Greek Basket League

Greek Basket League

Upcoming season or competition: 2016–17 Greek Basket League
Sport	Basketball
Founded	1927
Inaugural season	1927–28
Commissioner	Michalis Mellis
No. of teams	14
Country	Greece
Continent	FIBA Europe (Europe)
Most recent champion(s)	Olympiacos (12th title)
Most titles	Panathinaikos (34 titles)
TV partner(s)	OTE Sport Nova Sports
Level on pyramid	1st Tier
Relegation to	Greek A2 Basket League - 2nd Tier
Domestic cup(s)	Greek Cup
International cup(s)	EuroLeague (1st tier) Champions League (3rd tier)
Official website	Esake.gr (Greek) Esake.gr (English)

Nikos Galis, 8× Greek League Champion, 11x Greek League Top Scorer, 5x Greek League MVP, and 5x Greek League Finals MVP.

The Greek Basket League (GBL), often referred to as the Greek Basketball League, Greek A1 Basketball League, or Greek Basketball Championship (originally called Panhellenic Basketball Championship), is the 1st tier professional basketball league in Greece. It is run by HEBA (Greek: ΕΣΑΚΕ), under the legal authority of the Hellenic Basketball Federation (E.O.K.). The league is also known as the Stoiximan.gr Greek Basket League for sponsorship reasons.^[1]

It consists of 14 teams and runs from October to June, with teams playing 26 games each during the regular season, and the top 8 teams then competing in the playoffs.^[2] The first official Greek Basketball Championship was held in the 1927–28 season. The league first held a playoff round in the 1986–87 season.

The league has always been ranked as one of the top 3-5 level national domestic leagues in European basketball, since league rankings began. For further information, see historical European national basketball league rankings, and European national basketball league rankings.

History

Dimitris Diamantidis, 9× Greek League Champion, 6x Greek League MVP, and 6x Greek League Finals MVP.

Basketball first came to Greece in the year 1910. By the 1927–28 season, the first official Greek basketball championship began. The league was originally organized by the Hellenic Amateur Athletic Association (SEGAS). There have been four different official championship eras. The first era was the Panhellenic Championship (Πανελλήνιο Πρωτάθλημα), which lasted from the 1927–28 to 1962–63 seasons, when the champions of every regional district played each other to decide the Greek Champion. The second era started in the 1963–64 season, when the A National Category (Α' Εθνική Κατηγορία), or Alpha National Category was founded.

In 1969, the Hellenic Basketball Federation (E.O.K.) took over the duties of overseeing the competition, and did so until the year 1992. The third era of the championship existed between the 1986–87 and 1991–92 seasons, when the first division A1 National Category (Α1 Εθνική Κατηγορία), with a regular season and playoffs, and the second division A2 National Category (Α2 Εθνική Κατηγορία) were formed. The 1988–89 season, marked the first time that Greek Basket League teams were allowed to have foreign players on their rosters.^[3]

The fourth era of the championship began in the 1992–93 season, when the Hellenic Basketball Clubs Association (HEBA) took over the competition and renamed the first division the HEBA A1 (ΕΣΑΚΕ Α1). The league was then renamed to Greek Basket League (Ελληνικό Μπαςκετ Λιγκ), starting with the 2010–11 season.

The Greek League has been one of the most competitive basketball leagues in Europe through the years, and it was widely regarded as the second best national domestic league in the world, after only the NBA, in the 1990s decade. It currently ranks among the best national domestic leagues in the world (excluding the NBA), such as Liga ACB in Spain, VTB United League (counts as the domestic league for Russian clubs), and BSL in Turkey. It has always been considered one of the top 3-5 European national domestic leagues under the historical European national basketball league rankings and European national basketball league rankings.

