The Greek Basket League (GBL), often also referred to as the Greek A1 Basketball League, or Greek Basketball Championship (originally called Panhellenic Basketball Championship), and also known as the Stoiximan Basket League for sponsorship reasons, is the first tier level professional

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 in

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

. It is run by

HEBA The Hellenic Basketball Clubs Association (HEBA, el, Ελληνικός Σύνδεσμος Ανωνύμων Καλαθοσφαιρικών Εταιρειών, ΕΣΑΚΕ) is a governing body for basketball in Greece. It directs the 14 pro Greek ...

( el, ΕΣΑΚΕ, link=no), under the legal authority of the

Hellenic Basketball Federation The Hellenic Basketball Federation ( el, Ελληνική Ομοσπονδία Καλαθοσφαίρισης, abbreviated as Ε.Ο.Κ.) is the main basketball governing body for the sport in Greece. It directs and oversees all of the national ba ...

(E.O.K.). It is the highest-tier level of the Greek league system. The GBL plays under FIBA rules and currently consists of 13 teams, with the lowest-placed team relegated to the A2 Basket League and replaced by the winner of the play-offs of that tier. It runs from October to June, with teams playing 22 games each during the regular season, and the top 8 teams then competing in the playoffs. The first official Greek Basketball Championship was held in the 1927–28 season. The league held a competition in which the teams of the league played under a format with a nationwide schedule, for the first time, in the 1963–64 season. The league first held a playoff round in the 1986–87 season. The league first allowed foreign (non-Greek) players, in the 1988–89 season. The league became a fully professional competition in the 1992–93 season. The league has always been ranked as one of the top 3-5 level national domestic leagues in European basketball, since league rankings began. For further information, see

historical European national basketball league rankings The historical European national basketball league rankings are the rankings for each of the different European regional and domestic basketball leagues that are or were eligible to participate in Europe's international continental professional cl ...

, and European national basketball league rankings.

History

Basketball first came to Greece in the year 1924. The first Greek basketball championship took place in the 1927–28 season, the first fully organized Greek basketball championship began. The league was originally organized by the

Hellenic Amateur Athletic Association The Hellenic Athletics Federation (Greek: ; abbreviated SEGAS) is Greece's governing body for amateur sport. SEGAS was created in 1897 and has been the principal organiser of many international sporting competitions held in Greece. The associatio ...

(SEGAS). There have been four different official championship eras. The first era was the Panhellenic Championship (Πανελλήνιο Πρωτάθλημα), which lasted from the 1927–28 to 1962–63 seasons, when the champions of every regional district played each other to decide the Greek Champion. The second era started in the 1963–64 season, when the A National Category (Α' Εθνική Κατηγορία), or Alpha National Category was founded. In 1969, the Hellenic Basketball Federation (E.O.K.) took over the duties of overseeing the competition, and did so until the year 1992. The third era of the championship existed between the 1986–87 and 1991–92 seasons, when the first division A1 National Category (Α1 Εθνική Κατηγορία), with a regular season and playoffs, and the second division A2 National Category (Α2 Εθνική Κατηγορία) were formed. The 1988–89 season, marked the first time that Greek Basket League teams were allowed to have foreign players on their rosters. The fourth era of the championship began in the 1992–93 season, when the

Hellenic Basketball Clubs Association The Hellenic Basketball Clubs Association (HEBA, el, Ελληνικός Σύνδεσμος Ανωνύμων Καλαθοσφαιρικών Εταιρειών, ΕΣΑΚΕ) is a governing body for basketball in Greece. It directs the 14 profession ...

(HEBA) took over the competition and renamed the first division the HEBA A1 (ΕΣΑΚΕ Α1). The league was then renamed to Greek Basket League (Ελληνική Μπάσκετ Λιγκ), starting with the 2010–11 season. The Greek League has been one of the most competitive basketball leagues in Europe through the years, and it was widely regarded as the second best national domestic league in the world, after only the

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 ...

, in the 1990s decade. It currently ranks among the best national domestic leagues in the world (excluding the NBA), such as

Liga ACB The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administrated by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, wi ...

in Spain,

VTB United League VTB United League (russian: Единая Лига ВТБ) is an international professional men's club basketball list of basketball leagues, league that was founded in 2008. It is made up of mostly Russian clubs, along with one each from Belarus an ...

(counts as the domestic league for Russian clubs), and BSL in Turkey. It has always been considered one of the top 3-5 European national domestic leagues under the

and European national basketball league rankings. The league has several European historical basketball powers, which also belong to some of the most traditional European basketball clubs, especially

Panathinaikos Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos ( el, Παναθηναϊκός Αθλητικός Όμιλος, literally in English: "Panathenaic Athletic Club" or Panathinaikos A.C.), also known simply as Panathinaikós , is a major Greek multi-sport club ba ...

Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σύνδεσμος Φιλάθλων Πειραιώς, Olympic Club of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number ...

and

AEK A.E.K ( el, AEK , formally Αθλητική Ένωσις Κωνσταντινουπόλεως; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople''), known as A.E.K, is a major Greek multi-sport club based in Nea Filadelf ...

(which had great success in the 1960s), which are three of the most successful European basketball clubs of all-time. Also,

Aris Aris or ARIS may refer to: People * Aris (surname) Given name * Aris Alexandrou, Greek writer * Aris Brimanis, ice hockey player * Aris Christofellis, Greek male soprano * Aris Gavelas, Greek sprinter * Aris Howard, Former President of the Jama ...

, led by

Nikos Galis Nikolaos Georgalis ( el, Νικόλαος Γεωργαλής; born July 23, 1957), commonly known as either Nikos Galis ( el, Νίκος Γκάλης), or Nick Galis, is a retired Greek professional basketball player. Galis, who during his playin ...

Panagiotis Giannakis Panagiotis Giannakis ( el, Παναγιώτης Γιαννάκης, ; born January 1, 1959), alternatively spelled Panayiotis Yiannakis or Yannakis, is a retired Greek professional basketball player and coach. As a player, he was primarily a poin ...

, and Slobodan "Lefteris" Subotić, was the dominant Greek club, and one of the most powerful European teams in the 1980s. Other clubs that have had significant success throughout the history of Greek basketball, as well as success in European basketball, are PAOK and

Panellinios Panellinios G.S. (Greek (language), Greek: Πανελλήνιος Γ.Σ.), full name, Panellinios Gymnastikos Syllogos (Greek (language), Greek: Πανελλήνιος Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος), is a Greece, Greek sports club, mult ...

. The first five aforementioned clubs (Panathinaikos, Olympiacos, AEK, Aris and PAOK), are also the most widely supported by fans in Greece. Despite the championship having been contested 80 times, only nine different clubs have won it so far. The dominating club has usually been Panathinaikos, having claimed the championship 39 times. Since the foundation of the Alpha National Category in the 1963–64 season, only two teams have participated in every season of the competition, Panathinaikos and Aris.

Brand

Name

* 1927–28 to 1962–63: Panhellenic Championship * 1963–64 to 1985–86: Alpha (A) National Category * 1986–87 to 1991–92: Alpha1 (A1) National Category * 1992–93 to 2011–12: HEBA Alpha1 (A1) * 2012–13 to present: Greek Basket League

Logo

The main elements of the logo were changed in 2013. Greek Basket League Logo.jpg, 2012–2013 GBL Official emblem.png, 2013–present

Regulations

The championship, in its current form, has been organized since the 1992–93 season by the

(HEBA), under the authority of the

. The fully professional Greek basketball

clubs Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises ...

compete in the first division championship, which is often colloquially called the "A1", in which 12 teams compete for the Greek National Championship. There is also a professional level second division championship that is run entirely by the Hellenic Basketball Federation, which is called the " A2", in which 16 teams compete for the second division crown. The bottom one place finishing team each year in the A1 division standings is

relegated In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues. ...

to the A2 division, due to poor performance. While conversely, the top one teams each year from the A2 division is

promoted Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

to the A1 division, due to good performance.

Club and arena standards

In order to compete in the Greek Basket League, clubs must invest a minimum of €1 million on club operations per season. The minimum club budget per season is €800,000 euros, and each club must also invest €200,000 euros into a league-wide fund that insures players get their full salaries. Most of the league's clubs invest more than the minimum requirements in each season. Currently, Greek Basket League clubs must play their home games in arenas with a seating capacity of at least 2,000 people, in order to play Greek domestic league games. Several Greek clubs have two arenas that they primarily use. One for domestic Greek League games, and one for European-wide games. Greek clubs that play in European-wide competitions, such as the EuroLeague, the EuroCup, or the

FIBA Champions League The Basketball Champions League (BCL) is an annual professional basketball competition for European clubs, organised by FIBA. It is the top-level competition organised by FIBA Europe, therefore the champion participates in the FIBA Intercontin ...

, must play their home games in those leagues in arenas that fit the arena standards of those leagues. Which are currently, a 5,000 seat minimum for the EuroLeague, and a 3,000 seat minimum for the EuroCup and FIBA Champions League. Although the FIBA Champions League's minimum seat rule can be waived with the league's approval.

