The Superliga Profesional de Baloncesto, commonly known as the SPB, is the

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

n first division national 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. Founded in 1974 as the Liga Especial de Baloncesto, it adopted the name Liga Profesional de Baloncesto in the 1993 season, and the name SuperLiga in 2019.

Marinos Marinus, and its Greek form Marinos (, ), is a male given name, derived from Latin ''marinus'' meaning "marine; of or pertaining to the sea". It is used in the Netherlands as a given name, though most people use a short form in daily life, like '' ...

are the team with most championships with 11. The winners and runners-up of each LPB season qualify for the

FIBA Americas League The FIBA Americas League ( Portuguese: ''FIBA Liga das Américas'', Spanish: ''FIBA Liga de las Américas''), officially abbreviated as the LDA, was the premier intercontinental basketball club competition played annually by clubs of the entire ...

regular season. The 2018 season was the last played with the name Liga Profesional de Baloncesto: in 2019 a new competition called Copa LPB was played. In late 2019 the president of the

Venezuelan Basketball Federation The Venezuelan Basketball Federation (, abbreviated as FVB), is a governing body for basketball in Venezuela. It directs and oversees all of the basketball national teams of Venezuela, including both the junior and senior national teams of both ...

Hanthony Coello announced the creation of a new league called SuperLiga Profesional de Baloncesto.

History

Liga Especial de Baloncesto (1974–1992)

In 1974 the league was founded as ''Liga Especial de Baloncesto'' (Special Basketball League). The initiative came from Leonardo Rodríguez, who had come back from the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in September 1973 and had proposed the creation of a league to Arturo Redondo, the then-president of the

. Before the foundation of this league, which involved teams from all over the country, basketball was practiced at

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

level. The first edition of the league included four teams: Ahorristas de Caracas, Beverly Hills (also from Caracas), Colosos de Carabobo and Toyotas de Aragua. The first league was won by Ahorristas de Caracas, which defeated Colosos de Carabobo in the championship series, 3–2. The first

MVP MVP most commonly refers to: * Most valuable player, an award, typically for the best performing player in a sport or competition * Minimum viable product, a concept for feature estimating used in business and engineering MVP may also refer to: ...

was American

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

Robert Lewis of Colosos de Carabobo. In 1975 two teams joined the league: Panteras del Táchira and Petroleros del Zulia. In 1975, Sam Shepherd of Panteras del Táchira scored a then-record 57 points against Petroleros del Zulia; that season also saw the first LPB All-Star Game. The 1975 league title was won by Colosos de Carabobo, which defeated Panteras del Táchira in the final series. In 1976, two more teams joined: Caribes de Anzoátegui and Universitarios de Mérida. The 1976 season saw the first Venezuelan player win the MVP trophy:

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

Ramón Rivero Ramón Rivero (May 29, 1909 – August 24, 1956) — known as Diplo — was a Puerto Rican comedian, actor, and composer. Rivero made his television debut in Puerto Rico in "La Taberna India" (The India Tavern), the first comedy/variety ...

of Panteras del Táchira. In 1977, the league was divided in two groups: ''Este'' (East), which included Ahorristas de Caracas, Centauros de Cojedes, Guaiqueríes de Margarita and Caribes de Anzoátegui, and ''Oeste'' (West), which had Colosos de Carabobo, Universitarios de Mérida, Banqueros de Aragua, and Panteras del Táchira.

Guaiqueríes de Margarita Guaiqueríes de Margarita is a professional basketball team based in La Asunción, Venezuela. The team currently plays in Venezuela's Liga Profesional de Baloncesto. The team has won the Venezuelan championships nine times. Current roster LPB t ...

, which had debuted in the Liga Especial in 1977, won six consecutive championships from 1977 to 1982. During this period, Guaiqueríes had three MVP winners: Venezuelan forward

Cruz Lairet Cruz is mostly a surname but is also used as a first name. It is of Iberian origin, first found in Castile, Spain, and later spread throughout the territories of the former Spanish and Portuguese Empires. In Spanish and Portuguese, the word me ...

in 1977 and Americans Gerald Cunningham and Lewis Linder in 1980 and 1981, respectively. In 1983 the league saw the highest number of participants yet, with 9 teams: Caribes de Anzoátegui, Colosos de Carabobo, Gaiteros del Zulia, Guaiqueríes de Nueva Esparta, Panteras de Lara, Taurinos de Aragua, Telefonistas de Caracas, Universitarios de Mérida and the Venezuela national team, which participated as a preparation for the

1983 Pan American Games The 1983 Pan American Games, officially known as the IX Pan American Games () and commonly known as Caracas 1983, were held in Caracas, Venezuela from August 14 to August 29, 1983. The games were the first major international competition to inclu ...

