Ligat HaAl ( he, ליגת העל, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is the top-tier level league of

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and ski ...

competition in

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

club Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a '' Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

, making it Israel's primary basketball competition. The league's name is abbreviated as either BSL (Basketball Super League) or ISBL (Israeli Basketball Super League). For sponsorship reasons, the league is also referred to as Ligat Winner Sal ( he, ליגת ווינר סל), lit. ''Winner Basket League'', with "Winner" being the name of a game operated by the league's primary sponsor, Toto Winner. The league is run by the Israeli Basketball Super League Administration Ltd.

Overview

Ligat HaAl comprises the top 12 basketball clubs in Israel, and was founded in 1954. The league itself is most known in Europe, due to the success of the Israeli teams in European-wide competitions, such as the EuroLeague, EuroCup (formerly called the ULEB Cup), and

FIBA The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. Originally known as the (hence FIBA), in 1989 it dropped the word ''amateur'' from its nam ...

EuroChallenge FIBA EuroChallenge (called the FIBA Europe League in 2003–05, and FIBA EuroCup in 2005–08) was the 3rd-tier level transnational men's professional continental club basketball competition in Europe, from 2003 to 2015. It was organized and run ...

(formerly called the FIBA EuroCup). Many non-drafted and

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

players from

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

and the NBA play in the Israeli league, as an alternative to NBA competition. The league is the first division in Israeli basketball: the team that finishes last in a season is

relegated In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues. ...

to the

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

, while the Second Division's top 8 teams compete in a play-off system right after the end of the regular season, with the team that reaches the finals series being promoted to the Premier League for the following season.

Format

There are 12 teams in the league, and they play against each other thrice. The top eight teams advance to the five-game series Quarter-finals. The winners of the Quarter-finals advance to the Final Four.

Links with the NBA

During the 1980s and the early 1990s there were many basketball games between the Israeli League stars and NBA teams such as the Phoenix Suns, the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Orlando Magic, and the Los Angeles Lakers, all of which were played in Israel. In October 2005,

Maccabi Tel Aviv Maccabi Tel Aviv ( he, מכבי תל אביב) is one of the largest sports clubs in Israel, and a part of the Maccabi association. Many sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv are in association with Maccabi and compete in a variety of sports, such ...

defeated the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. They play their home games a ...

105–103 in an exhibition game that was played in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

; this was the first victory for any European or Israeli team over an NBA team at its home court. Over the years, the league has exported many of its foreign players to the NBA. In 2009,

Omri Casspi Omri Moshe Casspi ( he, עומרי משה כספי, born June 22, 1988) is an Israeli former professional basketball player. He mainly played at the small forward position, but could play also at the power forward position. Casspi was drafted 23 ...

became the first Israeli-born NBA player with the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

. Prior to that, three players had been drafted:

Doron Sheffer Doron Sheffer ( he, דורון שפר; born 12 March 1972), is an Israeli retired professional basketball player. He spent most of his club career playing with Maccabi Tel Aviv. During his playing career he played at the point guard and shooting ...

(who played U.S. college basketball at

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

), Yotam Halperin and

Lior Eliyahu Lior Eliyahu ( he, לִיאוֹר אֱלִיָּהוּ; born 9 September 1985) is an Israeli former professional basketball player. He is 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) in height and he weighs 105 kg (225 pounds). He plays at the power forward pos ...

Oded Kattash Oded Kattash ( he, עודד קטש, born October 10, 1974) is an Israeli professional basketball coach for Maccabi Tel Aviv and former player. During his playing career, at a height of 194 cm (6' 4 ") tall, he played at the point guard posi ...

agreed to play with the New York Knicks, but he never actually played in the NBA because of the

1998–99 NBA lockout The 1998–99 NBA lockout was the third lockout of four in the history of the National Basketball Association (NBA). It lasted from July 1, 1998, to January 20, 1999, and forced the 1998–99 regular season to be shortened to 50 games per team ...

that started on July 1, 1998. In the

2009 NBA Draft The 2009 NBA draft was held on June 25, 2009, at the WaMu Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City. In this draft, the National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other e ...

was selected 23rd overall by the

, and

Gal Mekel Gal Mekel ( he, גל מקל, pronounced ; born March 4, 1988) is an Israeli former professional basketball player. He played for the Dallas Mavericks and spent time in Europe and Israel. He played college basketball for two years at Wichita Sta ...

followed in 2013 by signing with Dallas Mavericks. In 2016,

Dragan Bender Dragan Bender (born 17 November 1997) is a Croatian professional basketball player for Monbus Obradoiro of the Spanish Liga ACB. He stands and plays the power forward and center positions. He was selected by the Phoenix Suns with the fourth ...

became the highest selection from the Israeli Basketball Premier League to be selected in an NBA draft with the Phoenix Suns taking him at 4th overall. Other players who have moved from the league to the NBA include:

Will Bynum William Bynum (born January 4, 1983) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the University of Arizona and Georgia Tech before going undrafted in the 2005 NBA draft. He was the 2007 Israeli Basketbal ...