The league has several European historical basketball powers, which also belong to some of the most traditional European basketball clubs, especially the EuroLeague giants Panathinaikos and Olympiacos, which are two of the most successful European basketball clubs of all-time. Also, Aris Thessaloniki, led by Nikos Galis, Panagiotis Giannakis, and Slobodan "Lefteris" Subotić, was the dominant Greek club, and one of the most powerful European teams in the 1980s. Other clubs that have had significant success throughout the history of Greek basketball, as well as success in European basketball, are AEK (which had great success in the 1960s) and PAOK, while Panellinios was one of the premiere basketball clubs in Europe in the early days of European-wide club basketball, in the 1950s. The first five aforementioned clubs (Panathinaikos, Olympiacos, Aris, AEK, and PAOK), are also the most widely supported by fans in Greece.

Despite the championship having been contested 76 times, only nine different clubs have won it so far. The dominating club has always been Panathinaikos, having claimed the championship 34 times. Since the foundation of the Alpha National Category in the 1963–64 season, only two teams have participated in every season of the competition, Panathinaikos and Aris.

Logo

Vassilis Spanoulis, 7× Greek League Champion, 3x Greek League MVP, and 3x Greek League Finals MVP.

The main elements of the logo were changed in 2013.^[4]

• 

  2012–2013

• 

  2013–present

Promotion and relegation

The championship, in its current form, has been organized since the 1992–93 season by the Hellenic Basketball Clubs Association (HEBA). 30 pro Greek basketball teams are split into two different divisions. The first division championship, which is called the "A1", in which 14 teams compete for the Greek National Championship, and the second division championship, which is called the "A2", in which 16 teams compete for the second division crown. The bottom two place finishing teams each year in the A1 division standings are relegated to the A2 division, due to poor performance. While conversely, the top two teams each year from the A2 division are promoted to the A1 division, due to good performance.

Arena standards

Currently, Greek clubs must play their home games in arenas that seat at least 1,000 people in order to play Greek domestic league matches. Several Greek clubs have two arenas that they primarily use. One for domestic Greek League matches, and one for European-wide matches.

Greek clubs that play in the EuroLeague or the EuroCup, must play their home games in those leagues in arenas that fit the arena standards of those leagues. Currently, a 5,000 seat arena minimum for the EuroLeague, and a 3,000 seat arena minimum for the EuroCup.

Foreign player regulations

Greek Basket League teams were first allowed to have foreign (non-Greek) players on their rosters in the 1988–89 season.^[5]

Under the league's current foreign player rules, Greek Basket League teams must have at least 6 Greek players on their active 12 man game rosters. Each team is allowed to have up to 6 foreign (non-Greek) players, on their active 12 man game roster. There are no restrictions on the number of foreign players allowed by country of origin. Meaning that for example, any team in the league could sign up to 6 American players, or up to 6 Canadian players, or up to 6 players from European countries, etc.^[6]

Current clubs

The clubs for the 2016–17 season:

Club	Position 2015–16	Greek League Arena	Capacity	EuroLeague/EuroCup Arena*	Capacity
AEK	3rd	Nikos Galis Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi	19,250	Nikos Galis Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi	19,250
Apollon Patras	10th	Apollon Patras Indoor Hall, Patras	3,500	Apollon Patras Indoor Hall, Patras	3,500
Aris	4th	Alexandrio Melathron, Thessaloniki	5,138[7]	Alexandrio Melathron, Thessaloniki	5,138
Doxa Lefkadas	6th (A2)	Lefkada Indoor Hall, Lefkada City	1,200
Kolossos	7th	Venetoklio Indoor Hall, Rhodes City	1,700
Koroivos	12th	Amaliada Indoor Hall, Koroivos	2,000[8]
Kymis	1st (A2)	Tasos Kabouris Kanithou Indoor Hall (Chalcis)	1,620
Lavrio	11th	Lavrio Indoor Hall, Lavrio	1,700
Olympiacos	1st	Peace and Friendship Stadium, Piraeus	12,000	Peace and Friendship Stadium, Piraeus	12,000
Panathinaikos	2nd	Nikos Galis Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi	19,250	Nikos Galis Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi	19,250
PAOK	5th	PAOK Sports Arena, Pylaia	8,500[9]	PAOK Sports Arena, Pylaia	8,500
Promitheas Patras	3rd (A2)	Dimitris Tofalos Arena, Patras	4,150	Dimitris Tofalos Arena, Patras	4,150
Rethymno Cretan Kings	8th	Rethymno Indoor Hall, Rethymno	1,600
Trikala	9th	Trikala Indoor Hall, Trikala	2,500

• *Arenas that meet Euroleague Basketball Company European arena requirements, and where the clubs play their home games at if they are competing in the EuroLeague and/or the EuroCup.