. In the 1983 Liga Especial Panteras won the title, ending the winning streak of Guaiqueríes. In 1984 and 1985 Gaiteros del Zulia won two consecutive titles, led by American forward

Michael Britt Michael Antonio Britt (October 7, 1960 – December 25, 2017) was an American professional basketball player who was selected by the Washington Bullets in the second round (32nd overall) of the 1983 NBA draft. A 6'6" forward from the University ...

, a second round selection in the

1983 NBA draft The 1983 NBA draft took place on June 28, 1983, in New York City. A total of 226 players were selected over 10 rounds by the league's 23 teams. The first overall pick of this draft was 7’4” center Ralph Sampson, predicted as an NBA supersta ...

who was named the 1985 MVP. Between 1986 and 1989

Trotamundos de Carabobo Trotamundos B.B.C. (), also known as Trotamundos de Carabobo, is a professional basketball team based in Valencia, located in the Venezuelan Carabobo State. The team currently plays in the Venezuelan SuperLiga. The team has won the Venezuelan cham ...

won four consecutive titles, with Alfonso "Al" Smith winning three MVP awards in a row (1987, 1988 and 1989). Trotamundos had several players from the Venezuela national team such as

Rostyn González Rostin González (born 14 February 1964) is a Venezuelan former basketball player who competed in the 1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, ...

, Luis Jiménez,

Iván Olivares Iván José Olivares Alvárez (born 10 December 1961 in Caracas) is a Venezuelan former basketball player who competed in the 1992 Summer Olympics. He is considered one of the greatest Venezuelan basketball players of all time. In addition to the ...

and

Alexander Nelcha Alexander Angel Nelcha Dubard (born 21 January 1968 in Caracas) is a former professional Venezuelan basketball player. Nelcha played professionally in France with JDA Dijon and Hyères-Toulon Var Basket, as well as in Italy with Mabo Pistoia and ...

, and import players such as Al Smith, Sam Shepherd and

Leroy Combs Edwin Leroy Combs (born January 1, 1961, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) is an American former professional basketball player who was a small forward for one season in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Indiana Pacers duri ...

. The 1987 season saw the debut of

Víctor David Díaz Víctor is a Spanish masculine given name, equivalent to Victor in English and Vítor in Portuguese. Notable people with the given name include: * Víctor Barrio (1987–2016), Spanish bullfighter * Víctor Cabrera (Argentine footballer) * Vícto ...

, who played for

Panteras de Miranda Panteras de Miranda (transl. ''Miranda Panthers'') is a Venezuelan 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, co ...

and went on to become the all-time league leader in games played, minutes played and points scored. In 1990 Bravos de Portuguesa won the title, ending Trotamundos' winning streak, with the contribution of MVP

Carl Herrera Carl Víctor Herrera Alleyne (born December 14, 1966) is a retired Trinidadian-born Venezuelan basketball player. A power forward, he was part of the Houston Rockets National Basketball Association championship teams of the mid-1990s. He was th ...

, who had just graduated from the

University of Houston The University of Houston (; ) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas, United States. It was established in 1927 as Houston Junior College, a coeducational institution and one of multiple junior colleges formed in ...

, where he played basketball in the

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

. In 1991 Marinos de Oriente won the league title, and Marinos forward Charlie Bradley, a former player of the

University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, Tampa, Florida, United States, and other campuses in St. Petersburg, Florida, St. Petersburg and Sarasota, ...

, won the MVP award. In 1992 the league title went to

Cocodrilos de Caracas Cocodrilos de Caracas () is a Venezuelan professional basketball club based in Caracas. Established in 1990, the club competes in the Superliga Profesional de Baloncesto (SPB), and has won the national championship six times. The Cocodrilos' home ...

, who had debuted the previous season replacing Halcones de Caracas. This was the second time a team from Caracas had won the championship following Ahorristas de Caracas in 1974.

Liga Profesional de Baloncesto (1993–2019)

In 1992 the Venezuela national team had participated in the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Beginning in 1994 ...

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. This had brought increased interest to basketball in Venezuela, and started a clash between the teams of the Liga Especial and the Basketball Federation for the division of

broadcasting rights Broadcasting rights (often also called media rights) are rights which a broadcasting organization negotiates with a commercial concern - such as a sports governing body or film distributor - in order to show that company's products on television o ...

. This led to the creation of the ''Liga Profesional de Baloncesto'' (Professional Basketball League), which was a league owned by the teams and not under the direct control of the Federation. The first president was Tulio Capriles. The first edition of league was played between 8 teams, with the best 6 advancing to the first round of semifinals ("Semifinals A"), of which the winners and the best losing team qualified for the second round ("Semifinals B"): the winners of Semifinals B qualified for the championship game in a best-of-7 series. The first LPB champions were Marinos de Oriente, which defeated

in the final series, 4–3. The first MVP was

David Wesley David Barakau Wesley (born November 14, 1970) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Early life David graduated from Longview High School in Longview, Texas. He was classma ...

