Super League Basketball
| Founded | 2024 |
|---|---|
| First season | 2024–25 |
| Country | Great Britain |
| Federation | British Basketball |
| Confederation | FIBA Europe |
| Number of teams | 9 |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| International cup(s) | Champions League FIBA Europe Cup |
| Current champions | London Lions (1st title) (2024–25) |
| Most championships | London Lions (1 title) |
| TV partners | DAZN |
| Website | superleaguebasketballm.co.uk |
| 2025–26 Super League Basketball season | |
Super League Basketball (SLB) is a men's professional basketball league established in 2024. The competition replaced the former British Basketball League (BBL) as the top-level men's basketball competition in Great Britain.
History
From 1987, the British Basketball League (BBL) was the pre-eminent basketball competition in Great Britain. By May 2024, Basketball League Ltd (BLL), the operating company behind the BBL, was in severe financial difficulties.[1] Due to this uncertainty, the British Basketball Federation (BBF) terminated BLL's operating license to run the men's professional league, with immediate effect.[2] On the same day a new organisation, Premier Basketball Limited, was formed by a consortium of existing basketball teams formerly of the BBL. The consortium, led by Sarah Backovic, director of Sheffield Sharks, was granted a three-year license by the BBF to operate the top-level men's basketball competition, in place of the former BBL.[3][4] On 2 August 2024, "Super League Basketball" was announced as the name for the new competition.[5][6]
Teams
Current teams
| Team | Location | Colours | Arena | Capacity | Founded |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bristol Flyers | Bristol | SGS College Arena | 750 | 2006 | |
| Caledonia Gladiators | East Kilbride | Playsport Arena | 1,800 | 1998 | |
| Cheshire Phoenix | Ellesmere Port | Cheshire Oaks Arena | 1,400 | 1984 | |
| Leicester Riders | Leicester | Mattioli Arena | 2,400 | 1967 | |
| London Lions | London (Stratford) | Copper Box Arena | 6,000 | 1977 | |
| Manchester Basketball | Manchester | National Basketball Centre | 2,000 | 2024 | |
| Newcastle Eagles | Newcastle | Vertu Motors Arena | 2,800 | 1976 | |
| Sheffield Sharks | Sheffield | Canon Medical Arena | 2,500 | 1991 | |
| Surrey 89ers | Guildford | Surrey Sports Park | 970 | 2024 |
Corporate structure
Chairman
Regulations
Import players
Rules currently allow for each team to have a maximum of six non-British qualified players per game, and any number of British-qualified (National or Right-to-Work) players. During the course of a season, any Club may license a maximum of 12 non-national players, and any non-national player who is delicensed and subsequently relicensed by a club will count as a new licence for the purposes of the calculation.
Transfer regulations
Players may be licensed at any time prior to midday on the last day of March during that season.
Salary cap
There is no salary cap in the league. Instead, clubs' total player emoluments are monitored and used to determine registration eligibility, including limits on the number of non-national players permitted in SLB Competitions.
Clubs are limited on the number of non-national players they are permitted to field in SLB Competitions, based on their total declared emoluments:
- Less than £500,000 net, the club may field a maximum of six (6) non-national players.
- Between £500,000 and £800,000 net, the club may field a maximum of five (5) non-national players.
- Greater than £800,000 net, the club may field a maximum of four (4) non-national players.
Results
Championship
| Teams | Champions | Runners-up | Wins | RU |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| London Lions | 2024–25 | — | 1 | — |
| Leicester Riders | — | 2024–25 | — | 1 |
| †Defunct club. | ||||
Playoff Finals
| Season | Winner | Score | Runners-up | Venue | Most Valuable Player |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024–25 | Leicester Riders | 105–74 | Newcastle Eagles | The O2 Arena, London | Jaylin Hunter |
Trophy Finals
| Season | Winner | Score | Runners-up | Venue | Most Valuable Player |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024–25 | Newcastle Eagles | 97–78 | Bristol Flyers | Arena Birmingham, Birmingham | Mike Okauru |
| 2025–26 | London Lions | 74–68 | Newcastle Eagles | Arena Birmingham, Birmingham | Deane Williams |
Cup Finals
| Season | Winner | Score | Runners-up | Venue | Most Valuable Player |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024–25 | Sheffield Sharks | 105–97 | Surrey 89ers | Nottingham Arena, Nottingham | Donovan Clay |
Honours board
| Rank | Team | Wins | RU | Wins | RU | Wins | RU | Wins | RU | Wins | RU |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SLB Championship | SLB Playoffs | SLB Cup | SLB Trophy | Total | |||||||
| 1 | London Lions | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 2 | Newcastle Eagles | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 3 | Leicester Riders | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 4 | Sheffield Sharks | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 5 | Bristol Flyers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 5 | Surrey 89ers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
*Note: † Defunct club.
*Note: This is a ranking of all SLB clubs titles won both throughout SLB history.
Source: Honours board
See also
- National Basketball League (2–5 tiers)
- Scottish Basketball Championship Men (2–3 tiers)
- British Basketball League (1987–2024)
- Super League Basketball Women
References
- ^ Sam Neter (21 May 2024). "BBL engages with new investors amidst 777 controversy". Hoopsfix.com. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
- ^ "Company running BBL has licence terminated". BBC Sport. 14 June 2024. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
- ^ "Consortium of clubs awarded licence to run men's basketball league". BBC Sport. 17 July 2024. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
- ^ "Franchises confirmed for Super League Basketball's debut season". riders.basketball. 19 August 2024. Retrieved 10 April 2025.
- ^ "Super League Basketball Launched In Great Britain". riders.basketball. 2 August 2024. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
- ^ "Super League Basketball announces four competition formats for debut season". superleaguebasketballm.co.uk. 13 September 2024. Retrieved 10 April 2025.
- ^ Neter, Sam (22 March 2025). "SLB opens investigations as interim Chair resigns". Hoopsfix. Retrieved 13 July 2025.
- ^ "Super League Basketball StatementSuper League Basketball Statement". Super League Basketball. 21 March 2025. Retrieved 13 July 2025.