Athens

Athens teams
AEK
Panathinaikos

Aris
PAOK

Rethymno

Apollon

Trikala

Koroivos

Lavrio

Kolossos

Olympiacos

Kymis

Promitheas

Doxa

2016–17 Greek Basket League season club locations.

Championship history

• 1927–28 to 1962–63  Panhellenic Championship
• 1963–64 to 1985–86  A National Category
• 1986–87 to 1991–92  A1 National Category
• 1992–93 to 2011–12  HEBA A1
• 2012–13 to present  Greek Basket League

Title holders

1927–28 Iraklis 1928–29 Panellinios 1929–30 Aris 1930–34 Not held 1934–35 Iraklis 1935–36 Near East 1936–37 Athens University 1937–38 Not held 1938–39 Panellinios 1939–40 Panellinios 1940–45 Not held due to WW II 1945–46 Panathinaikos 1946–47 Panathinaikos 1947–48 Not held 1948–49 Olympiacos 1949–50 Panathinaikos 1950–51 Panathinaikos 1951–52 Not held 1952–53 Panellinios 1953–54 Panathinaikos 1954–55 Panellinios

1955–56 Not held 1956–57 Panellinios 1957–58 AEK 1958–59 PAOK 1959–60 Olympiacos 1960–61 Panathinaikos 1961–62 Panathinaikos 1962–63 AEK 1963–64 AEK 1964–65 AEK 1965–66 AEK 1966–67 Panathinaikos 1967–68 AEK 1968–69 Panathinaikos 1969–70 AEK 1970–71 Panathinaikos 1971–72 Panathinaikos 1972–73 Panathinaikos 1973–74 Panathinaikos 1974–75 Panathinaikos 1975–76 Olympiacos

1976–77 Panathinaikos 1977–78 Olympiacos 1978–79 Aris 1979–80 Panathinaikos 1980–81 Panathinaikos 1981–82 Panathinaikos 1982–83 Aris 1983–84 Panathinaikos 1984–85 Aris 1985–86 Aris 1986–87 Aris 1987–88 Aris 1988–89 Aris 1989–90 Aris 1990–91 Aris 1991–92 PAOK 1992–93 Olympiacos 1993–94 Olympiacos 1994–95 Olympiacos 1995–96 Olympiacos 1996–97 Olympiacos

1997–98 Panathinaikos 1998–99 Panathinaikos 1999–00 Panathinaikos 2000–01 Panathinaikos 2001–02 AEK 2002–03 Panathinaikos 2003–04 Panathinaikos 2004–05 Panathinaikos 2005–06 Panathinaikos 2006–07 Panathinaikos 2007–08 Panathinaikos 2008–09 Panathinaikos 2009–10 Panathinaikos 2010–11 Panathinaikos 2011–12 Olympiacos 2012–13 Panathinaikos 2013–14 Panathinaikos 2014–15 Olympiacos 2015–16 Olympiacos

Performance by club

Titles	Club	Years
34	Panathinaikos	1945–46, 1946–47, 1949–50, 1950–51, 1953–54, 1960–61, 1961–62, 1966–67, 1968–69, 1970–71, 1971–72, 1972–73, 1973–74, 1974–75, 1976–77, 1979–80, 1980–81, 1981–82, 1983–84, 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–00, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2012–13, 2013–14
12	Olympiacos	1948–49, 1959–60, 1975–76, 1977–78, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1994–95, 1995–96, 1996–97, 2011–12, 2014–15, 2015–16
10	Aris	1929–30, 1978–79, 1982–83, 1984–85, 1985–86, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1988–89, 1989–90, 1990–91
8	AEK	1957–58, 1962–63, 1963–64, 1964–65, 1965–66, 1967–68, 1969–70, 2001–02
6	Panellinios	1928–29, 1938–39, 1939–40, 1952–53, 1954–55, 1956–57
2	Iraklis	1927–28, 1934–35
	PAOK	1958–59, 1991–92
1	Near East	1935–36
	Athens University	1936–37

