 2025 |
| Khimki | 1 | 4 | 2011 |
| UNICS | 1 | 5 | 2023 |
| Zenit Saint Petersburg | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Lokomotiv Kuban | 0 | 2 | |
| Nizhny Novgorod | 0 | 1 |
Andrey Kostin'sVTB Bank has been a long-term league sponsor. However, it recorded losses of connected to other sponsorships (FC Dynamo Moscow andHC Dynamo Moscow) and contributions to charities. This led to theBank of Moscow joining as main sponsor.[15]
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link){{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link){{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)| Seasons | |
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| Playoffs | |
| Finals | |
| Supercup |
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| All-Star Game | |
| Clubs | |
| Awards | |
| Statistics | |
| Other | |
