The Latvian-Estonian Basketball League (, ); known as Optibet Latvian-Estonian Basketball League for sponsorship reasons, is the top-tier 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 (appro ...

league in Latvia and Estonia. The competition was introduced in 2018 and is organised by the

Estonian Basketball Association The Estonian Basketball Association () is the governing body of basketball in Estonia. It was founded in 1923, and joined FIBA in 1934. After 1940 though, they suspended operations due to being occupied by the Soviet Union. The Estonian Basketb ...

and the

Latvian Basketball Association The Latvian Basketball Association (), also known as LBS, is the national governing body of basketball in Latvia. It was founded in 1923 and was one of the FIBA Europe co-founders, but due to the Occupation of the Baltic states, Soviet and Nazi o ...

History

Following the demise of the

Baltic Basketball League Baltic Basketball League (BBL) was the Baltic states basketball league founded in 2004. The league mainly focused on teams from the Baltic states, but teams from Sweden, Russia, Kazakhstan, Finland, and Belarus Belarus, officially the Rep ...

, the LEBL was established in 2018 when the

Latvijas Basketbola līga The Latvian Basketball League (LBL; ) also known as the '' Pafbet'' LBL for sponsorship reasons, is the top-level national basketball championship in Latvia composed of 6 teams. Since 2018/19, only the playoff matches are played, as the top Latvi ...

(LBL) and the

Korvpalli Meistriliiga The Korvpalli Meistriliiga (KML) is the top-tier men's basketball league in Estonia. The league is organized by the Estonian Basketball Association and played under rules of basketball#International Rules of Basketball, FIBA rules. The competitio ...

(KML) largely merged. In its inaugural season, 15 teams participated in the league. After a Final Four is played to determine the winner of the league, there are playoffs to decide the national champions of Latvia and Estonia. The first game was played on 28 September 2018, with Estonian champions

BC Kalev/Cramo BC Kalev, also known as BC Kalev/Cramo for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball club based in Tallinn, Estonia. The team plays in the Korvpalli Meistriliiga (KML), the Estonian-Latvian Basketball League and the FIBA Europe Cup. Their ...

hosting a game against the Latvian champions

BK Ventspils BK Ventspils is a professional basketball club that is located in Ventspils, Latvia. The club competes in the Latvian-Estonian Basketball League. History BK Ventspils was founded in 1994. In first years Ventspils proved themselves as relevant p ...

. On 9 April 2019, BK Ventspils won the first league championship. On 19 November 2021, representatives of the Latvian Basketball Association and the Estonian Basketball Association agreed to continue the development of a joint league for the next three years. Both parties acknowledged that the league promotes the development of players and coaches, attracts basketball fans and inspires young people to focus on basketball. In June 2022, Ukrainian club

BC Prometey BC Prometey (), also known as Prometey Slobozhanske, was a Ukrainian basketball club based in Slobozhanske and Kamianske. It played in the Ukrainian Basketball SuperLeague, the highest tier of basketball in Ukraine, from 2019 to 2022. From 202 ...

joined the league as the Ukrainian SuperLeague was suspended due to the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

. The team played its home games in

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

Title sponsorships

Since inaugural season, the League has had

title sponsor Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization where a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event (most often sports venues), typical ...

ship rights sold to two companies, most recently to the Optibet betting company.

Competition format

The competition follows a double round-robin format. During the course of a season each club plays each other club twice (once at home and once away). Teams' rankings at season end are determined by winning percentage. At season end, the eight top teams play-off, pitting the first place standings team against the 8th place team, and so on. The play-off format initially was supposed to be Quarterfinals and Final Four, but since the inaugural season it has changed every season. For the 2023–24 season play-off format changed. Quarterfinals and semifinals are to be played in best-of-three series, while bronze and gold medals are to be played out in one game with hosts being a team that finished regular season higher in the standings.

Home Grown Player Rule

A foreign player (not Latvian or Estonian) who has been registered and played in the Latvian National Championship or the Estonian National Championship for three consecutive seasons between the ages of 12 and 19 is considered to be a local player.

