Current season, competition or edition: 2016–17 Liga Nacional de Básquet season |
|
Sport | Basketball |
---|---|
Founder | León Najnudel |
Inaugural season | 26 April 1985 |
President | Fabián Borro (AdC) |
No. of teams | 20 |
Country | Argentina |
Most recent champion(s) |
San Lorenzo |
Most titles |
Atenas (9 titles) |
TV partner(s) | TyC Sports |
Level on pyramid | First Division |
Relegation to | Torneo Nacional de Ascenso |
Related competitions |
Torneo Súper 8 |
Official website | laliganacional.com.ar |
The Liga Nacional de Básquet (abbreviated LNB, and literally in English "National Basketball League") is the top level of the Argentine basketball league system. The league is controlled by the Basketball Clubs' Association (in Spanish: Asociación de Clubes de Básquetbol). The LNB's predecessor is the defunct Campeonato Argentino de Clubes, organized by the Argentine Basketball Federation.
The league was created through the efforts of coach León Najnudel and sports journalist Osvaldo Orcasitas in the 1980s to make Argentine basketball more competitive through the merging of the many existing local leagues. It is designed like the NBA, with regular season, all-star game, and playoffs. However, unlike the NBA, the LNB has promotion and relegation with the Torneo Nacional de Ascenso (TNA), the league immediately below.
A tribute to Najnudel's vision is the string of successes of the Argentine national basketball team, culminating with the team's Olympic gold medal won at the 2004 Summer Olympics, and the international careers of many players who started in the league.
Before the league was established, the regular tournament was Campeonato Argentino de Clubes where teams from all the provinces took part. The league had a regional format and playoffs.
For the 1984 edition there was 64 teams. The association decided to retire 10 teams, moving them to "Primera Nacional A". Of those teams, 4 were from city of Buenos Aires, and the provinces of Buenos Aires, Córdoba and Santa Fe were represented by 2 teams each.