The Lebanese Basketball League is the top-tier professional men's

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

. It is organized annually as a national championship with playoffs and a national cup by the

Lebanese Basketball Federation The Lebanese Basketball Federation, known in French as the Fédération Libanaise de Basketball (FLB or FLBB), is the governing body of basketball in Lebanon. The federation founded in 1947, represents basketball with public authorities as well a ...

(FLB). Currently, the league consists of 12 teams, of which six are located in

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

. The most successful club in the history of the league is Al Riyadi who have won a record 16 championships.

History

The initial Lebanese basketball league was formed in as early as the 1950s; however, it was stopped during the

Lebanese Civil War The Lebanese Civil War ( ar, الحرب الأهلية اللبنانية, translit=Al-Ḥarb al-Ahliyyah al-Libnāniyyah) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 120,000 fatalities a ...

. In 1992, the league was reformed into a fully professional format. In 1997, Sporting Club (Al Riyadi) finished as Lebanese champions, allowing them to participate in the 1998

FIBA Asia Champions Cup The FIBA Asia Champions Cup, previously known as the Asian Basketball Confederation (ABC) Champions Cup until 2002, is the Asian club championship for professional basketball. It is organised by FIBA Asia, and takes place once a year (since 199 ...

. There, they finished 3rd place. That same year, Al Riyadi lost the Lebanese championship to their big rivals Sagesse Club (Hekmeh). In 1998,

hosted the

Arab Club Championship The Arab Club Champions Cup ( ar, كأس العرب للأندية الأبطال, french: Ligue des Champions Arabe) is an annual regional club football competition organised by the Union of Arab Football Associations (UAFA) and contested by eli ...

. Hekmeh won, the first ever basketball trophy for Lebanon. In 1999, Beirut hosted the Arab Club Championship again. Hekmeh repeated as champions. Al Riyadi has its greatest success in the Arab Club Championship during the 2000s. They won the title in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, and 2010. In 2009, they defeated their fellow Lebanese team Hekmeh in the final, the first time two Lebanese teams met in the final. The 2009 tournament was held in Beirut.

Overview

The league is the first division in Lebanese basketball. The team that finishes last each season is relegated to the Second Division, while the Second Division's top four teams compete in a play-off system. The team that wins is promoted for the next season.

Competition

There are 12 teams in the league. They play a round-robin format; each team plays all other teams once home and once away. At the end of the regular season, the top eight teams enter the playoffs and play a best of 5 series in the quarterfinals. The winners of the quarterfinals advance to the best of seven series in the semifinals. The two teams that advance play a best of seven series in the final, and the winner is the league champion.

Teams

The following 12 teams play in the 2022–23 season.

Champions

Wins by year

:''FLB League (standings since 1993)''

Wins by team

Rivalries

The Big Rivalry * Al Riyadi vs Sagesse Club. Other Rivalries * Al Riyadi vs Champville *

Homenetmen Beirut Homenetmen Beirut may refer to: *Homenetmen Beirut (basketball), a Lebanese basketball club *Homenetmen Beirut (football) Homenetmen Sports Association Beirut ( ar, الجمعية الرياضية هومنتمن بيروت; ), or simply Homene ...

vs Al Riyadi * Champville vs Sagesse Club *

Tadamon Zouk Tadamon Zouk ( ar, التضامن الزوق) is a Lebanese sports club most known for its basketball program. It is located in Zouk Mikael, Kesrouan, Lebanon. Tadamon Zouk basketball team is part of the Lebanese Basketball League. It was par ...

vs Sagesse Club

Notable players

Bassel Bawji Fahedbassel Nazih Bawji (born December 26, 1989) is an American/Lebanese professional basketball player who plays as a power forward/center for Dynamo Lebanon of the Lebanese Basketball League. He is tall and weighs . Junior career At age 15, ...

Rony Fahed Rony Fahed (born November 6, 1981 in Achrafieh, Lebanon) is a Lebanese professional basketball player currently a free agent in the Lebanese Basketball League. He was also a member of the Lebanon national basketball team that participated in ...

* Rodrigue Akl * Roy Samaha * Ali Haidar * Elie Stephan *

Elie Rustom Elie Rustom (; born 2 May 1987) is a Lebanese basketball player currently playing for Homenetmen in the Lebanese Basketball League. He is also a member of the Lebanon national basketball team. He previously played with Blue Stars. Basketball car ...

