The Lebanese Basketball League is the top-tier 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 court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

league in

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

. It is organized annually as a national championship with playoffs and a national cup by the

Lebanese Basketball Federation The Lebanese Basketball Federation, known in French as the Fédération Libanaise de Basketball (FLB or FLBB), is the governing body of basketball in Lebanon. The federation founded in 1947, represents basketball with public authorities as well ...

(FLB). Currently, the league consists of 12 teams, of which six are located in

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

. The most successful club in the history of the league is

Al Riyadi Al Riyadi Club Beirut ( ar, نادي الرياضي بيروت, lit=Sporting Club Beirut) is a multi-sports club based in Manara, a district in Beirut, Lebanon. Founded in 1934, the basketball team competes in the Lebanese Basketball League. ...

who have won a record 16 championships.

History

The initial Lebanese basketball league was formed in as early as the 1950s; however, it was stopped during the

Lebanese Civil War The Lebanese Civil War ( ar, الحرب الأهلية اللبنانية, translit=Al-Ḥarb al-Ahliyyah al-Libnāniyyah) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 120,000 fatalities a ...

. In 1992, the league was reformed into a fully professional format. In 1997, Sporting Club (Al Riyadi) finished as Lebanese champions, allowing them to participate in the 1998

FIBA Asia Champions Cup The FIBA Asia Champions Cup, previously known as the Asian Basketball Confederation (ABC) Champions Cup until 2002, is the Asian club championship for professional basketball. It is organised by FIBA Asia, and takes place once a year (since 19 ...

. There, they finished 3rd place. That same year, Al Riyadi lost the Lebanese championship to their big rivals Sagesse Club (Hekmeh). In 1998,

hosted the

Arab Club Championship The Arab Club Champions Cup ( ar, كأس العرب للأندية الأبطال, french: Ligue des Champions Arabe) is an annual regional club football competition organised by the Union of Arab Football Associations (UAFA) and contested by eli ...

. Hekmeh won, the first ever basketball trophy for Lebanon. In 1999, Beirut hosted the Arab Club Championship again. Hekmeh repeated as champions. Al Riyadi has its greatest success in the Arab Club Championship during the 2000s. They won the title in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, and 2010. In 2009, they defeated their fellow Lebanese team Hekmeh in the final, the first time two Lebanese teams met in the final. The 2009 tournament was held in Beirut.

Overview

The league is the first division in Lebanese basketball. The team that finishes last each season is relegated to the Second Division, while the Second Division's top four teams compete in a play-off system. The team that wins is promoted for the next season.

Competition

There are 12 teams in the league. They play a round-robin format; each team plays all other teams once home and once away. At the end of the regular season, the top eight teams enter the playoffs and play a best of 5 series in the quarterfinals. The winners of the quarterfinals advance to the best of seven series in the semifinals. The two teams that advance play a best of seven series in the final, and the winner is the league champion.

Teams

The following 12 teams play in the 2022–23 season.

Champions

Wins by year

:''FLB League (standings since 1993)''

Wins by team

Rivalries

The Big Rivalry *

Sagesse Club ''Sagesse'' (literal trans. "Wisdom") is a volume of French poetry by Paul Verlaine. First published in 1881 (see 1880), it was important in the symbolist Symbolism was a late 19th-century art movement of French and Belgian origin in poetry ...

. Other Rivalries *

vs Champville * Homenetmen Beirut vs

* Champville vs

* Tadamon Zouk vs

Notable players

* Bassel Bawji *

Rony Fahed Rony Fahed (born November 6, 1981 in Achrafieh, Lebanon) is a Lebanese professional basketball player currently a free agent in the Lebanese Basketball League. He was also a member of the Lebanon national basketball team that participated in ...

Rodrigue Akl Rodrigue Akl (born 30 September 1988) is a Lebanese basketball player for Beirut Club of the Lebanese Basketball League. He is a six-foot-one-inch tall point guard, and is generally regarded as one of the best players of Lebanon at his position. ...

Roy Samaha Roy Nicolas Samaha (born 12 September 1984 in Zahlé) is a retired (from the 1st division) Lebanese professional basketball player. He was a key player in the Lebanon national basketball team and participated lately in the 2006 FIBA World Cham ...

* Ali Haidar *

Elie Stephan Elie Stephan (alternatively Elie Estephan; born July 20, 1986 in Ghosta, Lebanon) is a professional Lebanese basketball player who is currently a member of Lebanese Basketball League team Byblos Club. He is also a member of Lebanon national bask ...

* Elie Rustom * Elie Mechantaf *

Ali Mezher Ali Mezher (born 22 March 1994 in Beirut) is a professional Lebanese professional basketball who plays for Beirut Club (basketball) in the Lebanese Basketball League. In the 2016–2017 season, Ali played for Hoops Club and averaged 17.9 ppg, ...