, Anthony Parker,

Joe Ingles Joseph Howarth Ingles (born 2 October 1987) is an Australian professional basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He also represents the Australian national team. He primarily plays at the small ...

, Roger Mason Jr., P. J. Tucker, Eugene "Pooh" Jeter,

Elijah Bryant Elijah Brigham Bryant (born April 19, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for Anadolu Efes of the Turkish Basketball Super League (BSL) and the EuroLeague. He played college basketball for the Elon Phoenix and Brigham Young Cougar ...

Carlos Arroyo Carlos Alberto Arroyo Bermúdez (born July 30, 1979) is a Puerto Rican former professional basketball player, and reggaeton singer. Arroyo had previously played in the National Basketball Association with the Toronto Raptors, Denver Nuggets, ...

, and

Nate Robinson Nathaniel Cornelius Robinson (born May 31, 1984) is an American former professional basketball player. Born in Seattle, Robinson played college basketball for the University of Washington in Seattle and was the 21st pick in the 2005 NBA draft. ...

. In 2016,

Amar'e Stoudemire Amar'e Carsares Stoudemire ( ; he, אמארה יהושפט סטודמאייר; born November 16, 1982) is an American-Israeli professional basketball coach and former player who most recently served as a player development assistant for the Bro ...

retired from the NBA, however on August 1, 2016, he signed a two-year deal with

Hapoel Jerusalem Hapoel Jerusalem is a sport organization in Jerusalem as a local branch of the Hapoel movement. The branch was established in the 1920s and represents the city in more sports than any other sport organization in Jerusalem. Today, the club's leadi ...

, a team he co-owns. On October 1, 2016, he helped Hapoel Jerusalem win the

2016 Israeli Basketball League Cup The 2016 Israeli Basketball League Cup, for sponsorships reasons the Winner League Cup, was the 11th edition of the pre-season tournament of the Israeli Basketball Super League. Hapoel Jerusalem won the title for the fourth time after beating M ...

. He also played for Maccabi Tel Aviv during the 2019-20 season, helping them win the

2019–20 Israeli Basketball Premier League The 2019–20 Israeli Basketball Premier League, for sponsorship reasons Ligat Winner, was the 66th season of the Israeli Basketball Premier League. On 13 March 2020, the league was suspended because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The league resumed ...

championship. He was named MVP of the championship game. In 2020 two players declared for the NBA draft. The first being Deni Avdija from Maccabi Tel Aviv and the second being

Yam Madar Yam Madar ( he, ים מדר; born ) is an Israeli player ,and professional basketball player for Partizan Belgrade of the Serbian KLS, the Adriatic League and the EuroLeague. He also represents the Israel senior national team internationally. ...

from Hapeol Tel Aviv. Avdija was selected in the first round, 9th overall, by the Washington Wizards, and Madar was taken in the second round with the 47th pick of the draft by the Boston Celtics.

High-profile American Jewish recruits

In 2011, the league imposed a limit of four non-Israelis per team. Jews are immediately eligible for

Israeli citizenship Israeli citizenship law details the conditions by which a person holds citizenship of Israel. The two primary pieces of legislation governing these requirements are the 1950 Law of Return and 1952 Citizenship Law. Every Jew in the world has ...

, under Israel's

Law of Return The Law of Return ( he, חֹוק הַשְׁבוּת, ''ḥok ha-shvūt'') is an Israeli law, passed on 5 July 1950, which gives Jews, people with one or more Jewish grandparent, and their spouses the right to relocate to Israel and acquire Isr ...

. Consequently, non-Israeli Jewish basketball players are able to join a team in the league without using up one of the few roster spots available for non-Israeli players. Examples of

Jewish Americans American Jews or Jewish Americans are American citizens who are Jewish, whether by culture, ethnicity, nationality, or religion. Today the Jewish community in the United States consists primarily of Ashkenazi Jews, who descend from diaspora Je ...

joining teams in the league include

Jon Scheyer Jonathan James Scheyer (, born August 24, 1987) is an American basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach for the Duke Blue Devils of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). Scheyer led his high school team to an Illinois ...

Jordan Farmar Jordan Robert Farmar (born November 30, 1986) is an Israeli-American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). In high school, he was named the ''Los Angeles Times'' High School Player of the Y ...

Sylven Landesberg Sylven Joshua Landesberg (born April 10, 1990) is an American-Israeli-Austrian professional basketball player for the Shandong Hi-Speed Kirin of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). Standing at , he plays at the shooting guard and small for ...

, David Blu,

, and

Dan Grunfeld Daniel Leslie Grunfeld ( he, דן גרונפלד; born February 7, 1984) is an American professional basketball player, who last played as a small forward for Bnei Herzliya in the Israeli Basketball Premier League. He played briefly for Hapoel ...

