Did you know? There are more Popular Basketball leagues besides the NBA? Well, Basketball leagues are rapidly growing across the globe outside the NBA, and therefore, this article is all about the fast-growing leagues around the world, being the most famous basketball leagues in the world. Taking the popularity of basketball into consideration, there are many basketball leagues in the world.
Basketball has begged the space of being the most popular sport in the world for the past few years. But have you ever wondered which are the most popular basketball leagues in the world other than NBA?
A Lil background about a basketball league and its members is always a must. So, let’s dig into the topic. A league in Basketball is a sum of teams together that play against each other for a league championship ultimately. Basketball Leagues are structured similarly to many other sports leagues. The teams consist of an owner, a front office, a coaching staff, and lastly the players. Well, right on the top of the team there are front-office members for the league and to sum up, a commissioner. Every basketball league has a regular season, and during every season the team plays a set amount of games, while each game is being recorded as a win or loss record.
This article will brief you on the top 6 most popular basketball leagues in the world. Without a doubt, we all know, NBA is the most popular league and one of the highest-budget sports leagues in the world.
7 Most Popular Basketball Leagues
| Ranking | Leagues |
|---|---|
| 1 | NBA |
| 2 | Euro League |
| 3 | Liga ACB |
| 4 | FIBA |
| 5 | Turkish Basketball Super League (BSL) |
| 6 | Chinese Basketball Association |
NBA
NBA, as we all know, is one of the most popular basketball leagues in the world. In North America, NBA is a professional basketball league. Well, NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada. The league is a total of 30 teams, precisely distributed as 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. NBA is the leading men’s professional basketball league in the world. The league came into being in New York City in the year 1946, on June 6, as the Basketball Association of America (BAA). After merging with the competing National Basketball League (NBL), it changed its name to the National Basketball Association in the year 1949, on August 3.
The NBA is an active member of the USBA because its national governing body for basketball in the United States, The USA Basketball (USAB), is recognized by the FIBA (International Basketball Federation). The NBA is the third wealthiest professional sports league after the most famous, National Football League (NFL) and Major League Baseball (MLB) which is famous for its revenues, and among the top four in the world.
Euro League
The EuroLeague is termed the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague because of its sponsorship with them. The league is popularly termed the top-tier league in Europe. It consists of 18 teams out of which 16 are given long-term licenses and wild cards, making the league a semi-closed league. Since its formation in the year 2000, the league has been organized by Euroleague Basketball. Since the year 1958, The FIBA EuroLeague has been by FIBA, as the competition replaced it. Before that, it was termed the FIBA European Champions Cup or just the European Cup.
With an average attendance of 8,780 league matches in the year 2017–18 season, the EuroLeague is termed to be one of the most popular indoor sports leagues all over the world. That average of matches was the fifth-highest of any professional indoor sports league in the world. also, the second-highest of professional basketball league in the world is mainly behind the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Liga ACB
The Liga ACB is termed Liga Endesa for the reasons of a sponsorship. The Spanish basketball league system is one of the top professional basketball divisions Administrated by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB).
Since its establishment in the year 1983, a total of 49 teams have competed in Liga ACB. With an average attendance of 6,236 for league matches in the year2018–19 season, the Liga ACB league is one of the most popular and professional indoor sports leagues in the world. Liga ACB is regarded, as the ninth-highest among all the domestic professional indoor sports leagues in the world. Also the fourth-highest among any professional basketball league in the world behind the National Basketball Association, the EuroLeague, and the Women’s National Basketball Association.
Lastly, the ACB is identified for its professionalism and the quality of its infrastructure. A total of 8 arenas in the League can host more than 10.000 fans. also, the average attendance being above 6.000 per game can draw a league towards being the third most popular basketball league in the world.
FIBA
The International Basketball Federation, shortly termed FIBA is an association of national organizations. It governs the sport of basketball all over the world. FIBA specifically gives us the rules of basketball. It specifies the equipment and facilities required to know. Well, it organizes international competitions, manages the transfer of athletes across countries, and controls the choice of international referees. Since 1989, A total of 213 national federations are now members.
FIBA arranges tournaments for both the men’s and women’s FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament and the Summer Olympics Basketball Tournament, authorized by the IOC. Teams get together to compete for the Naismith Trophy, named in honor of the creator of basketball, nonother than -James Naismith. The structure of the tournament is similar to that of the FIFA World Cup in association football. As a parallel event for the women’s team, The FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup is held four times a year.
Turkish Basketball Super League (BSL)
The Basketball Super League also termed the ING Basketbol Süper Ligi as the most evident reason for sponsorship. It is among the top men’s professional basketball divisions of the Turkish basketball league system. To become the Turkish Basketball League (TBL), replaced to Turkish Basketball Championship until in year 2015 when it took up its current name as the TBL name became exclusive to the second-tier and third-tier divisions. In the year 1966, when the league was restructured, a total of 11 clubs were been crowned champions, with Anadolu Efes winning the title. In recent years, Fenerbahçe dominated the league by winning 8 titles out of 15 from the 2006–07 season onward.
Chinese Basketball Association
The Chinese Basketball Association, in short, is termed CBA. It is the first-tier professional men’s basketball league in China. The league is termed widely as the leading professional men’s basketball league in Asia.
A professional minor league, the National Basketball League should not be confused with the CBA. There is also a Women’s Chinese Basketball Association (WCBA).
During the early stages of a few Chinese players’ careers, who competed in the CBA include, Wang Zhizhi, Mengke Bateer, and Yao Ming, they have also played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Well, The CBA began to play initially in the season of 1995–96. The very first non-Chinese player who played in the CBA was Mihail Savinkov from Uzbekistan. Also, during the season of 1996–97, James Hodges became one of the first Americans to play in the CBA. Well, this is what draws the Chinese Basketball Association to stand 6th among the ranking for most Popular Basketball leagues in the world.
CONCLUSION
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