Basketball Bundesliga facts for kids
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| Founded | 1966 |
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| First season | 1966–67 |
| Country | Germany |
| Confederation | FIBA Europe |
| Number of teams | 18 |
| Relegation to | ProA |
| Domestic cup(s) | BBL-Pokal |
| Supercup | BBL Champions Cup |
| International cup(s) | EuroLeague EuroCup Champions League Europe Cup |
| Current champions | Ratiopharm Ulm (1st title) |
| Most championships | Bayer Giants Leverkusen (14 titles) |
| Most appearances | Alex King (638) |
| All-time top scorer | Mike Jackel (10,783) |
| TV partners | Telekom Entertain Fanseat (select foreign markets) |
| Website | easycredit-bbl.de |
 2023–24 Basketball Bundesliga |
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The Basketball Bundesliga (BBL), also known as easyCredit BBL for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball league in Germany. It's where the best basketball teams in Germany play against each other.
The league has 18 teams. A BBL season is split into two main parts: a regular league stage and a playoff stage. After the regular season, the top eight teams get to play in the playoffs. The two teams at the very bottom (17th and 18th places) move down to a lower league called ProA.
The playoffs are played in a "Best of five" style. This means a team needs to win three games to move on or win the championship. The team that wins the final round becomes the German Champions for that season!
Besides the main league, all BBL teams also compete for the German Basketball Cup. Even teams from lower leagues can join this cup competition. There are usually three knock-out rounds. If many lower-league teams want to play, extra qualification rounds are added. The last four teams compete in the BBL-TOP4 to decide who wins gold, silver, and bronze medals. The team that wins the gold medal becomes the German Basketball Cup winner.
The Basketball Bundesliga is managed by a group called Basketball Bundesliga GmbH. Most of this group (74%) is owned by the clubs themselves, and the rest (26%) is owned by the German Basketball Federation (DBB).
Contents
History of German Basketball League
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Basketball championships in Germany started way back in 1939. The first winner was LSV Spandau. However, by 1944, most sports activities stopped because of World War II. After the war, in 1947, MTSV Schwabing München became the first champion of a divided Germany.
In 1964, the German Basketball Federation decided to create a new federal league for West Germany. It had a northern and a southern division, each with 10 teams. The first season of this new league, called the Basketball Bundesliga, began on October 1, 1966. In the 1971–72 season, each division was made smaller, with only 8 teams.
The league changed again in the 1975–76 season. It became a main league (1. Basketball Bundesliga) with 10 teams and a second league (2. Basketball Bundesliga) with 20 teams. Only the second league was split into northern and southern divisions. In 1985, the top league grew to 12 teams, and two years later, the second league divisions also grew to 12 teams each.
In 1988, the "Best of five" playoff system was used for the first time. The top league expanded to 14 teams in the 1995–96 season. The company that runs the league, Basketball Bundesliga GmbH (BBL), was officially started in October 1996.
In 1997, the federal leagues got their own management within the German Basketball Federation. The BBL became responsible for the top league. Two years later, the BBL signed a deal with the German Basketball Federation. The federation gave the BBL rights to marketing and events for 10 years. In return, the BBL agreed to pay money each year to support amateur basketball.
The top league grew to 16 teams in the 2003–04 season. Then, in 2006–07, it reached its current size of 18 teams. For the 2007–08 season, the second league changed its structure. Instead of northern/southern divisions, it became the ProA and ProB divisions.
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The German basketball league has had different names because of sponsors. From 1994 to 2001, it was called "Veltins Basketball Bundesliga." From 2001 to 2003, it was known as "s.Oliver Basketball Bundesliga." The team with the most league titles is Bayer Giants Leverkusen, with 14 championships. However, since 1997, Alba Berlin has been very strong, winning many titles. Overall, 21 different teams have won the championship since the league began.
From 2009, Brose Bamberg was very successful, winning the title four seasons in a row (2009-2013).