Foreign players

Greek Basket League teams were first allowed to have foreign (non-Greek) players on their rosters in the 1988–89 season. Under the league's current foreign player rules, Greek Basket League teams must have at least 6 Greek players on their active 12 man game rosters. Each team is allowed to have up to 6 foreign (non-Greek) players, on their active 12 man game roster. There are no restrictions on the number of foreign players allowed by country of origin. Meaning that for example, any team in the league could sign up to 6 American players, or up to 6 Canadian players, or up to 6 players from European countries, etc.

Current clubs

The clubs for the 2021–22 season:

Statistics

Title holders

* 1927–28: Azzurro e Bianco con H

Iraklis Gymnasticos Syllogos Iraklis ( el, Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Ηρακλής, en, Gymnastics Club Heracles), commonly referred to as Iraklis, is a Greek multi-sports club based in Thessaloniki. The club was founded in 1908 as "Mace ...

* 1928–29: Flag of Panellinios-Greek Sports Club

* 1929–30: Giallo e Nero Aris

* 1930–34: Not held * 1934–35: Azzurro e Bianco con H

* 1935–36: 600px Bianco e Rosso diagonale con stella Rossa

Near East The ''Near East''; he, המזרח הקרוב; arc, ܕܢܚܐ ܩܪܒ; fa, خاور نزدیک, Xāvar-e nazdik; tr, Yakın Doğu is a geographical term which roughly encompasses a transcontinental region in Western Asia, that was once the hist ...

* 1936–37:

Athens University The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA; el, Εθνικό και Καποδιστριακό Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών, ''Ethnikó ke Kapodistriakó Panepistímio Athinón''), usually referred to simply as the Univers ...

