Korisliiga
| Formerly |
|
|---|---|
| Founded | 1939 |
| Country | Finland |
| Federation | Basketball Finland |
| Confederation | FIBA Europe |
| Number of teams | 12 |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| Relegation to | I-division A |
| International cup(s) | Champions League FIBA Europe Cup |
| Current champions | Salon Vilpas (2025–26) |
| Most championships | Pantterit (14 titles) |
| TV partners | |
| Website | korisliiga.fi |
| 2025–26 Korisliiga season | |
Korisliiga is the top-tier professional basketball league in Finland, comprising the top-twelve teams of the country. Pantterit hold the record for the most league titles won, with fourteen. Salon Vilpas are the reigning Finnish Champions (SM) after winning the playoff finals versus Joensuun Kataja in 2026.
The league was founded by Basketball Finland in 1939 as Koripallon SM-sarja (lit. 'Basketball Finnish Championship' or 'Basketball Finnish Championship series').[a] It was renamed SM-koris ('Finnish Champion[ship] Basket') in 1999 and was known as Sparliiga during the 2004–05 season due to a sponsorship agreement with Spar. The current league name, Korisliiga ('Basket League'), has been used since 2005.
Season format
In its current format, each team plays all other teams two times in the regular season, once at home and once away, for a total of 22 regular season games. The top six teams advances continues to upper stage and the bottom six teams plays lower stage after 22 games, 5 games at home and 5 games at away versus all other teams in stage. The best two teams from lower group joins to playoffs with upper group teams.
Playoffs are played best of seven format, except the quarter-finals which are played best of 5 format.
Teams
Current teams
| Team | City | Home arena | Founded | Head coach |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Helsinki Seagulls | Helsinki | Töölön kisahalli | 2013 | Timo Saukkola |
| Joensuun Kataja | Joensuu | Motonet Areena | 1949 | Petri Virtanen |
| Kauhajoen Karhu | Kauhajoki | IKH Areena | 1910 | Janne Koskimies |
| Kobrat | Lapua | Kobra-Areena | 1989 | Ville Turja |
| Korihait | Uusikaupunki | Uusikaupunki Areena | 1974 | Ivan Ivanovic |
| Kouvot | Kouvola | MLL Areena | 1964 | Kari Kurronen |
| KTP-Basket | Kotka | Steveco Areena | 1927 | Darko Mihajlovic |
| BC Nokia | Nokia | Harjuniityn palloiluhalli | 1997 | Greg Gibson |
| Salon Vilpas | Salo | Salohalli | 1908 | Jussi Savolainen |
| Tampereen Pyrintö | Tampere | Pyynikin palloiluhalli | 1896 | Tero Vasell |
| Bisons Loimaa | Loimaa | Loimaan liikuntahalli | 1964 | Konsta Mastomäki |
| Tapiolan Honka | Espoo | Tapiolan Urheiluhalli | 1957 | Aapo Heinonen |
From 2000s, Korisliiga in timeline
| 2000– 2001 |
2001– 2002 |
2002– 2003 |
2003– 2004 |
2004– 2005 |
2005– 2006 |
2006– 2007 |
2007– 2008 |
2008– 2009 |
2009– 2010 |
2010– 2011 |
2011– 2012 |
2012– 2013 |
2013– 2014 |
2014– 2015 |
2015– 2016 |
| Pyrbasket | Pyrintö | ||||||||||||||
| KTP | |||||||||||||||
| Kouvot | |||||||||||||||
| Kataja | |||||||||||||||
| Namika Lahti | |||||||||||||||
| Vilpas | |||||||||||||||
| Korihait | |||||||||||||||
| Karhu | |||||||||||||||
| LrNMKY | N. Lpr | ||||||||||||||
| Espoon Honka | |||||||||||||||
| Tapiolan Honka | |||||||||||||||
| Tarmo | |||||||||||||||
| LoKoKo | |||||||||||||||
| ToPo | |||||||||||||||
| Seagulls | |||||||||||||||
| Kobrat | |||||||||||||||
| FoKoPo | |||||||||||||||
| T. Comp. | |||||||||||||||
| Pussihukat | |||||||||||||||
| Aura Basket | |||||||||||||||
| Huima | |||||||||||||||
| BC Jyväskylä | |||||||||||||||
| BC Nokia | |||||||||||||||
| SäyRi | |||||||||||||||