Elie Mechantaf Elie Mechantaf ( ar, إيلي مشنتف; born in Beirut, Lebanon on October 5, 1970) is a retired Lebanese professional basketball player. He started his basketball career in the Cypriot Basketball League, before becoming the captain of the Le ...

* Ali Mezher * Wael Arakji * Mohammad Ibrahim * Ahmad Ibrahim * Amir Saoud *

Fadi El Khatib Fadi El Khatib ( ar, فادي الخطيب; born January 1, 1979), nicknamed "the Lebanese Tiger", is a Lebanese professional basketball player who plays in the Lebanese Basketball League for Sagesse. El Khatib played for several teams in the Le ...

* Joe Vogel *

Ali Mahmoud Ali Mahmoud ( ar, علي محمود) is Lebanese-Canadian basketball player. Career Mahmoud was born on May 28, 1983, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, to Toufic and Gina Mahmoud, who had immigrated to Canada. He played with St. Patrick's High Sch ...

Brian Beshara Brian Anthony Beshara (Feghali) (born 30 December 1977) is a former Lebanese basketball player. Beshara was also a member of the Lebanese national basketball team. At 6'8", he was Lebanon's starting forward and played an important role on both t ...

Jean Abdelnour Jean Abdel-Nour ( ar, جان عبد النور, born 29 November 1983) is a Lebanese basketball player. He had a successful 2002–03 season with Ghazir which led him to be signed by the Bluestars for the 2003–04 season. He stayed with the ...

Sabah Khoury Sabah Khoury (born November 10, 1982) is a former Lebanese basketball player who plays as a shooting guard for Sagesse Club in the Lebanese Basketball League (LBL). He formerly played for Champville Club, Amchit Club and Al Mouttahed Tripoli ...

Omar El Turk Omar El Turk (in Arabic عمر الترك) (born September 30, 1981 in Beirut, Lebanon) is a retired Lebanese Canadian basketball player and member of the Lebanon national basketball team. Immigrating to Canada, he played with Montreal, Qu ...

* Ghaleb Rida *

Ali Kanaan Ali Kanaan (born 12 December 1985 in Beirut, Lebanon) is a Lebanon, Lebanese Canadians, Canadian basketball player currently playing for Byblos and the Lebanon men's national basketball team, Lebanon national basketball team. Early life and ed ...

Billy Pharis William Pharis (born April 21, 1981) was a Lebanese American basketball player. He is a six-foot-nine-inch tall (2.06m) forward currently playing with Union Byblos Amchit (UBA) and Lebanon national basketball team. Pharis attended University ...

* Daniel Faris *

Matt Freije Matthew Wayne Freije (born October 2, 1981) is a Lebanese/ American former professional basketball player. Freije attended Shawnee Mission West High School in Overland Park, Kansas before attending Vanderbilt University where he was an All-SEC p ...

Ekene Ibekwe Ekenechukwu Brian "Ekene" Ibekwe (born July 19, 1985) is a Nigerian American professional basketball player for Urunday Universitario of the Liga Uruguaya de Básquetbol. He played college basketball for the University of Maryland at College P ...

* Ace Custis *

DeWayne Jackson Dewayne Jackson (born November 30, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for Sagesse Club in the Lebanese Basketball League. He played for Homenetmen Club in the 2016-17 season and he averaged 21.1 points per game, 5.6 rebounds, 2.8 ...

Patrick Rembert Patrick Ronald Rembert (born April 9, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for Kalleh Mazandaran of the Iranian Basketball Super League. He played college basketball at UC Irvine from 2007 to 2011. College career After graduating, ...

* Dion Dixon * Corey Williams * Samaki Walker * Brian Cook *

Tony Madison Tony Madison (born 1971) is a retired professional American basketball player who played NCAA basketball for the New Orleans Privateers. He is most famous for playing in the Lebanese Basketball League for Tadamon Zouk Lebanese basketball club for ...

* Alvin Sims * C.J. Giles * Darryl Watkins *

Lee Nailon Lee Nailon (born February 22, 1975) is an American professional basketball player who played six seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was the 2007 Israeli Basketball Premier League MVP. In 2011, he was the top scorer in the Is ...

