The Latvian Basketball League (LBL; ) also known as the '' Pafbet'' LBL for sponsorship reasons, is the top-level national basketball championship in

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

composed of 6 teams. Since 2018/19, only the playoff matches are played, as the top Latvian clubs play the regular season in the Latvian–Estonian Basketball League. The LBL is governed by the Latvian Basketball Association, the national governing body of basketball in Latvia. Its 6 teams are located in 5 cities; two 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 ...

, and one in

Ventspils Ventspils () is a state city in northwestern Latvia in the historical Courland region of Latvia, and is the sixth largest city in the country. At the beginning of 2020, Ventspils had a population of 33,906. It is situated on the Venta River and ...

Liepāja Liepāja () (formerly: Libau) is a Administrative divisions of Latvia, state city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea. It is the largest city in the Courland region and the third-largest in the country after Riga and Daugavpils. It is an ...

Valmiera Valmiera () is the second largest city of the historical Vidzeme region, Latvia, with a total area of . As of 2002, Valmiera had a population of 27,323, and in 2020, it was at 24,879. It is a Administrative divisions of Latvia, state city, and ...

, and

Ogre An ogre (feminine: ogress) is a legendary monster depicted as a large, hideous, man-like being that eats ordinary human beings, especially infants and children. Ogres frequently feature in mythology, folklore, and fiction throughout the world ...

. The LBL season usually ran from September to April, with the playoffs in April–May. The league was founded in 1992, and its first season was played in the same year.

History

Before 1992

After American

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volunteers introduced the sport in Riga around 1920, interest in the sport grew, and in 1923 the YMCA organized the first ever basketball tournament in Latvia, with 14 teams registering. In 1924, the newly-founded Latvian Basketball Association announced the first Latvian Basketball Championship in the winter of 1924 () with 6 teams participating. It was won by the Latvian Sports Society () team, who defeated the Riga YMCA team () in the final game with a score of 25:15. The first official national women's tournament followed in 1932.

Early years

The first LBL season was played in 1992, with LBL2 (''LBL 2. divīzija'') as its second division and LBL3 as the third. From 1992 to 1999 all championships were won by BK Brocēni, however, from 2000 to 2006 BK Ventspils were the champions. In 2007, ASK Rīga stopped BK Ventspils' winning streak. BK Ventspils won again in 2009, beating Barons/LMT in a thriller 4–3.

Later history

Barons would return to the final the following year, this time against VEF Rīga, and win by the same 4–3 margin. The 2011 final again went to 7 games, with VEF Rīga defeating Ventspils. Between 2011 and 2018, the title changed hands frequently, with BK Valmiera Ordo claiming the title in 2016. Since the introduction of the Latvian-Estonian Basketball League in the 2018/2019 season, the regular LBL championship was merged into the LEBL. The six top Latvian teams then qualify for the LBL playoffs after the end of the LEBL regular season. VEF Rīga has held the title ever since. For the 2020/2021 season, the 2nd tier Latvian league - LBL2 - was reformed into the ''Ramirent'' ' (NBL, National Basketball League) and LBL3 became the ''Reģionālā basketbola līga'' (Regional Basketball League).

Sponsorships

From 2012 to 2015, the league was known as ''Aldaris Latvijas Basketbola līga'' due to the AS Aldaris brewery becoming the general sponsor of the Latvian Basketball Association. In 2016, they were succeeded by betting brand '' OlyBet'' and in 2019 by '' Pafbet''.

Teams

Title holders

Latvian champions * 1924 LSB Rīga * 1925 JKS Rīga * 1926 Rīgas FK * 1927 Rīgas FK * 1928 LSB Rīga * 1929 JKS Rīga * 1930 Universitātes Sports * 1931 Latvju Jaunatne * 1932 JKS Rīga * 1933 Latvijas Valsts Karoga Apvienība * 1934 Universitātes Sports * 1935 Universitātes Sports * 1936 Universitātes Sports * 1937 Universitātes Sports * 1938 Starts Rīga * 1939 ASK Rīga * 1940 ASK Rīga * 1941 RDKA Rīga * 1943 Starts Rīga * 1944 Starts Rīga Latvian SSR champions * 1945 Daugava Rīga * 1946 Daugava Rīga * 1947 Daugava Rīga * 1948 Daugava Rīga * 1949 * 1950 LVU Rīga * 1951 Dinamo Rīga * 1952 LVU Rīga * 1953 Rīgas ASK * 1954 Spartaks Rīga * 1955 Spartaks Rīga * 1956 Spartaks Rīga * 1957 Rīgas ASK * 1958 Spartaks Rīga * 1959 Rīgas VEF * 1960 Rīgas VEF * 1961 Rīgas VEF * 1962 Rīgas ASK * 1963 Liepājas Sarkanais Metalurgs * 1964 Lokomotīve Rīga * 1965 Rīgas ASK * 1966 Rīgas ASK * 1967 Rīgas ASK * 1968 Liepājas Sarkanais Metalurgs * 1969 Rīgas ASK * 1970 Lokomotīve Rīga * 1971 Rīgas VEF * 1972 9. Auda * 1973 Rīgas ASK * 1974 Rīgas VEF * 1975 Rīgas ASK * 1976 Rīgas ASK * 1977 BK Ķekava * 1978 Rīgas ASK * 1979 RPI Rīga * 1980 BK Ādaži * 1981 BK Ķekava * 1982 RPI Rīga * 1983 LVFKI Rīga * 1984 RPI Rīga * 1985 Jelgava SCO * 1986 Jelgava SCO * 1987 Rīgas ASK * 1988 Rīgas ASK * 1989 LVU Rīga * 1990 LVU Rīga * 1991 9. Auda Latvian champions * 1992 Brocēni Parair * 1992–93 Brocēni * 1993–94 SWH Brocēni * 1994–95 SWH Brocēni * 1995–96 ASK Brocēni * 1996–97 ASK Brocēni LMT * 1997–98 ASK Brocēni LMT * 1998–99 Brocēni LMT * 1999–00

* 2000–01

* 2001–02

* 2002–03

* 2003–04

* 2004–05

* 2005–06

* 2006–07 ASK Riga * 2007–08 Barons LMT * 2008–09

* 2009–10 Barons LMT * 2010–11 VEF Rīga * 2011–12 VEF Rīga * 2012–13 VEF Rīga * 2013–14

* 2014–15 VEF Rīga * 2015–16 Valmiera Ordo * 2016–17 VEF Rīga * 2017–18

* 2018–19 VEF Rīga * 2019–20 VEF Rīga * 2020–21 VEF Rīga * 2021–22 VEF Rīga * 2022–23 VEF Rīga * 2023–24 VEF Rīga * 2024–25 VEF Rīga

Performance by club

The finals

All–time national champions

''Total number of national champions won by Latvian clubs. Table includes titles won during the Latvian Championships (1924–1944) and (1992–present) and the

USSR Premier Basketball League The USSR Premier Basketball League, or Soviet Union Premier Basketball League (also called Supreme League), was the first-tier men's professional basketball league in the former Soviet Union. The league existed from 1923 to 1991, as the top prof ...

(1945–1992).''

Titles by team (only Latvian 1924–2025)

References

External links

Official Website

Eurobasket.com League Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Latvijas Basketbola liga Basketball leagues in Latvia Sports leagues established in 1992 1992 establishments in Latvia Top-level basketball leagues in Europe