A1 Finals

Season	Home court advantage	Result	Home court disadvantage	1st of Regular Season	Regular Season Record
1986–87	Aris	3–0	Panionios	Aris	18–0
1987–88	Aris	3–0	PAOK	Aris	18–0
1988–89	Aris	3–1	PAOK	Aris	17–1
1989–90				Aris	20–2
1990–91	Aris	4–2	PAOK	Aris	20–2
1991–92	PAOK	4–1	Olympiacos	PAOK	20–2
1992–93	Panathinaikos	1–3	Olympiacos	PAOK	22–4
1993–94	Olympiacos	3–2	PAOK	Olympiacos	22–4
1994–95	Olympiacos	3–2	Panathinaikos	Olympiacos	24–2
1995–96	Olympiacos	3–2	Panathinaikos	Olympiacos	24–2
1996–97	Olympiacos	3–1	AEK	Olympiacos	21–5
1997–98	Panathinaikos	3–2	PAOK	Panathinaikos	21–5
1998–99	Olympiacos	2–3	Panathinaikos	Olympiacos	21–5
1999–00	Panathinaikos	3–0	PAOK	Olympiacos	21–5
2000–01	Panathinaikos	3–2	Olympiacos	Panathinaikos	22–4
2001–02	AEK	3–2	Olympiacos	AEK	23–3
2002–03	Panathinaikos	3–1	AEK	Panathinaikos	21–5
2003–04	Panathinaikos	3–0	Maroussi	Panathinaikos	22–4
2004–05	Panathinaikos	3–1	AEK	Panathinaikos	22–4
2005–06	Panathinaikos	3–0	Olympiacos	Panathinaikos	24–2
2006–07	Panathinaikos	3–2	Olympiacos	Panathinaikos	24–2
2007–08	Panathinaikos	3–2	Olympiacos	Panathinaikos	23–3
2008–09	Olympiacos	1–3	Panathinaikos	Olympiacos	25–1
2009–10	Panathinaikos	3–1	Olympiacos	Panathinaikos	25–1
2010–11	Olympiacos	1–3	Panathinaikos	Olympiacos	26–0
2011–12	Olympiacos	3–2	Panathinaikos	Olympiacos	23–1
2012–13	Olympiacos	0–3	Panathinaikos	Olympiacos	25–1
2013–14	Panathinaikos	3–2	Olympiacos	Panathinaikos	25–1
2014–15	Olympiacos	3–0	Panathinaikos	Olympiacos	25–1
2015–16	Olympiacos	3–1	Panathinaikos	Olympiacos	25–1

A1 finals participation by club

Club	W	L	Total
Panathinaikos	15	6	21
Olympiacos	8	12	20
Aris	4	0	4
PAOK	1	6	7
AEK	1	3	4
Panionios	0	1	1
Maroussi	0	1	1

Number of seasons in the A and A1 National Categories by club (1963–64 - 2016–17)

The number of times that clubs participated in the top A National Category, while it existed from the 1963–64 season to the 1985–86 season. As well as the number of times that clubs have participated in the top A1 National Category, since it began with the 1986–87 season. Only two clubs, Panathinaikos and Aris, have played in the top division every year since its formation.

• 1963–64 to 1985–86: A National Category
• 1986–87 to 1991–92: A1 National Category
• 1992–93 to 2009–10: HEBA A1
• 2010–11 to present: Greek Basket League

Club Times Panathinaikos 54 Aris 54 PAOK 53 AEK 51 Olympiacos 51 Panionios 44 Iraklis 41 Apollon Patras 32 Sporting 31 Panellinios 30 Maroussi 24 Peristeri 22 Pagrati 17 Gymnastikos 12 HANTH 12 Ionikos Nikaias 12 Kolossos 11 Dimokritos 9 Dafni 8 Irakleio 8 Ilysiakos 8