Sponsorship and Arena Rules
In 2016, the BBL partnered with Tipbet, a betting company. This made Tipbet an official sponsor, and the agreement included advertising in arenas and online.
All clubs in the Bundesliga must play in arenas that can hold at least 3,000 people. This rule helps ensure good facilities for games.
League Names and Logos Over Time
- 1966–2009Basketball Bundesliga
- 2009–2016Beko BBL
- 2016–2021easyCredit BBL
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Logo used from 2010 to 2016
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Logo used since 2016
Basketball Bundesliga Clubs
Here are the teams that played in the 2022–23 Basketball Bundesliga season.
| Team | City | Arena | Capacity |
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| Brose Bamberg | Bamberg | Brose Arena |
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| Medi Bayreuth | Bayreuth | Oberfrankenhalle |
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| Alba Berlin | Berlin | Mercedes-Benz Arena |
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| Telekom Baskets Bonn | Bonn | Telekom Dome |
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| Löwen Braunschweig | Braunschweig | Volkswagen Halle |
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| Niners Chemnitz | Chemnitz | Chemnitz Arena |
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| Crailsheim Merlins | Crailsheim | Arena Hohenlohe |
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| Skyliners Frankfurt | Frankfurt | Fraport Arena |
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| BG Göttingen | Göttingen | Sparkassen Arena |
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| Hamburg Towers | Hamburg | Edel-optics.de Arena |
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| MLP Academics Heidelberg | Heidelberg | SNP Dome |
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| MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg | Ludwigsburg | MHP-Arena |
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| Syntainics MBC | Weißenfels | Stadthalle Weißenfels |
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| Bayern Munich | Munich | BMW Park |
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| Baskets Oldenburg | Oldenburg | Große EWE Arena |
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| Rostock Seawolves | Rostock | Stadthalle Rostock |
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| ratiopharm Ulm | Ulm | ratiopharm arena |
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| Würzburg Baskets | Würzburg | tectake Arena |
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Championship Titles by Club
Many different teams have won the German basketball championship over the years. Here's a list of how many titles each club has won:
| Champion | Titles | Winning years |
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| Bayer 04 Leverkusen |
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1969–70, 1970–71, 1971–72, 1975–76, 1978–79, 1984–85, 1985–86, 1989–90, 1990–91, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1994–95, 1995–96 |
| Alba Berlin |
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1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–00, 2000–01, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2007–08, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22 |
| USC Heidelberg |
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1956–57, 1957–58, 1958–59, 1959–60, 1960–61, 1961–62, 1965–66, 1972–73, 1976–77 |
| Brose Bamberg |
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2004–05, 2006–07, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17 |
| Gießen 46ers |
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1964–65, 1966–67, 1967–68, 1974–75, 1977–78 |
| Bayern Munich |
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1953–54, 1954–55, 2013–14, 2017–18, 2018–19 |
| Turnerbund Heidelberg |
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1947–48, 1950–51, 1951–52, 1952–53 |
| Saturn Köln |
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1980–81, 1981–82, 1986–87, 1987–88 |
| ASC 1846 Göttingen |
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1979–80, 1982–83, 1983–84 |
| MTSV Schwabing |
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1946–47, 1948–49 |
| Alemannia Aachen |
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1962–63, 1963–64 |
| LSV Spandau |
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1938–39 |
| Stuttgart-Degerloch |
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1949–50 |
| ATV Düsseldorf |
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1955–56 |
| Osnabrück |
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1968–69 |
| SSV Hagen |
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1973–74 |
| Steiner Bayreuth |
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1988–89 |
| Skyliners Frankfurt |
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2003–04 |
| RheinStars Köln |
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2005–06 |
| EWE Baskets Oldenburg |
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2008–09 |
| Ratiopharm Ulm |
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2022–23 |
More About German Basketball
- Basketball in Germany
- German Basketball League Champions
- German Basketball League Awards
- German Basketball Cup
- German Basketball Supercup
- German League All-Star Game
