The Baloncesto Superior Nacional, abbreviated as BSN, is the first-tier-level professional 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

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

. It was founded in 1929 and is organized by the Puerto Rican Basketball Federation. The Baloncesto Superior Nacional, which is played under

FIBA The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French language, French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. FIBA defines the rules of basketball, specifies the Basketball equipment ...

rules Rule or ruling may refer to: Human activity * The exercise of political or personal control by someone with authority or power * Business rule, a rule pertaining to the structure or behavior internal to a business * School rule, a rule tha ...

, currently consists of 12 teams, of which the most successful has been the

Vaqueros de Bayamón The ''vaquero'' (; , ) is a horse-mounted livestock herder of a tradition that has its roots in the Iberian Peninsula and extensively developed in what what is today Mexico (then New Spain) and Spanish Florida from a method brought to the Americ ...

with 16 titles as of 2022. The league has produced players that have distinguished themselves in the NBA, EuroLeague, Spain's ACB, and other tournaments throughout the world. Among them, Georgie Torres was the first Puerto Rican to sign an NBA contract & Butch Lee was the first BSN player to win an NBA title. Later on players including José Ortiz, Ramón Rivas, Daniel Santiago, Carlos Arroyo and J. J. Barea, started their careers playing for BSN teams and later played in the NBA.

Competition format

BSN games are played under the regular

basketball rules. The twelve teams each play a total of four games amongst themselves, two at home and two away, for a total of 44 games during the regular season. Of the 12 participating teams, the top 8 move on to the postseason. The final two teams left will play in the ''La Final Brava'', or the Brava Final, a basketball tournament sponsored by Brava Lubricants.

History

The league began in 1930, and is noted for having had several head coaches who went on to achieve international recognition later in their careers. Among those are Basketball Hall of Fame members Dr. Jack Ramsay, Tex Winter and Red Holzman, who coached the Leones de Ponce in the 1950s and 1960s, and Phil Jackson, who coached the

Piratas de Quebradillas ''Piratas'' () is a Spanish adventure drama television series with comedy elements created by Carlos Portela and which stars Óscar Jaenada, Pilar Rubio and Silvia Abascal. It aired on Telecinco in 2011. Premise Set in the 18th century, the fi ...

and Gallitos de Isabela in the late 1980s. Others notable coaches who have worked for BSN teams include Gene Bartow, Lou Rossini, Del Harris, P. J. Carlesimo, Bernie Bickerstaff, Herb Brown and Sergio Hernández. During the 1980s, notable players followed in the footsteps of players such as Juan "Pachin" Vicens ( 1959 Santiago Chile FIBA World Championship's All-Tournament Team) and Butch Lee, the first Puerto Rican and BSN player to enter the NBA. Among those are: Mario 'Quijote' Morales, Raymond Dalmau, Jose 'Piculin' Ortiz, Ramón Rivas, Jerome Mincy, Georgie Torres, Angelo Cruz, Angel Santiago, the late Federico 'Fico' Lopez, Rolando Frazer,

Mario Butler Mario Alberto Butler Graham (born January 15, 1957) is a Panamanian retired professional basketball player. Butler spent most of his career playing in the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN) in Puerto Rico. At , he played center (basketball), ce ...

, and Rubén Rodríguez, who showcased their talents to all of Puerto Rico's TV viewers and game goers.

New Era and Renewed Interest (2019-present)

On September 19, 2019, the BSN team owners selected Ricardo Dalmau Santana to succeed Fernando Quiñones Bodea as president of the league. In October 2020, there was a change in ownership of the

, when retired professional baseball player Yadier Molina acquired his hometown team. In April 2021, the league approved the return of the Cangrejeros under the ownership of Noah Assad and Jonathan Miranda. Later that month, Bad Bunny joined the ownership group. In October 2022, the Osos de Manatí returned from a short hiatus, when Puerto Rican singer Ozuna purchased the Brujos de Guayama and relocated the team to Manatí. In game 1 of the 2023 BSN finals,

LeBron James LeBron Raymone James Sr. ( ; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he is the NBA's all-time leading scorer and ...

made a surprise appearance as the

Gigantes In Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology, the Giants, also called Gigantes (Ancient Greek, Greek: Γίγαντες, ''wiktionary:gigantes, Gígantes'', Γίγας, ''wiktionary:gigas, Gígas''), were a race of great strength and aggression, ...

defeated the

Vaqueros The ''vaquero'' (; , ) is a horse-mounted livestock herder of a tradition that has its roots in the Iberian Peninsula and extensively developed in what what is today Mexico (then New Spain) and Spanish Florida from a method brought to the Americ ...