* Herbert Hill *

Jumaine Jones Jumaine Lanard Jones (born February 10, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player. An NBA player from 1999 to 2007 drafted from the University of Georgia, he played the small forward and power forward positions. Amateur career ...

Loren Woods Loren is a given name, nickname and surname which may refer to: Given name Men * Loren Acton (born 1936), American physicist and astronaut * Loren C. Ball (born 1948), amateur astronomer who has discovered more than 100 asteroids * Loren M. Berry ...

Priest Lauderdale Priest Lauderdale (born August 31, 1973) is an American-Bulgarian former professional basketball player. College career Lauderdale attended high school at Carver Military Academy, in Chicago, Illinois. After high school, Lauderdale played colle ...

Dewarick Spencer Dewarick Antwain Spencer (born May 4, 1982) is an American and Egyptian professional basketball player who plays for Zamalek of the Egyptian Basketball Super League. Nicknamed "Dee," he is tall and plays both point guard and shooting guard pos ...

Flip Murray Ronald "Flip" Murray (born July 29, 1979) is a retired American professional basketball player who last played for Al Mouttahed Tripoli of the Lebanese Basketball League. He is a , point guard– shooting guard. After attending Strawberry Mans ...

Desmond Penigar Desmond Penigar (born July 16, 1981) is an American former professional basketball player. A 6'7" tall forward, he attended Utah State University and Ventura College. Penigar was a member of the Orlando Magic of the National Basketball Associati ...

Rasheim Wright Rasheim Ali Abdul Wright (born July 21, 1981) is an American-Jordanian basketball player. He is 6'4" and plays guard. In 2007, he received Jordanian citizenship. As of 2011 he played for Anibal Zahle in the Lebanese Basketball League The Lebane ...

Marcus Haislip Marcus Deshon Haislip (born December 22, 1980) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and other top leagues. Haislip attended Marshall County High School in Lewisburg, Tennesse ...

Harold Jamison Harold Sherill Jamison (born November 20, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player. Born in Orangeburg, South Carolina, he is 6'8" and played at power forward. Basketball career In college, Jamison played for Clemson Universi ...

Andre Emmett Andre Emmett (August 27, 1982 – September 23, 2019) was an American professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Texas Tech Red Raiders, and was named a consensus All-American as a senior in 2004. He had brief stints in ...

* Nate Johnson *

Marc Salyers Marc Douglas Salyers (born February 28, 1979) is an American retired professional basketball player. He played at the small forward and power forward positions. College career Salyers played college basketball at Samford University with the Samf ...

Earl Barron Earl Daniel Barron Jr. (born August 14, 1981) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is a video and player development assistant for the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college bas ...

Scotty Thurman Scotty Thurman (born November 10, 1974) is an American former professional basketball player and current assistant coach, perhaps best known as the Arkansas Razorbacks' shooting guard who hit the high-arcing go-ahead three-pointer with 50.7 seco ...

Rick Hughes Rick Hughes (born August 22, 1973) is an American former professional basketball player. He was the French League Best Scorer, in 2004 and 2011. College career Hughes graduated from Walnut Hills High School, in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1991, and a ...

DeShawn Sims DeShawn Adrian Sims Jr. (born January 21, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for Pistoia of the Serie A2 Basket. He has previously played for Sagesse and Champville of the Lebanese Basketball League, as well as teams in Gre ...

* Aaron Harper *

LeRoy Hurd LeRoy Hurd (born May 26, 1980) is an American professional basketball player who last played for CSU Sibiu of the Romanian Liga Națională. Hurd was a multi-sport superstar at Moss Point High School before a five-inch growth spurt made a future ...

Tre Kelley Alfrie Eugene "Tre" Kelley III (born January 23, 1985) is an American professional basketball player for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the University of South Carolina. High school career Kelley g ...

Sam Hoskin Samuel Lonzo Hoskin (born December 29, 1979) is an American-Lebanese former professional basketball player. Career Hoskin was born in Detroit, Michigan. He played his high school basketball at Bishop Borgess High School in Detroit. Hoskin pl ...

Quincy Douby Quincy Douby (born May 16, 1984) is an American–born, naturalized Montenegrin former professional basketball player. At , , Douby played shooting guard for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. The Sacramento Kings made him the 19th selection of the 200 ...

Ronnie Fields Ronnie Fields (born February 28, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player. High school Born and raised in Chicago, Fields played at Farragut Academy in Chicago from 1992–1996 and was a teammate of Kevin Garnett during the 199 ...

