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National Basketball League (Japan)

Basketball league in Japan


Basketball league in Japan

FieldValue
titleNational Basketball League
last_season2015-16 NBL Japan season
pixels
formerlyJapan Basketball League
sportBasketball
founded2013
folded2016
replacedB.League
ownerJapan Basketball Association
ceo
coo
fame
inaugural2013-14
teams12
countryJapan
confedFIBA Asia
championToshiba Brave Thunders Kanagawa
most_champs2 (Toshiba)
Note

The National Basketball League (NBL) was a professional basketball league in Japan run by the Japan Basketball Association (JBA). The first NBL season started in Autumn 2013, replacing the JBA's previous top-flight league, the Japan Basketball League. Below the NBL was the National Basketball Development League (NBDL), which was the successor to the former JBL 2 division.

The NBL and its predecessor existed alongside the bj league, an independent league based on the American sports franchise model that had been active since 2005. The JBA was suspended by FIBA in November 2014 for failing to address the fragmentation of the sport into competing leagues. As a condition of FIBA lifting the suspension in August 2015, the NBL and NBDL merged with the bj-league to form the B.League, which commenced in October 2016. Accordingly, the 2015-16 NBL season was the league's third and final season.

Teams

The league's initial season in 2013-14 consisted of twelve teams. The eight teams that participated in the final season of the JBL1 joined the league, as well as the JBL2 champion Hyogo Storks. The Chiba Jets returned to the JBA system after playing two seasons in the bj-league, including a 9th-place finish in 2012-13. intended to join the NBL after finishing third in their first JBL2 season in 2012-13, but subsequent financial difficulties saw them withdraw their application. They were replaced by the newly formed Tsukuba Robots, who submitted a separate application for entry to the league. The twelfth team to join the league was the Kumamoto Volters, who had been seeking entrance into the JBL2 since 2009. Three NBDL teams were given associate membership status, allowing for the possibility of their future promotion to the NBL. However, all three teams (Renova Kagoshima, Tokyo Excellence and Toyota Tsusho Fighting Eagles) ultimately remained in the NBDL for the duration of the competition's existence.

The 2014-15 season saw the Hiroshima Dragonflies enter the league as an expansion team and the Tsukuba Robots transfer from the Western Conference to the Eastern Conference. The Wakayama Trians, who were runners up in the league's first season, withdrew midway through the 2014-15 season in January 2015 due to financial difficulty and were refused entry into the 2015-2016 season. In March 2014 the league issued a public call for expansion teams to join the NBL or NBDL for the 2015-16 season. The Tokyo Hachioji Trains joined the NBDL but the NBL remained at twelve teams. The league abandoned the two-conference system in 2015-16, with teams instead playing five matches against each other for a total 55-game regular season.

National Basketball League TeamsTeam nameCity, PrefectureFormed / Joined
(Folded)Previous leagueNBL Conference
(2013-14 and 2014-15)
Aisin SeaHorses MikawaKariya, Aichi19472013JBL1Western
Chiba JetsFunabashi, Chiba20052013bj-leagueEastern
Hiroshima DragonfliesHiroshima, Hiroshima2014-Western
Hitachi SunRockers TokyoTokyo20002013JBL1Eastern
Hyogo Storks/Nishinomiya StorksHyogo Prefecture20112013JBL2Western
Kumamoto VoltersKumamoto, Kumamoto2013-Western
Levanga HokkaidoSapporo, Hokkaido20072013JBL1Eastern
Link Tochigi BrexUtsunomiya, Tochigi20072013JBL1Eastern
Mitsubishi Diamond Dolphins NagoyaNagoya, Aichi19502013JBL1Western
Toshiba Brave Thunders KanagawaKawasaki, Kanagawa19502013JBL1Eastern
Toyota Alvark TokyoFuchū, Tokyo19482013JBL1Eastern
Cyberdyne Tsukuba RobotsTsukuba, Ibaraki2013-Western (13-14), Eastern (14-15)
Wakayama TriansWakayama, Wakayama2013 (2015)The Panasonic Trians were formed in 1951 and were based in Hirakata, Osaka. They relocated to Wakayama upon joining the NBL.JBL1Western

Playoff champions

SeasonChampionsRunners-up
2013–14Toshiba Brave Thunders KanagawaWakayama Trians
2014–15Aisin Seahorses MikawaToyota Alvark Tokyo
2015–16Toshiba Brave Thunders KanagawaAisin SeaHorses Mikawa

NBL All-star game

SeasonDateArenaHost cityResultMVP (Team)
2013–14December 29, 2013Ōta, TokyoWEST 114-106 EASTUSA Michael Parker (Wakayama Trians)
2014–15January 17, 2015WEST 127-114 EASTFRA Amath M'Baye (Mitsubishi Diamond Dolphins Nagoya)
2015–16January 17, 2016Todoroki ArenaKawasaki, KanagawaWEST 152-145 EAST (2 OT)USA Davante Gardner (Nishinomiya Storks)

References

References

  1. Nagatsuka, Kaz. (29 August 2015). "JPBL finalizes division placements for 2016-17". The Japan Times.
  2. (11 October 2014). "Hiroshima Dragonflies triumph in NBL regular season debut". Japan Times.
  3. (7 January 2015). "Financial Woes Force Trians to Quit NBL".
  4. (30 April 2015). "和歌山トライアンズ 2015-2016シーズン参入審議否決について". Japan Basketball League.
  5. (7 March 2014). "NBL/NBDL 2015-16シーズン新規加入チームを公募".
  6. (1 June 2015). "2015-2016 レギュラーシーズン開催概要及び日程発表のお知らせ".
  7. Nagatsuka, Kaz. (January 17, 2016). "Gardner leads West past East in NBL All-Star Game". The Japan Times.
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