The 2018 JBA season was the only season of the

Junior Basketball Association The Junior Basketball Association (JBA) was an American basketball league that intended to be an alternative to the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA by allowing high school and junior college players to immediately play professional ...

(JBA), an American men's 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 (appro ...

league. The JBA was designed as an alternative to the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

(NCAA), allowing high school and

junior college A junior college is a type of post-secondary institution that offers vocational and academic training that is designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations or support roles in professions such as engineering, a ...

players to immediately play professionally. The season began on June 21 and concluded with the JBA Finals on August 12, 2018. After the season concluded, the JBA selected many of its top players to take part in what was originally a 28-game international season against teams from various countries in Europe and Asia. However, an incident in Lithuania lead to a shortening of the event, with teams dropping out of matches and Asian teams cancelling their matches for late 2018 and early 2019 altogether.

Teams

The 2018 JBA season consisted of eight teams, with each representing an American city and having the nickname "Ballers." Teams did not occupy a specified home arena; instead, every team faced each other in ten different arenas across the United States.

Regular season

Standings

Games

All-Star Event

On August 3, 2018, the JBA hosted their inaugural All-Star Event at the Quest Multisport in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, Illinois. Prior to the All-Star Game, the league hosted a Three-Point Contest and Slam Dunk Contest. Two days before the event, event contestants and All-Star Game selections were officially revealed to the public.

Three-Point Contest

;Results

Slam Dunk Contest

;Results

All-Star Game

Game

LiAngelo Ball of the West All-Stars was named co-

most valuable player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

(MVP) along with Deon Lyle of the East All-Stars. Ball recorded 39 points, 15 rebounds, and 7 assists, while Lyle scored a game-high 51 points. LaMelo Ball also recorded a double-double with 42 points and 17 assists.

Playoffs

Championship bracket

Venue:

Eagle's Nest Arena The Golden eagle, Eagle's Nest Arena, formerly known as the Devil, Diablo Den (room), Den, is an iconic indoor arena situated on the California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State L.A.) campus. This versatile venue serves as the home cou ...

(

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

Citizens Business Bank Arena Toyota Arena is a multi-purpose arena in Ontario, California, United States. The arena hosts local sporting events and concerts and is suitable for indoor events, including basketball, ice hockey, ice shows, boxing, graduation ceremonies and con ...

(

Ontario, California Ontario is a city in southwestern San Bernardino County, California, United States, east of downtown Los Angeles and west of downtown San Bernardino, the county seat. Located in the western part of the Inland Empire metropolitan area, it lies ...

)

Boxscores

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

JBA Finals

International season

After the JBA Finals, the league selected 14 players to play for the JBA USA Team, which will take part in 28

exhibition game An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the playe ...

s against international competition. The international season began on September 22, 2018, when the JBA USA Team faced the Svendborg Rabbits from

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

Los Angeles Ballers The Los Angeles Ballers were a professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California. The team competed in the Junior Basketball Association (JBA), a league created for high school and junior college players as an alternative ...

head coach Doyle Balthazar served as the JBA USA Team head coach, with Los Angeles assistant coach Rasul Salahuddin and Seattle Ballers head coach

Charles O'Bannon Charles Edward O'Bannon Sr. (born February 22, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball with the UCLA Bruins men's basketball, UCLA Bruins. He was a two-time first-team List of All-Pac-12 Conferen ...

assuming assistant roles. The international season was expected to continue in 2019. However, due to a fight LaMelo Ball was involved with against Dzūkija Alytus on October 1, some of the teams that were previously scheduled for the event dropped out of the event, with the international event concluding earlier than the league anticipated. LaMelo later left the team and the league to enter his senior year of high school. In addition to him, a few other also left the team during the tournament.

JBA USA Team roster

International games

Media

For the 2018 season, the JBA aired games through

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, including All-Star festivities and playoff matches. Allen Bell and Brandon Williams were the official commentators for the season.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:2018-19 JBA season Junior Basketball Association seasons JBA