Club Times Rethymno 7 Near East 7 Papagou 7 Olympia 7 Makedonikos 6 Esperos 6 Kavala 6 KAOD 5 VAO 5 Trikala Aries 4 Ionikos NF 4 Triton 4 Amyntas 4 Ikaros 4 Koroivos 3 AE Larissas 3 AENK 3 Panelefsiniakos 3 Egaleo 3 Aetos 3 Lavrio 2 Trikala 2000 2

Club Times Olympias Patras 2 Anatolia 2 HAN Nikaias 2 Apollon Kalamarias 2 Niki Volou 2 Philippos 2 Milon 2 Ampelokipoi 2 Peiraikos 2 Doxa Lefkadas 1 Promitheas 1 Kymis 1 Arkadikos 1 MENT 1 Pierikos 1

The best regular season records in the history of the A and A1 National Categories (1963–2015)

^[10][11]

• 1963–64 to 1985–86: A National Category
• 1986–87 to 1991–92: A1 National Category
• 1992–93 to 2009–10: HEBA A1
• 2010–11 to present: Greek Basket League

The A and A1 National Category (1963–2015)

Season	Team	Regular Season Record	Playoff Record	Final Record (Including Playoffs)	Final Season Result
1985–86	Aris	26-0	0-0	26-0	Champion
1967–68	AEK	22-0	0-0	22-0	Champion
1975–76	Olympiacos	22-0	0-0	22-0	Champion
1986–87	Aris	18-0	3-0	21-0	Champion
1987–88	Aris	18-0	3-0	21-0	Champion
1979–80	Panathinaikos	16-0	12-2	28-2	Champion
2010–11	Olympiacos	26-0	6–3	32–3	Finalist
1984–85	Aris	25-1	0-0	25-1	Champion
2009–10	Panathinaikos	25-1	8-1	33-2	Champion
2008–09	Olympiacos	25-1	6-3	31-4	Finalist

The best overall season records of the HEBA A1 (1992–2015)

Season	Club	Regular Season Record	Playoff Record	Final Record	Final Season Result
2009–10	Panathinaikos	25–1	8–1	33–2	Champion
2014–15	Olympiacos	25–1	8–1	33–2	Champion
2013–14	Panathinaikos	25–1	8–2	33–3	Champion
2005–06	Panathinaikos	24–2	8–0	32–2	Champion
2010–11	Panathinaikos	24–2	8–1	32–3	Champion
2010–11	Olympiacos	26–0	6–3	32–3	Finalist
2006–07	Panathinaikos	24–2	8–2	32–4	Champion
2011–12	Olympiacos	23–1	8–2	31–3	Champion
2008–09	Olympiacos	25–1	6–3	31–4	Finalist
1995–96	Olympiacos	24–2	8–3	31–5	Champion
2007–08	Panathinaikos	23–3	8–2	31–5	Champion
1994–95	Olympiacos	24–2	7–3	31–5	Champion
2013–14	Olympiacos	24–2	7–3	31–5	Finalist
2012–13	Panathinaikos	22–4	8–0	30–4	Champion
2012–13	Olympiacos	25–1	5–3	30–4	Finalist
1994–95	Panathinaikos	24–2	6–3	30–5	Finalist
2008–09	Panathinaikos	22–4	8–1	30–5	Champion
1993–94	Olympiacos	22–4	8–2	30–6	Champion
2004–05	Panathinaikos	22–4	8–3	30–7	Champion

Greek basketball clubs in European-wide competitions

EuroLeague

• The years in which clubs from the Greek Basketball League competed in Europe's first tier continental-wide professional club basketball competition, the EuroLeague (and FIBA SuproLeague):

Rank	Club	Appearances	Years
1.	Panathinaikos	37	1962, 1963, 1968, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001†, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017
2.	Olympiacos	28	1961, 1977, 1979, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017
3.	AEK	14	1959, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1969, 1971, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006
4.	Aris	11	1980, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 2007, 2008
5.	PAOK	7	1960, 1993, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001
6.	Iraklis	2	1996, 2001†
7.	Panionios	2	1997, 2009
8.	Peristeri	2	2001, 2002
9.	Panellinios	1	1958
10.	Maroussi	1	2010