* Wael Arakji * Mohammad Ibrahim * Ahmad Ibrahim *

Amir Saoud Amir Saoud ( ar, أمير سعود, born January 18, 1991) is a Lebanese professional basketball player currently playing for Sporting Al Riyadi Beirut in the Lebanese Basketball League The Lebanese Basketball League is the top-tier professiona ...

Fadi El Khatib Fadi El Khatib ( ar, فادي الخطيب; born January 1, 1979), nicknamed "the Lebanese Tiger", is a Lebanese professional basketball player who plays in the Lebanese Basketball League for Sagesse. El Khatib played for several teams in the L ...

* Joe Vogel *

Ali Mahmoud Ali Mahmoud ( ar, علي محمود) is Lebanese-Canadian basketball player. Career Mahmoud was born on May 28, 1983, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, to Toufic and Gina Mahmoud, who had immigrated to Canada. He played with St. Patrick's High Schoo ...

* Brian Beshara *

Jean Abdelnour Jean Abdel-Nour ( ar, جان عبد النور, born 29 November 1983) is a Lebanese basketball player. He had a successful 2002–03 season with Ghazir which led him to be signed by the Bluestars for the 2003–04 season. He stayed with the B ...

* Sabah Khoury * Omar El Turk * Ghaleb Rida * Ali Kanaan *

Billy Pharis William Pharis (born April 21, 1981) was a Lebanese American basketball player. He is a six-foot-nine-inch tall (2.06m) forward currently playing with Union Byblos Amchit (UBA) and Lebanon national basketball team. Pharis attended University ...

Daniel Faris Daniel Faris (born 2 May 1987) is a Lebanese-American basketball player who plays for Champville SC and . He is a tall Power forward (basketball), power forward-Center (basketball), center. College career Faris played four years of NCAA Division ...

* Matt Freije */

Ekene Ibekwe Ekenechukwu Brian "Ekene" Ibekwe (born July 19, 1985) is a Nigerian American professional basketball player for Urunday Universitario of the Liga Uruguaya de Básquetbol. He played college basketball for the University of Maryland at Colle ...

Ace Custis Adrian "Ace" Custis (born May 24, 1974) is a American basketball coach and former professional basketball player. He last played in Japan with the Wakayama Trians and is now an NCAA Division I coach. After a severe knee injury while trying out f ...

DeWayne Jackson Dewayne Jackson (born November 30, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for Sagesse Club in the Lebanese Basketball League. He played for Homenetmen Club in the 2016-17 season and he averaged 21.1 points per game, 5.6 rebounds, 2.8 ...

* Patrick Rembert *

Dion Dixon Diontae "Dion" Dwayne Dixon (born December 24, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for Obras Sanitarias. He played college basketball at the University of Cincinnati. College career Dixon played 4 seasons of college basketball at ...

* Corey Williams *

Samaki Walker Samaki Ijuma Walker (born February 25, 1976) is an American retired professional basketball power forward and center. Walker played college basketball at the University of Louisville and was drafted in 1996 by the Dallas Mavericks, where he pla ...

* Brian Cook * Tony Madison * Alvin Sims *

C.J. Giles Chester Jarrel "C. J." Giles, Jr. (born September 23, 1985) is an American-Bahraini professional basketball player for Ezzahra Sports of the Championnat National A, as well as national player for Bahrain. He previously played for Pelita Jaya Bask ...

Darryl Watkins Darryl Finesse Watkins (born November 8, 1984) is an American former professional basketball player who played for BTN CLS Knights Indonesia of the Asean Basketball League. He is a former college basketball player for the Syracuse Orange who has ...

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 ...

* Herbert Hill *

Jumaine Jones Jumaine Lanard Jones (born February 10, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player. An NBA player from 1999 to 2007 drafted from the University of Georgia, he played the small forward and power forward positions. Amateur career ...

Loren Woods Loren is a given name, nickname and surname which may refer to: Given name Men * Loren Acton (born 1936), American physicist and astronaut * Loren C. Ball (born 1948), amateur astronomer who has discovered more than 100 asteroids * Loren M. Berry ...

* Priest Lauderdale *

Dewarick Spencer Dewarick Antwain Spencer (born May 4, 1982) is an American and Egyptian professional basketball player who plays for Zamalek of the Egyptian Basketball Super League. Nicknamed "Dee," he is tall and plays both point guard and shooting guard posi ...

* Flip Murray * Desmond Penigar * Rasheim Wright *

Marcus Haislip Marcus Deshon Haislip (born December 22, 1980) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and other top leagues. Haislip attended Marshall County High School in Lewisburg, Tennesse ...

Harold Jamison Harold Sherill Jamison (born November 20, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player. Born in Orangeburg, South Carolina, he is 6'8" and played at power forward. Basketball career In college, Jamison played for Clemson Univers ...