, 89-85, in overtime to take a 1-0 series lead. On July 27 2023, the Gigantes De Carolina defeated the Vaqueros 80-60 in Game 5 of the BSN Finals, leading the Gigantes to become the 2023 BSN Champions. In October of 2024, Molina sold ownership of his team.

Current teams

Defunct teams

* Atenienses de Manatí (2014–2017); played their home games at the Juan Cruz Abreu Coliseum * Avancinos de Villalba (1996–1998); played their home games at the José Ibem Marrero Coliseum * Conquistadores de Aguada (1994–1998) * Gallitos de Isabela; played their home games at the Jose Abreu Coliseum * Grises de Humacao (2005–2023); Marcelo Trujillo Panisse Coliseum * Indios de Canóvanas; played their home games at Coliseo Carlos Miguel Mangual * Maratonistas de Coamo (1985–1996, 1999–2015); played their home games at Edwin "Puruco" Nolasco Coliseum * Polluelos de Aibonito (1977–2001); played their home games at Cancha Marron Aponte * Taínos de Cabo Rojo (1989–1993); played their home games at Rebekah Colberg Cabrera Coliseum * Tiburones de Aguadilla (1990s–1998); played their home games at the Luis T. Diaz Coliseum * Titanes de Morovis (1977–2006); played their home games in the José Pepe Huyke Coliseum * Toritos de Cayey (2002–2004); played their home games at the Cayey Municipal Coliseum Cardenales de Rio Piedras 1955-1984

Championships

Number of championships won by teams

* *These titles are from Farmacia Martin, a team that later merged with the Atléticos de San Germán

BSN awards and leaders

League records

Rubén Rodríguez established most of the early long-standing records in the BSN. He broke both the single-season points record with 810 in 1978 and the highest career points record with 11,549. The current holder of the career mark is Georgie Torres, who broke it before retiring in 2001 with 15,863 points in 679 games, playing his first 7 years before the establishment of the three-point line. Rodríguez also holds the mark for most rebounds in a career with 6,178. He also held the single-season rebound record with 380 in 1978, which stood until Lee Benson broke it in 2008. Currently, Neftalí Rivera holds the record for most points in a game in the Baloncesto Superior Nacional when he scored 79 points on May 22, 1974. In that game he achieved the record by making 34 field goals (all of them 2-pointers as 3-pointers were not adopted back then) and 11 free throws. In 1989, Pablo Alicea of the Gigantes de Carolina established a record for most assists in one game with 25. The record stood for over two decades until May 1, 2012, when Jonathan García of the Caciques de Humacao broke it recording 33 assists against the Brujos de Guayama. García's mark is an unofficial world record pending the approval of

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, list ...

, since there is no higher number recorded in any amateur or professional international league or in FIBA competition. During this game, the Caciques also established the team points record for a single game with 130 and for most scored during a single (10-minute) quarter with 46. The Vaqueros de Bayamón hosted the game with highest attendance in the league, with 17,621 fans attending a home game against Río Piedras on September 8, 1969. This bested the previous top of 16,564 in a game between Ponce and Santurce. The Vaqueros also hold the record for most consecutive championships, winning five from 1971 to 1975.

BSN statistical leaders

BSN all-time scoring leaders

BSN all-time rebounding leaders

BSN all-time assists leaders

BSN all-time block leaders

Last Updated July 26, 2023

References

External links

Official site

Puerto Rican league on Latinbasket.com
{{Men's professional basketball leagues Basketball leagues in Puerto Rico 1929 establishments in Puerto Rico Sports leagues established in 1929 Professional sports leagues in the United States Professional sports leagues in Puerto Rico