| Liga ACB | |
|---|---|
| League information | |
| Type | Professional basketball |
| Country |  Spain
|
| Founded | 1983 |
| Inaugural | 1983-1984 ACB season |
| Governing body | Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto |
| No. of teams | 18 |
| FIBA group | FIBA Europe |
| Championship information | |
| Most recent | Valencia Basket (1st) |
| Most Championships | Real Madrid (33 titles) |
The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administrated by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, with the two lowest-placed teams relegated to the LEB Oro and replaced by the top team in that division plus the winner of the promotion playoffs.
The competition was founded as the ACB Primera División on 1983 following the decision of clubs in the Liga Nacional, founded in 1957, to break away from the Spanish Basketball Federation and professionalize the league. The league's accumulated revenues were worth around €30 million in 2020, with Endesa and Movistar Plus+ contributing 50% of the revenues of the league.[1][2] The league is a corporation where president Antonio Martín is responsible for its management, whilst the member clubs act as shareholders. Clubs were apportioned central payment revenues of €12 million in 2019–20.[3]
A total of 49 teams have competed in Liga ACB since its inception in 1983. Seven teams have been crowned champions, with FC Barcelona winning the title a record 16 times and Real Madrid 14 times, though Liga ACB also saw other champions, including Baskonia, Joventut Badalona, Bàsquet Manresa, Baloncesto Málaga and Valencia Basket.
Liga ACB is one of the most popular professional indoor sports leagues in the world, with an average attendance of 6,236 for league matches in the 2018–19 season. This is the ninth-highest of any domestic professional indoor sports league in the world and the fourth-highest of any professional basketball league in the world, behind the National Basketball Association, the EuroLeague, and the Women's National Basketball Association.
Other competitions[]
- Spanish King's Cup
- Spanish Supercup
Liga championship rules[]
Each team has to play all the other teams in its division twice, one at home and one away. This means that in Liga ACB the regular league ends after all teams play 34 matches.
Like many other leagues in continental Europe, the Liga ACB takes a winter break once each team has played half of its scheduled matches. One feature of the league that may be unusual to North American observers is that the two halves of the season are played in the same order—that is, the order of each team's first-half fixtures is repeated in the second half of the season. This is normal in Spanish sports; it is also used by La Liga in association football.
At the end of the league, the eight best teams start a play-off, playing the regular season champion with the 8th and so on. There are three rounds with five matches on each, and the winner of the final round is the champion of the ACB. This is similar to the NBA Playoffs, but shorter.
Spanish Championship (1957–1983)[]
| Year | Team | Year | Team |
| 1957 | Real Madrid | 1971 | Real Madrid |
| 1958 | Real Madrid | 1972 | Real Madrid |
| 1959 | FC Barcelona | 1973 | Real Madrid |
| 1960 | Real Madrid | 1974 | Real Madrid |
