Yugoslavian Basketball League
| Sport | Basketball |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1945 |
| Ceased | 1992 |
| Countries |
 Yugoslavia
|
| Continent | FIBA Europe (Europe) |
| Last champion(s) |
Partizan (5th title) |
| Most titles | Crvena zvezda (12 titles) |
| Level on pyramid | 1st Tier (Yugoslavia) |
| Relegation to | Yugoslav 1. B League |
| Related competitions |
Yugoslav Basketball Cup |
The Yugoslav First Basketball League (Serbo-Croatian: Prva savezna košarkaška liga) was the name of the top-tier level professional basketball league that was played in SFR Yugoslavia, from 1945 to 1991–92. The First Federal League was the top-tier level league in Yugoslavia, and the Second Federal League was the second-tier level league in Yugoslavia. With a total of 16 European-wide trophy winners and 11 finalists, the Yugoslav First Basketball League was one of the strongest European national domestic basketball leagues of all time.
Although all of the former Yugoslavian countries that were founded after the breakup of Yugoslavia, each now have their own national domestic leagues, each of the six nations also now take part in the ABA League (commonly known as the Adriatic League), which was founded in 2001; and which is, the closest basketball league in existence today, that is similar to the former Yugoslav Basketball League.
After the end of Second World War in Yugoslavia in 1945, there arose a need for athletic development in the fledgling nation. Post-WW2 Yugoslavia was (with the exception of major cities such as Belgrade, Ljubljana, Zagreb, and Sarajevo) for the most part lacking in competitive opportunities in sports. In response to this, 1945 and 1946 saw an explosion of new clubs and leagues for every sport, the basketball league being part of this phenomenon.
The very first competition under the newly formed Yugoslav Basketball League in 1945, drawing parallel to the Yugoslav First League (of football), was more or less a nationwide affirmation of unity. Instead of individual clubs competing in the usual fashion, there were only eight teams. Six representing each state within Yugoslavia, one representing the province of Vojvodina, and the last representing the Yugoslav People's Army.
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