Current teams

Results

Performance by club

Records

Player records

The following records include games played since the league was established in 2018. These records do not include any games played in local championship playoffs,

Latvian Basketball League Latvian may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Latvia **Latvians, a Baltic ethnic group, native to what is modern-day Latvia and the immediate geographical region **Latvian language, also referred to as Lettish **Latvian cuisine **Latvi ...

and

Estonian Basketball League The Korvpalli Meistriliiga (KML) is the top-tier men's basketball league in Estonia. The league is organized by the Estonian Basketball Association and played under FIBA rules. The competition was founded in 1925. From the 1998–99 season unti ...

respectively. * Highest Performance Index Rating (PIR) in a game :* 60 by Matej Radunić (

Keila KK Keila Korvpallikool (English: Keila Basketball School) is a basketball team based in Keila, Estonia. The team plays in the Estonian-Latvian Basketball League and the Korvpalli Meistriliiga (KML). Their home arena is the Keila Health Center. His ...

), against Valmiera Glass VIA on 17 March 2023 * Most points in a game :* 41 by Jalen Riley ( VEF Rīga), against

BK Liepāja BK Liepāja, known as Betsafe/Liepāja for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball club in Liepāja, Latvia playing in the Latvian-Estonian Basketball League and Latvian Basketball League. Liepāja team's greatest achievement in Latvi ...

on 5 February 2022 :* 41 by Matej Radunić (

), against Valmiera Glass VIA on 17 March 2023 :* 41 by

Roberts Blūms Roberts Blūms (born November 2, 2005) is a Latvian basketball player for the Davidson Wildcats of the Atlantic 10 Conference. He is 1.92 m (6 ft 3.5 in) and plays shooting guard position. Career During the 2022–23 season Blūms played i ...

( VEF Rīga), against Tallinn Kalev/SNABB on 21 January 2024 * Most rebounds in a game :* 21 by Klāvs Dubults ( Valmiera Glass VIA), against Rakvere Tarvas on 6 March 2022 :* 21 by Arnaldo Toro ( VEF Rīga), against

on 14 November 2023 * Most assists in a game :* 22 by

Tony Wroten Anthony Leon Wroten Jr. (born April 13, 1993) is an American professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Washington Huskies, where he was a first-team all-conference selection in the Pac-12, before being drafted by the ...

(

), against Jēkabpils/SMScredit.lv on 24 January 2019 * Most steals in a game :* 10 by

Alterique Gilbert Alterique Lamont Gilbert (born October 6, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for Górnik Wałbrzych of the Polish Basketball League (PLK). He played college basketball for the UConn Huskies and the Wichita State Shockers. Early l ...

( Pärnu Sadam), against

on 5 March 2022 :* 10 by Kevin Johnson (

), against

Viimsi Viimsi () is a small borough () in Harju County, Estonia, about northeast of the centre of Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north ...

on 24 September 2023 * Most blocks in a game :* 7 by

Klāvs Čavars Klāvs Čavars (born February 11, 1996) is a Latvian professional basketball player for Sabah BC of the Azerbaijan Basketball League. The center played six seasons for VEF Rīga. Professional career VEF Rīga Čavars first joined the VEF R ...

( VEF Rīga), against Jēkabpils/SMScredit.lv on 9 February 2019 :* 7 by Tomáš Pavelka ( Tartu Ülikool Maks & Moorits), against Pärnu Sadam on 7 December 2022 * Most 3-point field goals made in a game :* 11 by Jalen Riley ( VEF Rīga), against

on 5 February 2022

Team records

*Biggest home win: :

122–48

in the 2024–25 season *Biggest away win: : Tallinn Kalev/SNABB 52–110

in the 2023–24 season *Longest winning streak: :24 games by

in the 2023–24 season *Largest attendance at a game: :5,972 – VEF Rīga against

Rīgas Zeļļi Rīgas Zeļļi is Latvian professional basketball team that is based in Riga, Latvia. It was founded in the summer of 2023. History News of the planned team began appearing in April 2023 with Kristaps Janičenoks voicing support for their inclus ...

Xiaomi Arena Xiaomi Arena, formerly known as Arena Riga () is an indoor arena in Riga, Latvia. It is primarily used for ice hockey, basketball and concerts. Arena Riga holds a maximum of 14,500 and was opened on 15 February 2006. It was built to be used as ...

on 13 April 2025

Awards

References

External links

* {{Men's professional basketball leagues 1 1 2018 establishments in Europe Sports leagues established in 2018 Multi-national basketball leagues in Europe