, a player who then went on to have a long career in the

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

. In 1994 Trotamundos won the title against

, led by MVP

Stanley Brundy Stanley Dwayne Brundy (; born November 13, 1967) is an American-Israeli former professional basketball player. He was selected by the New Jersey Nets in the second round (32nd pick overall) of the 1989 NBA draft. A , forward from DePaul Unive ...

, another player with NBA experience. In 1995

won the title, defeating Marinos; Marinos also qualified for the 1996 finals, where they lost to

Gaiteros del Zulia Gaiteros del Zulia is a professional basketball team based in Maracaibo, Venezuela. The team plays in Venezuela's Superliga Profesional de Baloncesto. They have won the Venezuelan championships four times. Trophies *Liga Profesional de Baloncesto ...

. In 1996

Harold Keeling Harold A. Keeling (born September 18, 1963) is an American-born Venezuelan former professional basketball player who briefly played for the Dallas Mavericks in the National Basketball Association (NBA) in the mid-1980s. Born in New Orleans, Louis ...

Toros de Aragua Toros de Aragua is a Venezuelan professional basketball club based in Aragua. The club competes in the Liga Profesional de Baloncesto The Superliga Profesional de Baloncesto, commonly known as the SPB, is the Venezuelan first division national p ...

won the MVP award: he then went on to acquire Venezuelan citizenship, and played for the Venezuela national team. In 1997

won their first title after 15 years: that season also saw Víctor David Díaz of Panteras de Miranda win the MVP award, the first Venezuelan to win it in the LPB era, and the first after 6 consecutive American MVPs (the last Venezuelan to win the award had been Carl Herrera in 1990). In 1998 Marinos de Oriente defeated Trotamundos in the finals, and in 1999 Trotamundos won the title defeating Panteras de Miranda. In 2000 Cocodrilos de Caracas won the final series against Gaiteros del Zulia with the decisive basket of

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 ...

, who scored in the final seconds of the seventh game of the series. In 2001 the league title went to

, and in 2002

won the league after having been down 1–3 in the final series. From 2003 to 2005, Marinos de Oriente won three consecutive titles. In 2006 Trotamundos de Carabobo defeated

Guaros de Lara The Guaros de Lara is a Venezuelan professional basketball club, that is based in Barquisimeto, Lara, Venezuela. Guaros de Lara BBC has existed as a club in various different forms since 1983. It has existed in its current form since 2003. The c ...

in the championship series and reached 8 league titles, a record at the time. In 2007 the league title was won by Guaiqueríes de Margarita. In 2008 the league was expanded to 10 teams, with the addition of

Gigantes de Guayana Gigantes de Guyana is a basketball club based in Puerto Ordaz, Bolívar State, Venezuela that plays in the Venezuelan SuperLiga. Established in 2008, the team's home games are played at Hermanas Gonzalez Gymnasium where there is capacity for 3,00 ...

and

Deportivo Táchira ''Deportivo'' (Spanish, 'sporting') may refer to: * Deportivo de La Coruña, commonly known as simply Deportivo, a Spanish football club * Déportivo, a French rock band * Deportivo (Mexicable) Mexicable is an aerial lift line in Ecatepec de ...

. The 2008 championship went to Cocodrilos de Caracas. In 2009 Deportivo Táchira moved to

La Guaira La Guaira () is the capital city of the Venezuelan Vargas (state), state of the same name (formerly named Vargas) and the country's main port, founded in 1577 as an outlet for nearby Caracas. The city hosts its own professional baseball team i ...

, and became

Bucaneros de La Guaira The Piratas de La Guaira are a professional basketball team based in Maiquetía, Vargas, Venezuela. Founded in 2008 in San Cristóbal, Táchira as the basketball section of football club Deportivo Táchira, they rellocated to Vargas state in 2010 a ...

. The 2009 finals were won by Marinos, which also won the 2011 and 2012 titles after losing the 2010 finals to Cocodrilos de Caracas. Marinos reached 7 consecutive finals between 2009 and 2015, winning the titles in 2009, 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2015, reaching a total of 11, the most wins by a team in league history. In 2016 Cocodrilos de Caracas won the title against

: the 2015–16 season was the first and only one to be played over two years instead of one. In 2017 and 2018

won two consecutive titles. In 2019 the Liga Profesional de Baloncesto was replaced by the Copa LPB, a tournament intended as a preparation to the national team's participation in the

2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup The 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup was the 18th tournament of the FIBA Basketball World Cup for men's national basketball teams, held from 31 August to 15 September 2019. The tournament was hosted in China and was rescheduled from 2018 to 2019, b ...

