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BNXT League

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BNXT League
Organising bodyDutch Basketball League
Pro Basketball League
FoundedDecember 10, 2020; 3 years ago (2020-12-10)
First season2021–22
CountryBelgium Belgium
Netherlands Netherlands
ConfederationEuropean Union FIBA Europe
Number of teams19
Level on pyramid1
Domestic cup(s)Basketball Cup (Netherlands)
Basketball Cup (Belgium)
SupercupBNXT Supercup
Dutch Supercup
International cup(s)Champions League
FIBA Europe Cup
Current championsFilou Oostende (1st title)
Most championshipsZZ Leiden
(2 titles)
CEOWim Van de Keere
PresidentRamses Braakman
TV partnersbnxt.tv (PlaySight Interactive)
Websitebnxtleague.com
2024–25 BNXT League

The BNXT League is a professional basketball league in Belgium and the Netherlands. The league is the first tier in both the Dutch and Belgian system, replacing the DBL and PBL. The inaugural season was the 2021–22 season, which started in September 2021.

History

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On 10 December 2020, it was announced that the Belgian Pro Basketball League and Dutch Basketball League would merge to form a new multinational league.[1] All clubs from the Dutch DBL voted for, while 9 of 10 teams in Belgium voted in favor of the decision. Serious talks about the initiative had been ongoing since fall 2019.[2] On 20 May 2021, the new name "BNXT League" and logo of the league were announced.[3]

The league started its inaugural season amidst an ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and a great number of games had to be played behind locked doors as a result of national lockdowns.[4] On 11 June 2022, ZZ Leiden were crowned the inaugural BNXT champions.[5] The following year, on 13 June 2023, Leiden repeated as champions.

Sponsorship

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On 10 September 2021, the league announced its first name sponsorship when Belgian betting company betFirst signed to become naming sponsor for three seasons.[6]

Competition formula

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From 2021–22 to 2023–24, the league consisted of different stages. In the first stage, teams played each other home and away in the national regular season. After this, the teams were divided in the Elite Gold and Elite Silver group for the cross-border season. Next, the teams from the Elite Gold and the 3 best teams from the Elite Silver played in the national playoffs to compete for the national championships. The two winners of the national playoffs then played in the BNXT League Final.[1]

Starting from the 2024–25 season, the league will have a new format in which all 19 teams play each other home and away in the regular season. The highest ranked teams from each country play national playoffs, and the two national winners play for the BNXT championship.[7]

Teams

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The following 19 teams will play in the 2024-25 season. All teams from the Pro Basketball League and Dutch Basketball League transferred to the BNXT League in 2021. The newest club to have joined the BNXT League are the Kortrijk Spurs, who joined in 2023.

Stadiums and locations

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Note: Table lists in alphabetical order.
Club Location Venue Capacity Founded National
titles
Belgium Antwerp Giants Antwerp Lotto Arena 5,218 1995 1
Netherlands BAL Weert Sporthal Boshoven 1,000 2013
Belgium Brussels Basketball Brussels Neder-Over-Heembeek complex 1,200 1957
Netherlands Den Helder Suns Den Helder Sporthal Quelderduijn 1,250 2016
Netherlands Donar Groningen MartiniPlaza 4,350 1951 7
Netherlands Feyenoord Rotterdam Topsportcentrum Rotterdam 2,500 1954
Netherlands Heroes Den Bosch 's-Hertogenbosch Maaspoort 2,800 1952 17
Belgium Kangoeroes Mechelen Mechelen Winketkaai 1,500 2009
Belgium Kortrijk Spurs Kortrijk Lange Munte 2,400 2019
Netherlands Landstede Hammers Zwolle Landstede Sportcentrum 1,200 1995 1
Belgium Leuven Bears Leuven Sportoase 3,400 1999
Belgium Limburg United Hasselt Alverberg Sporthal 1,730 2014
Netherlands LWD Basket Leeuwarden Kalverdijkje 1,700 2004
Belgium Mons-Hainaut Mons Mons Arena 4,000 1959
Belgium Okapi Aalst Aalst Okapi Forum 2,800 1949
Belgium Oostende Ostend Sleuyter Arena 5,000 1970 24
Netherlands QSTA United Bemmel De Kooi 650 2020
Belgium Spirou Charleroi Spiroudome 6,200 1989 10
Netherlands ZZ Leiden Leiden Sportcomplex 1574 2,435 1958 5

Former teams

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Club Location Venue Capacity Founded Seasons Last season
Apollo Amsterdam Amsterdam Apollohal 1,500 2011 2 2022–23
Liège Basket Liège Country Hall 5,000 1967 3 2023–24
The Hague Royals The Hague Sportcampus Zuiderpark 3,500 2020 1 2021–22

BNXT champions

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The finals were played in a two-legged format in 2022, after that season the format was changed to a best-of-three playoffs series.

ZZ Leiden have won both BNXT championships thus far.

Season Champions Score Runners-up Finals MVP
2021–22 ZZ Leiden 146–142
(75–72, 71–70)
Donar Worthy de Jong
2022–23 ZZ Leiden (2)
2–1
Oostende David Collins
2023–24 Oostende 164–124
(85–58, 79–66)
ZZ Leiden Damien Jefferson

National champions

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Netherlands

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Season Champions Score Runners-up Finals MVP
2021–22 Heroes Den Bosch 3–2 ZZ Leiden Thomas van der Mars
2022–23 ZZ Leiden 3–2 Donar Thomas Rutherford
2023–24 ZZ Leiden 3–1 Heroes Den Bosch Brock Gardner

Belgium

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Season Champions Score Runners-up Finals MVP
2021–22 Oostende 3–1 Kangoeroes Mechelen Keye van der Vuurst de Vries
2022–23 Oostende 3–1 Antwerp Giants Vrenz Bleijenbergh
2023–24 Oostende 3–1 Antwerp Giants Damien Jefferson

Awards

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Broadcasting partners

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Notes

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References

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  1. ^ a b "The Pro Basketball League and Dutch Basketball League about to launch BeNeLeague as of the 2021–2022 season". Pro Basketball League. 10 December 2020. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  2. ^ "Ook basketbalbonden onderzoeken mogelijkheden BeNeLeague". AD (in Dutch). 23 December 2019. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  3. ^ "BeNeLiga in het basketbal wordt de BNXT League: toekomst, de 'Generation Z' en groei". HLN.be. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  4. ^ "Basketbalclubs BNXT League beslissen drie weken lang zelf of thuisduels doorgaan". nos.nl (in Dutch). 15 November 2021. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  5. ^ "ZZ Leiden first BNXT League champion". BNXT League. 2022-06-11. Retrieved 2022-06-12.
  6. ^ "BETFIRST NEW TITLE SPONSOR BNXT LEAGUE". BNXT League. 10 September 2021. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  7. ^ "BNXT League krijgt volgend seizoen nieuw format: vanaf de start heen- en terugwedstrijden". Het Nieuwsblad (in Flemish). 2024-03-11. Retrieved 2024-03-27.
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