The VTB United League () is an international professional men's club

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 League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football * ''League of Legends'', a 2009 multiplayer online battle a ...

that was founded in 2009. It is made up of mostly

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

n clubs, along with one each from

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

and

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

. Since

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

, it is the first tier of Russian professional club basketball. Therefore, the highest placed Russian team in the league can also be named the Russian national champions. The league is sponsored by Russian state-owned

VTB Bank VTB Bank (; formerly known as ''Vneshtorgbank'', , lit. 'International Trade Bank') is a Russian majority state-owned bank headquartered in various federal districts of Russia; its legal address is registered as St. Petersburg. As of 2022, ...

. In 2009

CSKA Moscow CSKA Moscow () is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet Union, Soviet era, it was the central part of the Armed Forces (sports ...

won VTB United League Promo-Cup, but this competition does not count as official VTB title. CSKA has dominated the league, having won majority of titles its existence. The VTB United League also holds a youth competition, the

VTB United Youth League The VTB United Youth League () is a basketball tournament that is contested between the youth teams of basketball clubs from the VTB United League. The league is sponsored by VTB Bank. The reigning champion is Zenit M after defeating 68:71 after o ...

History

The first step in the creation of the league was a competition named the VTB United League Promo-Cup held in Moscow in December 2009. The final of the Promo-Cup was played on December 22, 2009, and was won by

, who defeated

Khimki Khimki (, ) is a city in Moscow Oblast, Russia. It is located approximately northwest from central Moscow, and is part of the Moscow metropolitan area. History Origins and formation Khimki was initially a railway station that had existed sin ...

70–66.

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

ended third.

Unification with the Russian PBL

In May 2012, all the PBL clubs gathered to decide which format would be used for the next season, and some club's directors raised the possibility of uniting with the VTB United League, to produce greater competition between the Russian basketball clubs. They suggested that the new league be named the Eastern European Professional Basketball League. In July 2012, the Council of VTB United League decided that the PBL league would continue for one more year, with some games of the VTB United League that took place between two Russian clubs being counted as PBL games. The first tier Russian clubs then replaced the PBL with the VTB United League as their new national domestic league, starting with the 2013-14 season. The VTB United League was recognized by

FIBA Europe FIBA Europe is the administrative body for basketball in Europe, within the FIBA, International Basketball Federation (FIBA), which includes all List of men's national basketball teams#FIBA Europe, 50 national European basketball federations. ...

in September 2013. The league was then officially recognized by

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

in October 2014. The league needed to be recognized by both bodies, because it contains clubs that come from countries that are part of both the European and Asian FIBA zones. The honorary head of the league is

Sergei Ivanov Sergei Borisovich Ivanov (, ; born 31 January 1953) is a Russian senior official and politician who has been serving as the Special Presidential Envoy on the Issues of Environmental Activities, Ecology and Transport since 12 August 2016. He h ...

and its official sponsor is

Pavel Vrublevsky Pavel Olegovich Vrublevsky (; born 26 December 1978) is a Russian, owner and general manager of the processing company ChronoPay. He is also the founder of investment company RNP and a Russian Forbes contributor on matters relating to blockchain ...

ChronoPay Pavel Olegovich Vrublevsky (; born 26 December 1978) is a Russian, owner and general manager of the processing company ChronoPay. He is also the founder of investment company RNP and a Russian Forbes contributor on matters relating to blockchai ...

Formats

In its inaugural 2009–10 season, the VTB United League featured clubs from

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

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 ...

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

, Russia, and

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

. For the 2010–11 season, teams from Belarus,

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

, and

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

were added to the league. The 2011–12 season featured 18 teams, with new teams being added from the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

and Kazakhstan. In the 2012–13 season, the number of teams increased to 20. The number of teams decreased to 16 for the 2014–15 season, and the teams from

and

dropped out of the league. During the 2021–22 season, ten teams were left to compete after the Polish and Estonian clubs withdrew from the league in protest against the

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 ...

. As of the 2024-2025 season there were 12 teams

Arena rules

In order for clubs to play in the VTB United League, they must have a home arena that has a seating capacity of at least 3,000 seats.

Team appearances

Results

: The whole 2008 tournament was staged in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, including the Final Four. 2008 tournament does not count as official VTB title.

Titles by club

Abroad competitions

Major awards

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

* Playoffs MVP *

Coach of the Year Many sports leagues, sportswriting associations, and other organizations confer "Coach of the Year" awards. In some sports — including baseball and association football — the award is called the "Manager of the Year" award. Some of the ...

Young Player of the Year Young may refer to: * Offspring, the product of reproduction of a new organism produced by one or more parents * Youth, the time of life when one's age is low, often meaning the time between childhood and adulthood Music * The Young, an America ...

Sixth Man of the Year The National Basketball Association's Sixth Man of the Year (colloquially known as the 6MOY) is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1982–83 NBA season to the league's best performing player for his team coming ...

Defensive Player of the Year Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY or DPOTY) is the name of an award given in sports for outstanding defensive play by a single player over the course of a season. Many sports leagues award this type of award. League awards for Defensive Player o ...

Awards by nationality

* Top Belarusian player * Top Estonian player * Top Kazakh player * Top Latvian player * Top Russian player

Statistical awards

* Scoring leader * Rebounding leader * Assist leader * Steals leader * Block leader * Free throw percentage leader

Records

Sponsorship

Andrey Kostin Andrey Leonidovich Kostin (; born September 21, 1956) is a Russian businessman who is chairman of the United Shipbuilding Corporation's Board of Directors since August 25, 2023. President and Chairman of the Board of VTB since June 10, 2002 E ...

has been a long-term league sponsor. However, it recorded losses of connected to other sponsorships (

FC Dynamo Moscow FC Dynamo Moscow (''FC Dynamo Moskva'', , ) is a Russian professional association football, football club based in Moscow. Dynamo returned to the Russian Premier League for the 2017–18 season after one season in the second-tier Russian Footba ...

and

HC Dynamo Moscow HC Dynamo Moscow () is a professional ice hockey club based in Moscow, Russia. It is a member of the Tarasov Division in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). Dynamo has won the Gagarin Cup twice, in 2011–12 KHL season, 2011–12 and 2012–13 ...

) and contributions to charities. This led to the

Bank of Moscow The Bank of Moscow () was a Russian bank that provided banking services to both corporate and retail customers until May 2016. Headquartered in Moscow, the bank had 267 outlets, including branch offices and cash desks. BoM had over 114,000 corpor ...

joining as main sponsor.

Predecessor leagues

* USSR Premier League: (1923–1992) * Russian Super League 1 ( 1st-tier): (1992–2010) * Russian Professional League: (2010–2013)

References

External links

Official website
{{Top sport leagues in Russia Basketball leagues in Estonia Basketball leagues in Latvia Basketball leagues in Lithuania Basketball leagues in Russia Basketball leagues in Ukraine Basketball leagues in Belarus 2009 establishments in Russia Sports leagues established in 2009 Professional sports leagues in Russia Professional sports leagues in Poland Professional sports leagues in Belarus Multi-national professional sports leagues Basketball leagues in Poland Multi-national basketball leagues in Europe