Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional

The National Professional Basketball League ( or LNBP) is the top professional basketball league in Mexico. The league was founded in 2000 with 10 teams. Despite its short history, the LNBP has established itself as the one of the most important basketball leagues in Latin America.

Famous basketball players who have played in the league include Jamario Moon, Dennis Rodman, Sun Mingming, Horacio Llamas and many others.

History

Foundation

In January 2000, some teams of CIMEBA (Circuito Mexicano de Básquetbol), the national basketball league in Mexico at the time, exited the league, citing CIMEBA's financial difficulties, and decided to form a new league. On March 11, 2000 the league was founded in the city of Durango with 11 teams participating. These were the founding teams, with the respective city and state:

*Algodoneros de la Comarca (Torreón, Coahuila)
*Correcaminos Matamoros de la UAT (Matamoros, Tamaulipas)
*Correcaminos Reynosa de la UAT (Reynosa, Tamaulipas)
*Correcaminos Tampico de la UAT (Tampico, Tamaulipas)
*Correcaminos Victoria de la UAT (Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas)
*Dorados de Chiuhuahua (Chihuahua, Chihuahua)
*Garzas de Plata de la UAEH (Pachuca, Hidalgo)
*Indios de la UACJ (Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua)
*La Ola Roja del Distrito Federal (Mexico City, Distrito Federal)
*Osos de Saltillo (Saltillo, Coahuila)
*Vaqueros de Agua Prieta (Agua Prieta, Sonora)

The first president was Modesto Robledo. The LNBP set out to support and develop professional basketball in Mexico. The first edition of the league started on August 7, 2000 and finished in December, with the regular season finishing on November 11 and the playoffs starting on November 14. The first game was played in Torreón between Algodoneros de Torreón and Dorados de Chihuahua at the Auditorio Municipal: Dorados won, 80–78. The league coexisted in its first seasons with CIMEBA.

Teams

Format

Regular season

The regular season is played in round-robin format in which the 8 best-placed teams qualify to the postseason. For every game won 2 points are added and for every game lost one point is added. For example: If team one played 10 games and won 7, losing the remaining 3, it would have 17 points; 14 points for the 7 games won and 3 points for the games lost.

Playoffs

The eight top-seeded teams play each other. The 1st-placed team plays the 8th-place team while the 2nd plays the 7th and the 3rd plays the 6th and so on. The semi-finals are played like the quarterfinals while the Serie Final is played by the two teams remaining with the best-placed team having home field advantage.

List of champions

Championships

Copa Independencia winners

The Copa Independencia (Independence Cup) was a tournament created by the LNBP.

Former teams

*Aguacateros de Michoacán
* Águilas Rojas de San Juan del Río
*Ángeles de Puebla
* Algodoneros de la Comarca
* Ángeles Guerreros de Acapulco
* Astros de Tecate
*Barreteros de Zacatecas
* Bravos de Piedras Negras
* Bucaneros de Campeche
* Caballeros de Culiacán
*Capitanes de Ciudad de México
* Cimarrones de Ensenada
* Cometas de Querétaro
* Coras de Nayarit
* Correcaminos UAT Matamoros
* Correcaminos UAT Reynosa
*Correcaminos UAT Tampico
* Cosmos de Tijuana
*Estrellas Indebasquet del Distrito Federal
* Gallos de Pelea de Ciudad Juárez
* Gansos Salvajes UIC
* Gambusinos de Fresnillo
* Garzas de Plata UAEH
* Garzas Guerreras UATX
* Gigantes del Estado de México
* Guerreros de Guerrero Cumple
* Guerreros de Morelia
* Guerreros del Norte
*Halcones UV Córdoba
* Huracanes de Tampico
*Indios de Ciudad Juárez
* Indios UACJ
* Jaguares de la Bahía
*Jefes de Fuerza Lagunera
* Laguneros de La Comarca
* Lechugueros de León
*Leñadores de Durango
* Lobos UAdeC
* Lobos Grises UAD
* Lobos Plateados de la BUAP
*Loros UdeC
*Mayas de Yucatán
* Navegantes de Ensenada
* Ola Roja del Distrito Federal
* Ola Verde de Poza Rica
*Osos de Guadalajara
* Petroleros de Ciudad del Carmen
* Pilares del Distrito Federal
* Pioneros de Quintana Roo
* Potros ITSON de Obregón
* Santos de San Luis
* Tecolotes UAG
* Titanes Capital del Distrito Federal
* Titánicos de León
*Toros de Nuevo Laredo
* Tuberos de Colima
* Unión Zacatecas
*Vaqueros de Agua Prieta
* Volcanes del Estado de México
* Zorros UMSNH

References

External links

Official siteMexican league on Latinbasket.com

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2000 establishments in Mexico
Sports leagues established in 2000
Professional sports leagues in Mexico