Andre Emmett Andre Emmett (August 27, 1982 – September 23, 2019) was an American professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Texas Tech Red Raiders, and was named a consensus All-American as a senior in 2004. He had brief stints ...

* Nate Johnson *

Marc Salyers Marc Douglas Salyers (born February 28, 1979) is an American retired professional basketball player. He played at the small forward and power forward positions. College career Salyers played college basketball at Samford University with the ...

* Earl Barron *

Scotty Thurman Scotty Thurman (born November 10, 1974) is an American former professional basketball player and current assistant coach, perhaps best known as the Arkansas Razorbacks' shooting guard who hit the high-arcing go-ahead three-pointer with 50.7 sec ...

* Rick Hughes * DeShawn Sims * Aaron Harper * LeRoy Hurd *

Tre Kelley Alfrie Eugene "Tre" Kelley III (born January 23, 1985) is an American professional basketball player for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the University of South Carolina. High school career Kelley ...

Sam Hoskin Samuel Lonzo Hoskin (born December 29, 1979) is an American-Lebanese former professional basketball player. Career Hoskin was born in Detroit, Michigan. He played his high school basketball at Bishop Borgess High School in Detroit. Hoskin p ...

* Quincy Douby * Ronnie Fields *

Willie Burton Willie Ricardo Burton (born May 26, 1968) is an American former professional basketball player who was selected by the Miami Heat in the first round (9th overall pick) in the 1990 NBA draft from the University of Minnesota. Burton played for n ...

* Marlon Parmer *

Booker Woodfox Booker Woodfox (born September 6, 1986) is an American former professional basketball player. He was an All-American player at Creighton University. College career Woodfox, a 6'1" guard from Lewisville High School in Lewisville, Texas, played two ...

* Reyshawn Terry * DerMarr Johnson * Rashad Anderson *

Jerald Honeycutt Jerald DeWayne Honeycutt (born October 20, 1974) is an American former professional basketball player. Honeycutt played high school basketball at Grambling Lab in Grambling, Louisiana. He played collegiately at Tulane University, where he finis ...

Hassan Whiteside Hassan Niam Whiteside (born June 13, 1989) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Marshall Thundering Herd before bei ...

Terrell Stoglin Terrell DeVon Stoglin (born November 10, 1991) is an American professional basketball player for AS Douanes of the Basketball Africa League (BAL). He served as the starting shooting guard for the University of Maryland, where he played coll ...

* Dickey Simpkins * Cedric Henderson *

Jeremiah Massey Jeremiah Massey ( mk, Џеремаја Мејси; born July 22, 1982) is an American-born naturalized Macedonian professional basketball player who last played Ciclista Olímpico of the Liga Nacional de Básquet. Standing at 6 ft 7 in (2.0 ...

Ruben Patterson Ruben Nathaniel Patterson (born July 31, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player. During his career, he played as a small forward and shooting guard. During his college career at the University of Cincinnati, Patterson earned ...

Rashad McCants Rashad Dion McCants (born September 25, 1984) is an American former professional basketball player who has played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as well as overseas. He played for Trilogy in the BIG3 three-on-three league. High schoo ...

* Sherell Ford *

Jamal Robinson Jamal Tyrone Robinson (born December 27, 1973) is an American retired basketball small forward who played one season in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Miami Heat during the 2000–01 season. Born in Queens, New York ...

Aleksandar Radojević Aleksandar Radojević ( sr-cyr, Александар Радојевић, ; born August 8, 1976) is a Bosnian former professional basketball player. Standing at , he played the center position. Radojević represented the Bosnia and Herzegovina na ...

Alpha Bangura Alpha Mohamed Bangura (born February 4, 1980) is a Libyan-Sierra Leonean former professional basketball player who competed as a member of the Libya national basketball team at the FIBA Africa Championship 2009. Amateur career Bangura is a gradu ...

* Ismail Ahmed *

Salah Mejri Salah Mejri ( ar, صالح الماجري; born June 15, 1986) is a Tunisian professional basketball player for Beirut Club. He also represents the senior Tunisian national basketball team internationally. Standing at , he plays at the center ...

* Ali Traore *

Ndudi Ebi Ndudi Hamani Ebi (born 18 June 1984) is an English-born Nigerian former professional 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 ...

Nikoloz Tskitishvili Nikoloz Tskitishvili ( ka, ნიკოლოზ ცქიტიშვილი; born April 14, 1983) is a Georgian former professional basketball player. He is a 7'0" forward- center, who was selected fifth overall by the Denver Nuggets in the ...

Jeleel Akindele Akindele Jeleel Ayodeji (born April 2, 1983) is a Nigerian professional basketball player for the Halcones de Xalapa of the Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional (LNBP). Collegiate career Akindele chose Chicago State over Rutgers, St. Peters ...