| 1961 | Real Madrid | 1975 | Real Madrid |
| 1962 | Real Madrid | 1976 | Real Madrid |
| 1963 | Real Madrid | 1977 | Real Madrid |
| 1964 | Real Madrid | 1978 | CB Joventut |
| 1965 | Real Madrid | 1979 | Real Madrid |
| 1966 | Real Madrid | 1980 | Real Madrid |
| 1967 | CB Joventut | 1981 | FC Barcelona |
| 1968 | Real Madrid | 1982 | Real Madrid |
| 1969 | Real Madrid | 1983 | FC Barcelona |
| 1970 | Real Madrid | 1984 | ::Liga ACB:: |
Titles[]
| Team | Championships |
|---|---|
| Real Madrid | 22 |
| FC Barcelona | 3 |
| Joventut Badalona | 2 |
ACB Finals (1983–Present)[]
| Season | Champion | Runner-up | Result | Finals MVP | Champion's Coach |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983–84 | Real Madrid | FC Barcelona |  Lolo Sainz
| ||
| 1984–85 | Real Madrid | Joventut Badalona | Lolo Sainz
| ||
| 1985–86 | Real Madrid | FC Barcelona | Lolo Sainz
| ||
| 1986–87 | FC Barcelona | Joventut Badalona | Aíto García Reneses
| ||
| 1987–88 | FC Barcelona | Real Madrid | Aíto García Reneses
| ||
| 1988–89 | FC Barcelona | Real Madrid | Aíto García Reneses
| ||
| 1989–90 | FC Barcelona | Joventut Badalona | Aíto García Reneses
| ||
| 1990–91 | Joventut Badalona | FC Barcelona |  Corny Thompson |
Lolo Sainz
| |
| 1991–92 | Joventut Badalona | Real Madrid | Mike Smith |
Lolo Sainz
| |
| 1992–93 | Real Madrid | Joventut Badalona | Template:Country data LTUTemplate:Namespace detect showall Arvydas Sabonis | Clifford Luyk
| |
| 1993–94 | Real Madrid | FC Barcelona | Template:Country data LTUTemplate:Namespace detect showall Arvydas Sabonis | Clifford Luyk
| |
| 1994–95 | FC Barcelona | CB Málaga | Michael Ansley |
Aíto García Reneses
| |
| 1995–96 | FC Barcelona | CB Sevilla | Xavi Fernández |
Aíto García Reneses
| |
| 1996–97 | FC Barcelona | Real Madrid | Roberto Dueñas |
Aíto García Reneses
| |
| 1997–98 | Manresa | Baskonia | Joan Creus |
Luis Casimiro
| |
| 1998–99 | FC Barcelona | CB Sevilla | Derrick Alston |
Aíto García Reneses
| |
| 1999–00 | Real Madrid | FC Barcelona | Alberto Angulo |
 Sergio Scariolo
| |
| 2000–01 | FC Barcelona | Real Madrid | Pau Gasol |
Aíto García Reneses
| |
| 2001–02 | Baskonia | CB Málaga | Elmer Bennett |
 Duško Ivanović
| |
| 2002–03 | FC Barcelona | Valencia BC | Template:Country data LTUTemplate:Namespace detect showall Šarūnas Jasikevičius | Svetislav Pešić
| |
| 2003–04 | FC Barcelona | Estudiantes | Template:Country data SCGTemplate:Namespace detect showall Dejan Bodiroga | Template:Country data SCGTemplate:Namespace detect showall Svetislav Pešić | |
| 2004–05 | Real Madrid | Baskonia | Louis Bullock |
Template:Country data SCGTemplate:Namespace detect showall Božidar Maljković | |
| 2005–06 | CB Málaga | Baskonia | Jorge Garbajosa |
Sergio Scariolo
| |
| 2006–07 | Real Madrid | FC Barcelona | Felipe Reyes |
Joan Plaza
| |
| 2007–08 | Baskonia | FC Barcelona | Pete Mickeal |
 Neven Spahija
| |
| 2008–09 | FC Barcelona | Baskonia | Juan Carlos Navarro |
Xavier Pascual
| |
| 2009–10 | Baskonia | FC Barcelona |  Tiago Splitter |
Montenegro Duško Ivanović | |
| 2010–11 | FC Barcelona | Bilbao Basket | Juan Carlos Navarro |
Xavier Pascual
|
Finals appearances[]
| Num | Team | W | L |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | FC Barcelona | 13 | 8 |
| 13 | Real Madrid | 8 | 5 |