SuperLiga era (2019–2022)

In December 2019 newly elected Federation president Hanthony Coello announced that a new league called SuperLiga Profesional de Baloncesto was going to replace the LPB and was scheduled to start on February 28, 2020. On March 12, 2020, the Venezuelan Basketball Federation announced via

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

that the planning of the new tournament was halted due to the

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. The SuperLiga eventually commenced on October 13, 2020. A total of 13 teams participated after Trotamundos, Guaros de Lara and Cocodrilos de Caracas withdrew.

Spartans Distrito Capital Spartans Distrito Capital, also known as Spartans DC, is a Venezuelan basketball club based in Caracas. The team plays in the Venezuelan SuperLiga, the premier national basketball league and won its first championship in 2020. History The Spart ...

won the first SuperLiga title.

SPB era (2022–present)

On July 8, 2022, the SuperLiga and the LPB merged to form the Superliga Profesional de Baloncesto, commonly known as the SPB. The boards agreed to merge all records, statistics and championships of Venezuelan basketball.

Format and rules

The competition consists of 20 teams divided in two conferences (West and East) who play each other twice at home and twice away in the regular season, for a total of 36 games. After that, the top four teams of each conference advance to the Playoffs. Every round (1st round, conference finals and league finals) are played in a

best-of-seven There are a number of formats used in various levels of competition in sports and games to determine an overall champion. Some of the most common are the ''single elimination'', the ''best-of-'' series, the ''total points series'' more commonly kn ...

format. The regular season starts in February of each year and ends in May. Also, like the

, an All-Star Game is held at the middle of the season. The rule that only two foreign players can play per team still stands.

Current teams

The following 18 teams played in the 2024 SPB season.

Group 1

Group 2

Did not participate: *

List of champions

Championships

Teams shown in ''italics'' are no longer in existence.

Awards

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 ...

* Grand Final MVP * Rookie of the Year *

Defensive Player of the Year Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY or DPOTY) is the name of an award given in sports for outstanding defensive play by a single player over the course of a season. Many sports leagues award this type of award. League awards for Defensive Player o ...

Sixth Man of the Year The National Basketball Association's Sixth Man of the Year (colloquially known as the 6MOY) is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1982–83 NBA season to the league's best performing player for his team coming ...

* Most Improved Player of the Year * Return of the Year *

Coach of the Year Many sports leagues, sportswriting associations, and other organizations confer "Coach of the Year" awards. In some sports — including baseball and association football — the award is called the "Manager of the Year" award. Some of the ...

* Exemplary Player of the Year * Ideal Team of the Year * Exemplary Team of the Year *

Manager of the Year Manager of the Year may refer to: * Major League Baseball Manager of the Year Award * League Managers Association Awards#LMA Manager of the Year, League Managers Association Manager of the Year * Premier League Manager of the Season {{disambiguati ...

Statistical leaders

Points

Rebounds

Assists

Steals

Blocks

Records

Individual records

*Most games in a career :*1,126 by

, 28 seasons (1987–2015) *Most minutes in a career :*32,078 by

, 28 seasons (1987–2015) *Most points in a career :*19,621 by

, 28 seasons (1987–2015) *Most points in a game :*Regular season (overtime): 78 by Al Smith,

(vs. Bravos de Portuguesa) on July 6, 1985 (3OT) :*Regular season (no overtime): 76 by

(vs. Bravos de Portuguesa) on June 5, 2002 :*Playoffs: 58 by Al Smith,

(vs. Bravos de Portuguesa) on May 9, 1986 *Most rebounds in a game *:38 by Ron Anthony,

(vs. Taurinos de Aragua) on May 27, 1983 *Most assists in a career :*4,595 by Sam Shepherd, 23 seasons (1974–1997) *Most assists in a game :*28 by Leopoldo Bompart,

Caribes de Anzoátegui The Caribes de Anzoátegui (; ''Anzoátegui Caribs'') is a baseball team in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League based in Puerto la Cruz, in the eastern state of Anzoátegui. Franchise history In January 1987, a local businessmen group ba ...

(vs. Panteras del Táchira) on July 27, 1976 :*28 by Pedro Rojas, Bravos de Portuguesa (vs.

) on March 13, 1986 *Most blocks in a game :*Regular season: 13 by

, Bravos de Portuguesa (vs.

) on April 20, 1986 :*Playoffs: 11 by

Andre Riddick Andre Riddick (born February 1, 1973) is a retired American professional basketball player. He is the ULEB Cup's All-Time Leader for rebounds (383), steals (116) and blocks (122) and also has the highest ULEB Cup percentage of blocks (2 blocks per ...

(vs.

) on June 29, 1999

References

External links

Official site
(Spanish)
Venezuelan league on Latinbasket.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Liga Profesional De Baloncesto (Venezuela) Basketball competitions in Venezuela

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 ...

1974 establishments in Venezuela Sports leagues established in 1974