Current clubs

Titles by team

Title holders

* 1953–54

* 1954–55

* 1955–56 ''Not held due to Suez Crisis * 1956–57

* 1957–58

* 1958–59

* 1959–60 Hapoel Tel Aviv * 1960–61 Hapoel Tel Aviv * 1961–62

* 1962–63

* 1963–64

* 1964–65 Hapoel Tel Aviv * 1965–66 Hapoel Tel Aviv * 1966–67

* 1967–68

* 1968–69 Hapoel Tel Aviv * 1969–70

* 1970–71

* 1971–72

* 1972–73

* 1973–74

* 1974–75

* 1975–76

* 1976–77

* 1977–78

* 1978–79

* 1979–80

* 1980–81

* 1981–82

* 1982–83

* 1983–84

* 1984–85

* 1985–86

* 1986–87

* 1987–88

* 1988–89

* 1989–90

* 1990–91

* 1991–92

* 1992–93

Hapoel Galil Elyon Hapoel Galil Elyon ( he, הפועל גליל עליון), also known as Hapoel Nofar Energy Galil Elion for sponsorship reasons, is an Israeli basketball club. The team competes in the Israeli Basketball Premier League, the top tier of Israeli b ...

* 1993–94

* 1994–95

* 1995–96

* 1996–97

* 1997–98

* 1998–99

* 1999–00

* 2000–01

* 2001–02

* 2002–03

* 2003–04

* 2004–05

* 2005–06

* 2006–07

* 2007–08

Hapoel Holon Hapoel Holon Basketball Club ( he, מועדון הכדורסל הפועל חולון), known for sponsorship reasons as Hapoel Atsmon Playgrounds Holon (), is a professional basketball club based in Holon, Israel. The team plays in the Israeli ...

* 2008–09

* 2009–10

Hapoel Gilboa Galil Hapoel Gilboa Galil ( he, הפועל גלבוע גליל) is a professional basketball club that is based in north-east Israel. The club plays its home game in the Israeli Basketball Premier League (the top tier of Israeli basketball) in a 2,250- ...

* 2010–11

* 2011–12

* 2012–13

Maccabi Haifa Maccabi Haifa ( he, מכבי חיפה) is one of the biggest sports clubs in Israel and a part of the Maccabi association. It runs several sports clubs and teams in Haifa which have competed in a variety of sports over the years, such as Football ...

* 2013–14

* 2014–15

* 2015–16 Maccabi Rishon LeZion * 2016–17

* 2017–18

* 2018–19

* 2019–20

* 2020–21

* 2021–22

Finals

Awards

Israeli Basketball Premier League MVP The Israeli Basketball Premier League MVP, or Israeli Basketball Super League MVP, is an annual basketball award that is presented to the most valuable player in a given season of the Israeli Basketball Premier League, which is the top-tier level ...

Israeli Basketball Premier League Finals MVP The Israeli Basketball Premier League Finals MVP, or Israeli Basketball Super League Finals MVP, is an annual basketball award that is presented to the most valuable player of the finals of the playoffs of the Israeli Basketball Premier League, whi ...

Israeli Basketball Premier League Quintet The Israeli Basketball Premier League Quintet, or Israeli Basketball Super League Quintet, is an award given to the 5 best players of each season of the Israeli Basketball Premier League, which is the top-tier level men's professional basketball le ...

Israeli Basketball Premier League Defensive Player of the Year The Israeli Basketball Premier League Defensive Player of the Year, or Israeli Basketball Super League Defensive Player of the Year, is an award given to the best defensive player of each season of the Israeli Basketball Premier League, which is th ...

Israeli Basketball Premier League 6th Man of the Year Israeli may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel * Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel * Modern Hebrew, a language * ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008 * Guni Israeli ...

Israeli Basketball Premier League Most Improved Player The Israeli Basketball Premier League Most Improved Player, or Israeli Basketball Super League Most Improved Player, is an award given to the Most Improved Player of each season of the Israeli Basketball Premier League, which is the top-tier level ...

Israeli Basketball Premier League Discovery of the Year The Israeli Basketball Premier League Discovery of the Year, or Israeli Basketball Super League Discovery of the Year, is an award given to the best young player of each season of the Israeli Basketball Premier League, which is the top-tier level m ...

Israeli Basketball Premier League Coach of the Year The Israeli Basketball Premier League Coach of the Year, or Israeli Basketball Super League Coach of the Year, is an award given to the best head coach of each season of the Israeli Basketball Premier League (IBPL), which is the top-tier level m ...

Statistical leaders

Notes and references

External links

Eurobasket.com League Page

Official website

IL-Sports
Israeli Sport Website in English
Maccabi Haifa Heat and Maccabi Tel Aviv broadcasts for North America
{{Men's professional basketball leagues 1 1954 establishments in Israel Professional sports leagues in Israel

Overview

Format

Links with the NBA

High-profile American Jewish recruits

Current clubs

Titles by team

Title holders

Finals

Awards

Statistical leaders

See also

Notes and references

External links