| 7 | Baskonia | 3 | 4 |
| 5 | Joventut Badalona | 2 | 3 |
| 3 | CB Málaga | 1 | 2 |
| 2 | CB Sevilla | 0 | 2 |
| 1 | Manresa | 1 | 0 |
| 1 | Valencia BC | 0 | 1 |
| 1 | Estudiantes | 0 | 1 |
| 1 | Bilbao Basket | 0 | 1 |
Total league championships (Liga Nacional + ACB)[]
| Team | Championships |
|---|---|
| Real Madrid | 30 |
| FC Barcelona | 16 |
| Joventut Badalona | 4 |
| Baskonia | 3 |
| Manresa | 1 |
| CB Málaga | 1 |
Current clubs[]
- Assignia Manresa
- Baloncesto Fuenlabrada
- Bizkaia Bilbao Basket
- Blancos de Rueda Valladolid
- CAI Zaragoza
- Caja Laboral Baskonia
- Cajasol Banca Cívica
- FIATC Mutua Joventut
- Asefa Estudiantes
- FC Barcelona Regal
- Gran Canaria 2014
- Lagun Aro GBC
- CB Lucentum Alicante
- Valencia BC
- Real Madrid
- Unicaja Málaga
- UCAM Murcia
- Obradoiro CAB
Promoted to League ACB[]
- CB Murcia
- Obradoiro CAB
Relegated to League LEB[]
- CB Granada
- Menorca Bàsquet
Awards[]
- ACB Most Valuable Player Award
- ACB Rising Star Award
ACB records[]
- Most Points in a Game
- 54 by Epi, FC Barcelona vs. Joventut Massana on February 18, 1984
- Most Field Goals Made in a Game
- 25 by Essie Hollis, Arabatxo Baskonia at OAR Ferrol on February 5, 1984
- Most Three Point Field Goals Made in a Game
- 11 by Oscar Schmidt, Fórum Valladolid at CB Murcia on March 19, 1994
- Most Free Throws Made in a Game
- 29 by Jeff Lamp, Granada at Fórum Filatélico Valladolid on December 21, 1991
- Most Rebounds in a Game
- 29 by Clarence Kea, Juver Murcia vs. Dyc Breogán on December 21, 1991
- Most Assists in a Game
- 18 by Joaquim Costa, Valvi Girona vs. Puleva Baloncesto Granada on November 9, 1990
- Most Steals in a Game
- 13 by Lance Berwald, BBV Villalba at Caja Guipúzcoa on March 11, 1989
- Most Blocks in a Game
- 12 by Fran Vázquez, FC Barcelona at Grupo Capitol Valladolid on January 7, 2007
- Most Points in a Game
- 147 – FC Barcelona defeated Cajabilbao 147-106 on January 31, 1987
- Fewest Points in a Game
- 39 – Lagun Aro GBC was defeated by Blancos de Rueda Valladolid 61-39 on April 25, 2010
- Largest Margin of Victory in a Game
- 55 – FC Barcelona defeated Breogán Caixa Galicia 82–137 on April 12, 1986
- 55 – Real Madrid defeated Clesa Ferrol 116–61 on October 5, 1985
- Victory with fewest points
- 49 - Assignia Manresa defeated Meridiano Alicante 49-48 on March 6, 2011
Other competitions[]
- Spanish King's Cup
- Spanish Supercup
Notes[]
References[]
- ↑ "La ACB cierra el año de la pandemia con ingresos récord de 30,2 millones de euros" (in es-ES). 2Playbook. 17 May 2021. https://www.2playbook.com/competiciones/acb-cierra-ano-pandemia-con-ingresos-record-302-millones-euros_3657_102.html.
- ↑ "ACB, a la reválida: un negocio de 30 millones de euros a las puertas de renovar a Endesa y Movistar+" (in es-ES). 2Playbook. 18 September 2020. https://www.2playbook.com/competiciones/acb-revalida-negocio-30-millones-euros-puertas-renovar-endesa-movistar_202_102.html.
- ↑ "La ACB salva sobre la bocina 12 millones de ingresos" (in es-ES). www.palco23.com. 28 May 2020. https://www.palco23.com/competiciones/la-acb-salva-sobre-la-bocina-12-millones-de-ingresos-y-lleva-el-reparto-a-los-clubes-a-la-linea-de-3.
External links[]
| Men's pro basketball leagues |
|---|
| United States • Canada • Europe • Mexico • Asia • Africa • South America • United Kingdom |