Willie Burton Willie Ricardo Burton (born May 26, 1968) is an American former professional basketball player who was selected by the Miami Heat in the first round (9th overall pick) in the 1990 NBA draft from the University of Minnesota. Burton played for nume ...

Marlon Parmer Marlon Palmer (born September 28, 1980) is an American former professional basketball player. Career *2008-09: Colorado 14ers (NBA D-League) 15.0 ppg, 6.0 apg, 2.0 spg *2007: BC Kalev/Cramo (Est-KML) (9 games): 12.6ppg, 2.7apg, 4.2rpg 0.8spg *20 ...

* Booker Woodfox *

Reyshawn Terry Reyshawn Antonio Terry Sr. (born April 7, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for Vaqueros de Bayamon of the Puerto Rican Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN). He played college basketball for North Carolina. College career At the ...

DerMarr Johnson DerMarr Miles Johnson (born May 5, 1980) is an American basketball assistant coach at West Virginia and retired professional basketball player who played seven seasons in the NBA. College career Johnson was a consensus McDonald's, Parade Magazi ...

Rashad Anderson Rashad Shaheed Anderson (born November 9, 1983) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball at the University of Connecticut. Early life Rashad's first interest was baseball. His cousin introduced him ...

Jerald Honeycutt Jerald DeWayne Honeycutt (born October 20, 1974) is an American former professional basketball player. Honeycutt played high school basketball at Grambling Lab in Grambling, Louisiana. He played collegiately at Tulane University, where he finis ...

Hassan Whiteside Hassan Niam Whiteside (born June 13, 1989) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Marshall Thundering Herd before being s ...

Terrell Stoglin Terrell DeVon Stoglin (born November 10, 1991) is an American professional basketball player for AS Douanes of the Basketball Africa League (BAL). He served as the starting shooting guard for the University of Maryland, where he played college ...

Dickey Simpkins LuBara Dixon "Dickey" Simpkins (born April 6, 1972) is an American former professional basketball player best known for his tenure with the Chicago Bulls in the late 1990s. He is currently a scout for the Washington Wizards. A 6' 9" forward/ce ...

* Cedric Henderson * Jeremiah Massey *

Ruben Patterson Ruben Nathaniel Patterson (born July 31, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player. During his career, he played as a small forward and shooting guard. During his college career at the University of Cincinnati, Patterson earned t ...

Rashad McCants Rashad Dion McCants (born September 25, 1984) is an American former professional basketball player who has played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as well as overseas. He played for Trilogy in the BIG3 three-on-three league. High schoo ...

Sherell Ford Sherell Ford (born August 26, 1972) is an American former professional basketball player. A 6'7" forward from the University of Illinois at Chicago, Ford was selected by the Seattle SuperSonics in the first round (26th overall) of the 1995 NBA ...

Jamal Robinson Jamal Tyrone Robinson (born December 27, 1973) is an American retired basketball small forward who played one season in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Miami Heat during the 2000–01 season. Born in Queens, New York ...

Aleksandar Radojević Aleksandar Radojević ( sr-cyr, Александар Радојевић, ; born August 8, 1976) is a Bosnian former professional basketball player. Standing at , he played the center position. Radojević represented the Bosnia and Herzegovina nat ...

Alpha Bangura Alpha Mohamed Bangura (born February 4, 1980) is a Libyan-Sierra Leonean former professional basketball player who competed as a member of the Libya national basketball team at the FIBA Africa Championship 2009. Amateur career Bangura is a gradua ...

* Ismail Ahmed *

Salah Mejri Salah Mejri ( ar, صالح الماجري; born June 15, 1986) is a Tunisian professional basketball player for Beirut Club. He also represents the senior Tunisian national basketball team internationally. Standing at , he plays at the center p ...

Ali Traore ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam. ...

Ndudi Ebi Ndudi Hamani Ebi (born 18 June 1984) is an English-born Nigerian former professional basketball player who most notably played for the Minnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association (NBA) between 2003 and 2005. He initially commi ...

Nikoloz Tskitishvili Nikoloz Tskitishvili ( ka, ნიკოლოზ ცქიტიშვილი; born April 14, 1983) is a Georgian former professional basketball player. He is a 7'0" forward-center, who was selected fifth overall by the Denver Nuggets in the ...

