Super League Basketball

Not to be confused with Super Basketball League.

For the Western Australian competition known as the State Baskebtall League, see NBL1 West.

For the women's competition, see Super League Basketball (women).

For other uses, see SLB (disambiguation).

Super League Basketball

Founded	2024 (2024)
First season	2024–25
Country	Great Britain
Federation	British Basketball
Confederation	FIBA Europe (Europe)
Number of teams	9
Level on pyramid	1
International cup(s)	Champions League FIBA Europe Cup
Current champions	London Lions (2nd title) (2025–26)
Most championships	London Lions (2 titles)
TV partners	DAZN
Website	SuperLeagueBasketballM.co.uk
2025–26 Super League Basketball season

Super League Basketball (SLB) is a men's professional basketball league established in 2024. The competition replaced the former British Basketball League (BBL) as the top-level men's basketball competition in Great Britain.

History

From 1987, the British Basketball League (BBL) was the pre-eminent basketball competition in Great Britain. By May 2024, Basketball League Ltd (BLL), the operating company behind the BBL, was in severe financial difficulties. Due to this uncertainty, the British Basketball Federation (BBF) terminated BLL's operating licence to run the men's professional league, with immediate effect. On the same day a new organisation, Premier Basketball Limited, was formed by a consortium of existing basketball teams formerly of the BBL. The consortium, led by Sarah Backovic, director of Sheffield Sharks, was granted a three-year licence by the BBF to operate the top-level men's basketball competition, in place of the former BBL. On 2 August 2024, "Super League Basketball" was announced as the name for the new competition.

Teams

Current teams

Bristol

Caledonia

Cheshire

Leicester

London

Manchester

Newcastle

Sheffield

Surrey

Locations of the current 2025–26 SLB teams

Team	Location	Colours	Arena	Capacity	Founded
Bristol Flyers	Bristol		SGS College Arena	750	2006
Caledonia Gladiators	East Kilbride		Playsport Arena	1,800	1998
Cheshire Phoenix	Ellesmere Port		Cheshire Oaks Arena	1,400	1984
Leicester Riders	Leicester		Mattioli Arena	2,400	1967
London Lions	London (Stratford)		Copper Box Arena	6,000	1977
Manchester Basketball	Manchester		National Basketball Centre	2,000	2024
Newcastle Eagles	Newcastle		Vertu Motors Arena	2,800	1976
Sheffield Sharks	Sheffield		Canon Medical Arena	2,500	1991
Surrey 89ers	Guildford		Surrey Sports Park	970	2024

Corporate structure

Chairman

• Vaughn Millette (2024–2025)
• Sanjay Bhandari MBE (2025–2026)

Regulations

Import players

Rules currently allow for each team to have a maximum of six non-British qualified players per game, and any number of British-qualified (National or Right-to-Work) players. During the course of a season, any Club may license a maximum of 12 non-national players, and any non-national player who is delicensed and subsequently relicensed by a club will count as a new licence for the purposes of the calculation.

Transfer regulations

Players may be licensed at any time prior to midday on the last day of March during that season.

Salary cap

There is no salary cap in the league. Instead, clubs' total player emoluments are monitored and used to determine registration eligibility, including limits on the number of non-national players permitted in SLB Competitions.

Clubs are limited on the number of non-national players they are permitted to field in SLB Competitions, based on their total declared emoluments:

• Less than £500,000 net, the club may field a maximum of six (6) non-national players.
• Between £500,000 and £800,000 net, the club may field a maximum of five (5) non-national players.
• Greater than £800,000 net, the club may field a maximum of four (4) non-national players.

Results

Championship

Overview of SLB Championships

Season	Champions	Runners-up
2024–25	London Lions (1st)	Leicester Riders
2025–26	London Lions (2nd)	Cheshire Phoenix
†Defunct club.

Playoff Finals

Season	Winners	Score	Runners-up	Venue	Most Valuable Player
2024–25	Leicester Riders	105–74	Newcastle Eagles	The O2 Arena, London	Jaylin Hunter
2025–26	London Lions	104–81	Cheshire Phoenix	The O2 Arena, London	Joel Scott

Trophy Finals

Season	Winners	Score	Runners-up	Venue	Most Valuable Player
2024–25	Newcastle Eagles	97–78	Bristol Flyers	Arena Birmingham, Birmingham	Mike Okauru
2025–26	London Lions	74–68	Newcastle Eagles	Arena Birmingham, Birmingham	Deane Williams

Cup Finals

Season	Winners	Score	Runners-up	Venue	Most Valuable Player
2024–25	Sheffield Sharks	105–97	Surrey 89ers	Nottingham Arena, Nottingham	Donovan Clay
2025–26	London Lions	83–74	Manchester Basketball	Manchester Arena, Manchester	Kameron McGusty

Honours board

Rank	Team	Wins	RU	Wins	RU	Wins	RU	Wins	RU	Wins	RU
		SLB Championship		SLB Playoffs		SLB Cup		SLB Trophy		Total
1	London Lions	2	0	1	0	1	0	1	0	5	0
2	Newcastle Eagles	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	1	1	2
3	Leicester Riders	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	1
4	Sheffield Sharks	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0
5	Cheshire Phoenix	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	2
6	Bristol Flyers	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1
6	Manchester Basketball	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1
6	Surrey 89ers	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1

*Note: † Defunct club.

*Note: This is a ranking of all SLB clubs titles won both throughout SLB history.

Source: Honours board

See also

• National Basketball League (2–5 tiers)
• Scottish Basketball Championship Men (2–3 tiers)
• British Basketball League (1987–2024)
• Super League Basketball Women

External links

• Official website
• GB Basketball official website