* Dalibor Bagarić * Asghar Kardoust *

Hamed Haddadi Hamed Ehdadi Haddadi ( fa, حامد حدادی, , born May 19, 1985) is an Iranian professional basketball player for Sichuan Blue Whales of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He plays at the center position and is 7'2" (2.18 meters) tal ...

Ratko Varda Ratko Varda ( sr-cyr, Ратко Варда; born May 6, 1979) is a Serbian-Bosnian former basketball player who played professionally for 22 years. Standing at , he played the center position. He first represented FR Yugoslavia/Serbia and Monten ...

* Vladan Vukosavljević *

Sani Sakakini Sani Sakakini ( ar, سني سكاكيني; born August 19, 1988) is a Palestinian professional basketball player. He ranks second all-time highest in the FIBA Asia Championship in scoring average, after the 2015 edition where he ranked first in s ...

Michael Madanly Micheal Madanly (born 10 March 1981 in Aleppo), better known as Michel Madanly or just Micho, is a Syrian professional basketball player. Most known in his prime playing for Jalaa SC's basketball programme from 2004 to 2011, he also played in a ...

Marcus Banks Arthur Lemarcus "Marcus" Banks III (born November 19, 1981) is an American former professional basketball player. Banks is tall and . He played college basketball at the UNLV with the Runnin' Rebels, where he was Co-Defensive Player of the Year ...

Walter Hodge Walter Wallace Hodge Muñoz (born September 21, 1986) is a Puerto Rican- U.S. Virgin Islander professional basketball player who plays for Al Ahly of the Egyptian Basketball Super League. Internationally, Hodge plays with the senior U.S. Virgin ...

* Makrem Ben Romdhane *

Sam Young (basketball) Samuel David Young (born June 1, 1985) is an American/Lebanese former professional basketball player for Homenetmen Beirut of the Lebanese Basketball League and the Lebanese National Basketball Team. He played college basketball at the Unive ...

Rony Seikaly Rony is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Ronielson da Silva Barbosa, Brazilian footballer better known as Rony * Rony Ahonen (born 1987), Finnish ice hockey defenceman *Rony Bakale (born 1987), Olympic swimmer from the Repub ...

Notable coaches

* Ghassan Sarkis *

Joe Moujaes Joe or JOE may refer to: Arts Film and television * ''Joe'' (1970 film), starring Peter Boyle * ''Joe'' (2013 film), starring Nicolas Cage * ''Joe'' (TV series), a British TV series airing from 1966 to 1971 * ''Joe'', a 2002 Canadian animated ...

Joe Ghattas Joe or JOE may refer to: Arts Film and television * ''Joe'' (1970 film), starring Peter Boyle * ''Joe'' (2013 film), starring Nicolas Cage * ''Joe'' (TV series), a British TV series airing from 1966 to 1971 * ''Joe'', a 2002 Canadian animated ...

George Geagea George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...

Slobodan Subotić Slobodan "Piksi" Subotić ( sr-Cyrl, Слободан Суботић, el, Σλόμπονταν Σούμποτιτς; born 15 August 1956) is a Slovenian professional basketball coach and former player. He last served as the head coach for Budu� ...

* Ilias Zouros * Nenad Vucinic *

Veselin Matic Veselin (Cyrillic script: Веселин) is a masculine given name of Slavic origin. It may refer to: *Veselin Beshevliev (1900–1992), Bulgarian historian and philologist * Veselin Bliznakov (born 1944), Bulgarian politician *Veselin Branimirov ...

Dragan Raca Dragan Raca ( sr-cyr, Драган Раца; born 3 March 1961) is a Cypriot–Serbian basketball coach and former player. He used to be the coach of the national basketball teams of Lebanon, Cyprus and North Macedonia national basketball team. He ...

Tab Baldwin Thomas Anthony "Tab" Baldwin (born 16 May 1958) is an American-New Zealand basketball coach who currently serves as the head of the Gilas Pilipinas Youth national basketball program and head coach for the Ateneo Blue Eagles of the University ...

Women's league

2019–20 teams: * Antranik SC * Al Riyadi Club Beirut * Homenetmen Antelias * Hoops Club *

Chabibeh The Lebanese Basketball League is the top-tier professional men's basketball list of basketball leagues, league in Lebanon. It is organized annually as a national championship with playoffs and a national cup by the Lebanese Basketball Federation ...

* Energy Sports Club

References

External links

Lebanese Basketball Federation (FLB) website

Lebanese Basketball League Facebook

Lebanese Basketball League Twitter

Lebanese Basketball League Twitter
{{Women's professional basketball leagues Lea Basketball leagues in Asia Women's basketball leagues in Asia Sports leagues established in 1992 1992 establishments in Lebanon

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 ...