• Panathinaikos has made 11 modern-era EuroLeague Final Four appearances (with 12 top 4 place finishes overall, including the 1971–72 season), has played in the EuroLeague Final 7 times, and has won the EuroLeague championship 6 times. Olympiacos has made 9 EuroLeague Final Four appearances, has played in the EuroLeague Final 7 times, and has won the EuroLeague championship three times. AEK has made 1 modern-era EuroLeague Final Four appearance (with 3 top 4 finishes overall, including the 1965–66 season, and the 2000–01 Euroleague Basketball season), and has played in the EuroLeague Final once. Aris has made 3 EuroLeague Final Four appearances. PAOK has also played in the EuroLeague Final Four once.

EuroLeague
Rank	Club			SF	QF
1.	Panathinaikos	6	1	7	6
2.	Olympiacos	3	4	3	8
3.	AEK	0	1	2	1
4.	Aris	0	0	3	1
5.	PAOK	0	0	1	0

FIBA Saporta Cup

• Greek clubs that finished in the top 8 places of the now defunct Saporta Cup (1966–67 to 2001–02), which was the second-tier European-wide continental competition:

FIBA Saporta Cup
Rank	Club			SF	QF
1.	AEK	2	0	1	2
2.	PAOK	1	2	1	1
3.	Aris	1	0	1	0
4.	Maroussi	1	0	0	0
5.	Panathinaikos	0	0	2	2
6.	Iraklis	0	0	2	1
7.	Olympiacos	0	0	0	1
8.	Panionios	0	0	0	1

FIBA Korać Cup

• Greek clubs that finished in the top 8 places of the now defunct Korać Cup (1971–72 to 2001–02), which was the third-tier European-wide continental competition:

FIBA Korać Cup
Rank	Club			SF	QF
1.	Aris	1	0	1	1
2.	PAOK	1	0	0	0
3.	Panionios	0	0	2	3
4.	Maroussi	0	0	1	1
5.	Peristeri	0	0	0	3

EuroCup

• Greek clubs that finished in the top 8 places of the EuroCup (2002–03 – present), which is the second-tier European-wide continental competition:

EuroCup
Rank	Club			SF	QF
1.	Aris	0	1	0	1
2.	Makedonikos	0	1	0	0
3.	Panellinios	0	0	1	0
4.	Maroussi	0	0	0	1
5.	PAOK	0	0	0	1

Awards, statistics & players

Major Sponsors and supporters over the years

• OPAP
• Scratch
• Stoiximan.gr
• Champion
• Spalding
• Cosmote
• Germanos
• Visit Greece
• Gatorade

See also

• Greek Cup
• Greek A2 Basket League
• HEBA Greek All-Star Game
• HEBA
• Basketball in Greece

References

1. Συμφωνία ΕΣΑΚΕ - Stoiximan.gr για τη Basket League (Greek).
2. Με 8 τα playoffs, μπόνους στους 2 πρώτους (Greek).
3. Και οι (πρώτοι) ξένοι ήταν εννιά (Greek).
4. (Greek) Νέο λογότυπο για το πρωτάθλημα! sentragoal.gr
5. Και οι (πρώτοι) ξένοι ήταν εννιά (Greek).
6. Πέρασε η πρόταση του Παναθηναϊκού για τους ξένους (Greek).
7. Capacity 5.138 seats.
8. Γήπεδο Ομάδας (Greek).
9. worldstadiums.com Stadiums in Greece.
10. ESAKE.gr Basket League ΟΠΑΠ: Το ρεκόρ του Ολυμπιακού. (Greek)
11. ESAKE.gr Τα... χτένια του Ολυμπιακού!. (Greek)

External links

• Official website (Greek)
• Official English website (English)
• Official Facebook Page (Greek)
• Official Twitter Account (Greek)
• Greek Basket League Highlights (Greek)
• Official YouTube Channel (Greek)
• Official Instagram Account
• Greek Basketball (Men) Eurobasket.com (English)
• Official Hellenic Basketball Federation Site (Greek)
• AllStar Basket Magazine Official Facebook Page (Greek)
• Basketblog.gr (Greek)