* 1937–38: Not held * 1938–39: Flag of Panellinios-Greek Sports Club

* 1939–40: Flag of Panellinios-Greek Sports Club

* 1940–45: Not held due to

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

* 1945–46: Verde con trifoglio Verde su cerchio Bianco

* 1946–47: Verde con trifoglio Verde su cerchio Bianco

* 1947–48: Not held * 1948–49: 630px_seven_vertical_stripes_HEX-ED1C24_and_White

* 1949–50: Verde con trifoglio Verde su cerchio Bianco

* 1950–51: Verde con trifoglio Verde su cerchio Bianco

* 1951–52: Not held * 1952–53: Flag of Panellinios-Greek Sports Club

* 1953–54: Verde con trifoglio Verde su cerchio Bianco

* 1954–55: Flag of Panellinios-Greek Sports Club

* 1955–56: Not held * 1956–57: Flag of Panellinios-Greek Sports Club

* 1957–58: 600px Giallo con aquila bicefala nera2 svg

* 1958–59: 600px Bianco con aquila bicefala nera

PAOK * 1959–60: 630px_seven_vertical_stripes_HEX-ED1C24_and_White

* 1960–61: Verde con trifoglio Verde su cerchio Bianco

* 1961–62: Verde con trifoglio Verde su cerchio Bianco

* 1962–63: 600px Giallo con aquila bicefala nera2 svg

* 1963–64: 600px Giallo con aquila bicefala nera2 svg

* 1964–65: 600px Giallo con aquila bicefala nera2 svg

* 1965–66: 600px Giallo con aquila bicefala nera2 svg

* 1966–67: Verde con trifoglio Verde su cerchio Bianco

* 1967–68: 600px Giallo con aquila bicefala nera2 svg

* 1968–69: Verde con trifoglio Verde su cerchio Bianco

* 1969–70: 600px Giallo con aquila bicefala nera2 svg

* 1970–71: Verde con trifoglio Verde su cerchio Bianco

* 1971–72: Verde con trifoglio Verde su cerchio Bianco

* 1972–73: Verde con trifoglio Verde su cerchio Bianco

* 1973–74: Verde con trifoglio Verde su cerchio Bianco

* 1974–75: Verde con trifoglio Verde su cerchio Bianco

* 1975–76: 630px_seven_vertical_stripes_HEX-ED1C24_and_White

* 1976–77: Verde con trifoglio Verde su cerchio Bianco

* 1977–78: 630px_seven_vertical_stripes_HEX-ED1C24_and_White

* 1978–79: Giallo e Nero Aris

* 1979–80: Verde con trifoglio Verde su cerchio Bianco

* 1980–81: Verde con trifoglio Verde su cerchio Bianco

* 1981–82: Verde con trifoglio Verde su cerchio Bianco

* 1982–83: Giallo e Nero Aris

* 1983–84: Verde con trifoglio Verde su cerchio Bianco

* 1984–85: Giallo e Nero Aris

* 1985–86: Giallo e Nero Aris

* 1986–87: Giallo e Nero Aris

* 1987–88: Giallo e Nero Aris

* 1988–89: Giallo e Nero Aris

* 1989–90: Giallo e Nero Aris

* 1990–91: Giallo e Nero Aris

* 1991–92: 600px Bianco con aquila bicefala nera

PAOK * 1992–93: 630px_seven_vertical_stripes_HEX-ED1C24_and_White

* 1993–94: 630px_seven_vertical_stripes_HEX-ED1C24_and_White

* 1994–95: 630px_seven_vertical_stripes_HEX-ED1C24_and_White

* 1995–96: 630px_seven_vertical_stripes_HEX-ED1C24_and_White

* 1996–97: 630px_seven_vertical_stripes_HEX-ED1C24_and_White

* 1997–98: Verde con trifoglio Verde su cerchio Bianco

* 1998–99: Verde con trifoglio Verde su cerchio Bianco

* 1999–00: Verde con trifoglio Verde su cerchio Bianco

* 2000–01: Verde con trifoglio Verde su cerchio Bianco

* 2001–02: 600px Giallo con aquila bicefala nera2 svg

* 2002–03: Verde con trifoglio Verde su cerchio Bianco

* 2003–04: Verde con trifoglio Verde su cerchio Bianco

* 2004–05: Verde con trifoglio Verde su cerchio Bianco

* 2005–06: Verde con trifoglio Verde su cerchio Bianco

* 2006–07: Verde con trifoglio Verde su cerchio Bianco

* 2007–08: Verde con trifoglio Verde su cerchio Bianco

* 2008–09: Verde con trifoglio Verde su cerchio Bianco

* 2009–10: Verde con trifoglio Verde su cerchio Bianco

* 2010–11: Verde con trifoglio Verde su cerchio Bianco

* 2011–12: 630px_seven_vertical_stripes_HEX-ED1C24_and_White

* 2012–13: Verde con trifoglio Verde su cerchio Bianco

* 2013–14: Verde con trifoglio Verde su cerchio Bianco

* 2014–15: 630px_seven_vertical_stripes_HEX-ED1C24_and_White

* 2015–16: 630px_seven_vertical_stripes_HEX-ED1C24_and_White

* 2016–17: Verde con trifoglio Verde su cerchio Bianco

* 2017–18: Verde con trifoglio Verde su cerchio Bianco

* 2018–19: Verde con trifoglio Verde su cerchio Bianco

* 2019–20: Verde con trifoglio Verde su cerchio Bianco

* 2020–21: Verde con trifoglio Verde su cerchio Bianco

* 2021–22: 630px_seven_vertical_stripes_HEX-ED1C24_and_White

Performance by club

A1 Finals

Basket League/A1 finals participation by club (until 2022)

Number of seasons in the Panhellenic Championship (1928–1963)

The number of times that clubs participated in the league's original format, the Panhellenic Championship.

Number of seasons in the A and A1 National Categories by club (1963–64 – 2021–22)

The number of times that clubs participated in the top A National Category, while it existed from the 1963–64 season to the 1985–86 season. As well as the number of times that clubs have participated in the top A1 National Category, since it began with the 1986–87 season. Only two clubs,

and

, have played in the top division every year since its formation. * ''1963–64 to 1985–86: Alpha (A) National Category'' * ''1986–87 to 1991–92: Alpha1 (A1) National Category'' * ''1992–93 to 2009–10: HEBA Alpha1 (A1)'' * ''2010–11 to present: Greek Basket League''

Number of seasons in the top-tier level Greek Basket League in total (1928 to 2021–22)

The total number of times that each club has played in the top-tier level Greek Basket League, through all of its different league formats. * ''1927–28 to 1962–63: Panhellenic Championship'' * ''1963–64 to 1985–86: Alpha (A) National Category'' * ''1986–87 to 1991–92: Alpha1 (A1) National Category'' * ''1992–93 to 2009–10: HEBA Alpha1 (A1)'' * ''2010–11 to present: Greek Basket League''

Best regular season records in the history of the A and A1 National Categories (1963–2015)

ESAKE.gr Τα... χτένια του Ολυμπιακού!.
* ''1963–64 to 1985–86: Alpha (A) National Category'' * ''1986–87 to 1991–92: Alpha1 (A1) National Category'' * ''1992–93 to 2009–10: HEBA Alpha1 (A1)'' * ''2010–11 to present: Greek Basket League''

A and A1 National Category (1963–2018)

The best overall season records of the HEBA A1 (1992–2015)

Greek basketball clubs in European and worldwide competitions

Awards and players

All-time stats leaders

*Of the

fully

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...

era Greek Basket League, 1992–93 to present. The officially recognized league stats leaders. *Through the 2019–20 season. * Currently active players in the league in bold.

References

External links

Official website

Official English website

Greek Basket League Highlights

Greek Basketball (Men) Eurobasket.com

Official Hellenic Basketball Federation Site
{{Men's professional basketball leagues 1 Professional sports leagues in Greece Sports leagues established in 1927

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 ...