* Jeleel Akindele *

Dalibor Bagarić Dalibor Bagarić (born July 2, 1980) is a Croatian former professional basketball player. He had a stint with the NBA's Chicago Bulls from 2000 to 2003. Professional career A 7'1" (2.17 m) center born in Munich, West Germany, Bagarić had averag ...

Asghar Kardoust Asghar Kardoust Poustinsaraei (, born March 21, 1986) is an Iranian professional basketball player. He currently plays for Petrochimi Bandar Imam in the Iranian Super League as well as for the Iranian national basketball team, as a Center. He p ...

* Hamed Haddadi *

Ratko Varda Ratko Varda ( sr-cyr, Ратко Варда; born May 6, 1979) is a Serbian-Bosnian former basketball player who played professionally for 22 years. Standing at , he played the center position. He first represented FR Yugoslavia/Serbia and Montene ...

* Vladan Vukosavljević * Sani Sakakini *

Michael Madanly Micheal Madanly (born 10 March 1981 in Aleppo), better known as Michel Madanly or just Micho, is a Syrian professional basketball player. Most known in his prime playing for Jalaa SC's basketball programme from 2004 to 2011, he also played in a ...

Marcus Banks Arthur Lemarcus "Marcus" Banks III (born November 19, 1981) is an American former professional basketball player. Banks is tall and . He played college basketball at the UNLV with the Runnin' Rebels, where he was Co-Defensive Player of the Year ...

Walter Hodge Walter Wallace Hodge Muñoz (born September 21, 1986) is a Puerto Ricans, Puerto Rican-U.S. Virgin Islander professional basketball player who plays for Al Ahly (basketball), Al Ahly of the Egyptian Basketball Super League. Internationally, Hodge ...

Makrem Ben Romdhane Makrem Ben Romdhane (alternate spellings: Makram, Macram) ( ar, مكرم بن رمضان; born March 27, 1989) is a Tunisian professional basketball player for Benfica and . He can play at either the small forward, power forward or center posit ...

Sam Young (basketball) Samuel David Young (born June 1, 1985) is an American/Lebanese former professional basketball player for Homenetmen Beirut of the Lebanese Basketball League and the Lebanese National Basketball Team. He played college basketball at the University ...

Rony Seikaly Rony is a given name. Notable people with the name include: * Ronielson da Silva Barbosa, Brazilian footballer better known as Rony *Rony Ahonen (born 1987), Finnish ice hockey defenceman * Rony Bakale (born 1987), Olympic swimmer from the Repub ...

Notable coaches

Ghassan Sarkis Ghassan Sarkis ( ar, غسان سركيس, born in Bikfaya in 1957) is a Lebanese-French basketball coach who has worked in the Lebanese Basketball League. He became especially famous during his time coaching the Lebanese team Sagesse in its golde ...

* Joe Moujaes * Joe Ghattas * George Geagea *

Slobodan Subotić Slobodan "Piksi" Subotić ( sr-Cyrl, Слободан Суботић, el, Σλόμπονταν Σούμποτιτς; born 15 August 1956) is a Slovenian professional basketball coach and former player. He last served as the head coach for Buduć ...

* Ilias Zouros *

Nenad Vucinic Nenad (; Cyrillic script: Ненад) is a male personal Slavic names, name of Slavic origin common in countries that speak Slavic languages. It is more widespread in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, and North Macedonia than i ...

* Veselin Matic * Dragan Raca *

Tab Baldwin Thomas Anthony "Tab" Baldwin (born 16 May 1958) is an American-New Zealand basketball coach who currently serves as the head of the Gilas Pilipinas Youth national basketball program and head coach for the Ateneo Blue Eagles of the University A ...

Women's league

2019–20 teams: * Antranik SC *Al Riyadi Club Beirut *Homenetmen Antelias *Hoops Club *Chabibeh *Energy Sports Club

References

External links

Lebanese Basketball Federation (FLB) website

Lebanese Basketball League Facebook

Lebanese Basketball League Twitter

Lebanese Basketball League Twitter
{{Women's professional basketball leagues Lebanese Basketball League, Basketball competitions in Lebanon, Lea Basketball leagues in Asia Women's basketball leagues in Asia Sports leagues established in 1992 1992 establishments in Lebanon Sports leagues in Lebanon, Basketball