The Florida Basketball Association (FBA) is a semi-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 Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

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 ...

that began play in the fall of 2012 with teams in Orlando, Lake Wales, and Palm Beach Gardens. The commissioner of the FBA is former

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

player

Greg Kite Gregory Fuller Kite (born August 5, 1961) is an American retired professional basketball player. Kite was a member of two NBA Championship teams with the Boston Celtics in 1984 and 1986. Kite played eleven NBA seasons. Early life Kite was the ...

History

The inaugural season of 2012 was played with four teams. Tampa Bay Rebels defeated Heartland Prowl to win the first FBA championship. The Rebels (10-2) and Prowl (9-3) dominated league play in 2013 and met in the championship game once again. Heartland Prowl avenged their first season loss by defeating Tampa Bay 111-109. Prowl forward Arnold Lewis was named FBA Finals MVP, scoring 27 points. In October 2013 the owners of the FBA voted to accept the expansion application of the Miami Midnites, owned by Jeffrey Rosen. Rosen also owns Maccabi Haifa B.C. of the

Israeli Basketball Premier League Ligat HaAl ( he, ליגת העל, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is the top-tier level league of professional sports, professional competition in Israeli sports club, club basketball, making ...

. Miami (11-1) stormed through the 2014 season, losing just once (104-103) to Tampa Bay on May 25, 2014. The teams met in the championship game in August with the Midnites capturing the FBA title in their inaugural season. In October 2014 the expansio
Marion County Showtime Stallions
were added as a FBA member. Marion County played out of

Ocala Ocala ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Marion County within the northern region of Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city's population was 63,591, making it the 54th most populated city in Florida. Home to ...

in the 2015 season, but ceased operations before the end of their season. Miami Midnites repeated as FBA champion in 2015, finishing with a perfect 14-0 record. Guard

Amir Celestin Amir Celestin (born July 18, 1990) is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for Maccabi Haifa of the Israeli Basketball Premier League. He played college basketball for Campbell University in NCAA Division Iwhere he starre ...

was named MVP after scoring a game-high 39 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds and 3 steals. After the season Celestin signed a three-year contract with Maccabi Haifa B.C. Space Coast Stars were announced as the newest FBA expansion club in October 2015. The Stars are owned by former FBA player (Florida Flight) Corey Williams, who also serves as head boys basketball coach at Bethany Christian School in Melbourne (home of the Stars). Just before the new season Tampa Bay Saints were added after the Heartland Prowl ceased operations.

Teams

Former teams

*Poinciana Pride (2018-2022) *Bradenton GymRats (2015-2017) * Heartland Prowl (2012-15) * Jacksonville Royals (2017-2018) * Marion County Showtime Stallions (2015) * Miami Midnites (2014-2016) * Palm Beach Titans (2013) *Space Coast Stars (2016-2019) * Tampa Bay Rebels (2012-14)

Champions

References

External links

*
FBA blog

Florida Flight
*
Palm Beach Knights
{{Men's professional basketball leagues Basketball leagues in the United States Basketball in Florida 2012 establishments in Florida