| Pantterit | |||||||||||||||
Title holders
- 1938–39 Ylioppilaskoripalloilijat
- 1939–40 Eiran Kisa-Veikot
- 1940–41 Kadettikoulu
- 1941–43 Not held due to WWII
- 1943–44 Kiri-Veikot
- 1944–45 Kiri-Veikot
- 1945–46 NMKY Helsinki
- 1946–47 NMKY Helsinki
- 1947–48 Kiri-Veikot
- 1948–49 HOK-Veikot
- 1949–50 HOK-Veikot
- 1950–51 HOK-Veikot
- 1951–52 HOK-Veikot
- 1952–53 Pantterit
- 1953–54 Pantterit
- 1954–55 Pantterit
- 1955–56 Pantterit
- 1956–57 Pantterit
- 1957–58 KTP
- 1958–59 Pantterit
- 1959–60 Torpan Pojat
- 1960–61 Helsingin Kisa-Toverit
- 1961–62 Helsingin Kisa-Toverit
- 1962–63 Helsingin Kisa-Toverit
- 1963–64 Helsingin Kisa-Toverit
- 1964–65 Helsingin Kisa-Toverit
- 1965–66 Torpan Pojat
- 1966–67 KTP
- 1967–68 Tapion Honka
- 1968–69 Tapion Honka
- 1969–70 Tapion Honka
- 1970–71 Tapion Honka
- 1971–72 Tapion Honka
- 1972–73 Turun NMKY
- 1973–74 Honka Playboys
- 1974–75 Turun NMKY
- 1975–76 Honka Playboys
- 1976–77 Turun NMKY
- 1977–78 Torpan Pojat
- 1978–79 Playhonka
- 1979–80 Pantterit
- 1980–81 Torpan Pojat
- 1981–82 Turun NMKY
- 1982–83 Torpan Pojat
- 1983–84 NMKY Helsinki
- 1984–85 NMKY Helsinki
- 1985–86 Torpan Pojat
- 1986–87 NMKY Helsinki
- 1987–88 KTP
- 1988–89 NMKY Helsinki
- 1989–90 Uudenkaupungin Urheilijat
- 1990–91 KTP
- 1991–92 NMKY Helsinki
- 1992–93 KTP
- 1993–94 KTP
- 1994–95 Kouvot
- 1995–96 Torpan Pojat
- 1996–97 Torpan Pojat
- 1997–98 Torpan Pojat
- 1998–99 Kouvot
- 1999-00 Namika Lahti
- 2000–01 Espoon Honka
- 2001–02 Espoon Honka
- 2002–03 Espoon Honka
- 2003–04 Kouvot
- 2004–05 Lappeenrannan NMKY
- 2005–06 Lappeenrannan NMKY
- 2006–07 Espoon Honka
- 2007–08 Espoon Honka
- 2008–09 Namika Lahti
- 2009–10 Tampereen Pyrintö
- 2010–11 Tampereen Pyrintö
- 2011–12 Bisons Loimaa (Nilan)
- 2012–13 Bisons Loimaa (Nilan)
- 2013–14 Tampereen Pyrintö
- 2014–15 Kataja
- 2015–16 Kouvot
- 2016–17 Kataja
- 2017–18 Kauhajoki Karhu
- 2018–19 Kauhajoki Karhu
- 2019–20 None
- 2020–21 Salon Vilpas
- 2021–22 Kauhajoki Karhu
- 2022–23 Helsinki Seagulls
- 2023–24 BC Nokia
- 2024–25 Helsinki Seagulls
- 2025–26 Salon Vilpas
Finals
Performance by club
Teams shown in italics are no longer in existence.
| Club | Wins | Seasons won |
|---|---|---|
| Pantterit | 14 | 1944, 1945, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1959, 1980 |
| Torpan Pojat | 9 | 1960, 1966, 1978, 1981, 1983, 1986, 1996, 1997, 1998 |
| Espoon Honka | 8 | 1974, 1976, 1979, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2008 |
| Helsingin NMKY | 7 | 1946, 1947, 1984, 1985,1987, 1989, 1992 |
| KTP | 6 | 1958, 1967, 1988, 1991, 1993, 1994 |
| HKT | 5 | 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965 |
| Tapiolan Honka | 5 | 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972 |
| Turun NMKY | 4 | 1973, 1975, 1977, 1982 |
| Kouvot | 4 | 1995, 1999, 2004, 2016 |
| Pyrintö | 3 | 2010, 2011, 2014 |
| Kauhajoki Karhu | 3 | 2018, 2019, 2022 |
| Namika Lahti | 2 | 2000, 2009 |
| Lappeenrannan NMKY | 2 | 2005, 2006 |
| Bisons Loimaa | 2 | 2012, 2013 |
| Kataja | 2 | 2015, 2017 |
| Salon Vilpas | 2 | 2021, 2026 |
| Helsinki Seagulls | 2 | 2023, 2025 |
| Ylioppilaskoripalloilijat | 1 | 1939 |
| Eiran Kisa-Veikot | 1 | 1940 |
| Kadettikoulu | 1 | 1941 |
| Korihait | 1 | 1990 |
| BC Nokia | 1 | 2024 |
Records
All-time table of teams
Updated after the 2021–22 season.[1]
| Rank | Team | Seasons | GP | W | L | D | W% | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | KTP-Basket | 67 | 2283 | 1273 | 1009 | 1 | 55.8 | 6 | 7 | 12 |
| 2. | Torpan Pojat | 51 | 1663 | 995 | 662 | 6 | 59.8 | 9 | 9 | 7 |
| 3. | Tampereen Pyrintö | 57 | 1921 | 962 | 950 | 9 | 50.1 | 3 | 5 | 1 |
| 4. | Kouvot | 31 | 1311 | 711 | 600 | 0 | 54.2 | 4 | 4 | 1 |
| 5. | Kataja Basket | 29 | 1230 | 705 | 525 | 0 | 57.3 | 2 | 6 | 5 |
| 6. | Pantterit | 54 | 1284 | 695 | 582 | 7 | 54.1 | 14 | 4 | 3 |
| 7. | Korihait | 40 | 1542 | 664 | 878 | 0 | 43.1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 8. | Helsingin NMKY | 48 | 1191 | 645 | 543 | 3 | 54.2 | 7 | 3 | 8 |
| 9. | Namika Lahti | 35 | 1249 | 639 | 610 | 0 | 51.2 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| 10. | Tapiolan Honka 00ers | 36 | 1089 | 600 | 489 | 0 | 55.1 | 6 | 5 | 5 |
All-time individual player records
Career leaders
The following table lists the all-time cumulative record holder in each category, inclusive of regular season and playoff games.[2]
| Category | Player | Total | Games played |
|---|---|---|---|
| Games | Timo Heinonen | 1,023 |
N/a |
| Points | / Gerald Lee Sr. | 14,088 |
639
|
| Rebounds | Damon Williams | 5,674 |
580
|
| Assists | Bojan Šarčević | 3,379 |
772
|
| Steals | / Gerald Lee Sr. | 1,267 |
639
|
| Blocks | Pekka Markkanen | 678 |
426
|
Single-season leaders
The following table lists the single-season record holder in each category, only regular season statistics are included.[3]
| Category | Player | Total | Season |
|---|---|---|---|
| Points | Joe Wright | 1,367 |
1991–92
|
| Rebounds | Raymond White | 692 |
1981–82
|
| Assists | Teemu Rannikko | 336 |
2015–16
|
| Steals | Obie Trotter | 136 |
2009–10
|
| Blocks | Faisal Abraham | 149 |
1998–99
|
Single-game records
The following table lists the single-game record holder in each category, inclusive of regular season and playoff games.[4]
| Category | Player | Record | Date | Game |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | Joe Wright | 79 | 12 February 1992 | Turun NMKY 117–145 Pantterit |
| Rebounds | / Garcia Hopkins | 42 | 16 February 1986 | Tampereen Pyrintö 131–80 Säynätsalon Riento |
| Assists | Petri Niiranen | 23 | 16 February 1992 | Helsingin NMKY 129–112 Turun NMKY |
| Efficiency | / Larry Pounds | 70 | 24 November 1985 | KTP-Basket 100–73 Säynätsalo Riento |
| Steals | / Gerald Lee Sr. | 12 | 15 February 1989 | Uudenkaupungin Urheilijat 108–91 Pantterit |
| Blocks | Damon Vance | 14 | 23 March 1988 | Forssan Koripojat 102–111 Salon Palloilijat |
| 2-point field goals |
Cheyenne Jones | 25 | 4 December 1982 | Joensuun Kataja 92–96 Tampereen Pyrintö |
| 3-point field goals |
Adonis Jordan | 14 | 17 October 1999 | Espoon Honka 98–84 Pussihukat |
| Free throws | Joe Wright | 21 | 15 January 1992 | Turun NMKY 112–102 KTP-Basket |
Awards
Seasonal awards
- MVP
- Finals MVP
- Defensive Player of the Year
- Rookie of the Year
- Most Improved Player
- Sixth Man of the Year
- Coach of the Year
- Referee of the Year
Attendance
|
|
See also
References
- ^ "Historia". www.basket.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 9 August 2022.
- ^ "Player statistics > Totals > All seasons, All stages, All positions". Basketball Finland. Retrieved 24 May 2026.
- ^ "History > Statistics and records > Player totals > Regular season". Basketball Finland. Retrieved 24 May 2026.
- ^ "History > Statistics and records > Player highs > All stages". Basketball Finland. Retrieved 24 May 2026.
- ^ "Korisliigan yleisöennätys 7420 katsojaa". basket.fi (in Finnish). Finnish Basketball Federation. 7 November 2005. Retrieved 17 November 2014.
Notes
- ^ Koripallo is the Finnish term for basketball, from kori meaning 'basket' and pallo meaning 'ball.' The abbreviation 'SM-sarja' is the shortened form of Suomen mestaruussarja, meaning 'Finnish championship' or 'Finnish championship series.' See Finnish Champion for more.