bj league
| bj league | |
|---|---|
| sport | basketball |
| founding year | 2005 |
| Teams | 22 teams |
| country |
 Japan
|
| master | |
| Website | bj-league.com |
The bj league ( Japanese bj リ ー グ , bj rīgu from Basketball Japan ), actually Nihon Pro Basketball League ( 日本 プ ロ バ ス ケ ッ ト ボ ー ル リ ー グ , Nihon puro basukettobōru rīgu ) is a professional Japanese basketball league . It was created in 2005 in competition with the previously dominant Japan Basketball League . The league is divided into two divisions, the Eastern Conference with six teams and the Western Conference with seven teams.
The league is organized by the KK Nihon Pro Basketball League ( 株式会社 日本 プ ロ バ ス ケ ッ ト ボ ー ル リ ー グ , Kabushiki kaisha ~ ) founded on March 24, 2005 . The main sponsor is Spalding .
history
The first season 2005-2006 took place from November 5, 2005 to April 16, 2006 with 40 games per team. With 6 starter teams this resulted in 120 games in the season. The first draft took place on June 6, 2005. The playoffs and the final took place from April 28-30, 2006. Only the 4 best teams took part in the playoffs. 15 players per team were allowed to be registered, with no restrictions on nationality.
The first 6 teams in the new league were:
Two new teams were added in each of the three following years, and another in 2009.
Current season
In the current season, each team plays 52 games. Each team can have a maximum of three non-Asian and four non-Japanese players in the game. At the end of the season, the four best teams from each conference play in the playoffs for the championship title. At the end of the season there is an All-Star Game.
Western Conference
- Sendai 89ERS ( Sendai , Miyagi Prefecture )
- Niigata Albirex BB ( Niigata , Niigata Prefecture )
- Toyama Grouses ( Toyama , Toyama Prefecture )
- Saitama Broncos ( Tokorozawa , Saitama Prefecture )
- Tokyo Apache ( Shibuya , Tokyo Prefecture )
- Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix ( Hamamatsu , Shizuoka Prefecture and Higashimikawa Region , Aichi Prefecture )
Eastern Conference
- Shiga Lakestars ( Ōtsu , Shiga Prefecture )
- Kyoto Hannaryz ( Kyoto , Kyoto Prefecture )
- Osaka Evessa ( Kadoma , Osaka Prefecture )
- Takamatsu Five Arrows ( Takamatsu , Kagawa Prefecture )
- Rizing Fukuoka ( Fukuoka , Fukuoka Prefecture )
- Oita Heat Devils ( Beppu , Ōita Prefecture )
- Ryukyu Golden Kings ( Ginowan , Okinawa Prefecture )
Previous masters
- 2005-2006 Osaka Evessa
- 2006–2007 Osaka Evessa
- 2007-2008 Osaka Evessa
- 2008-2009 Ryukyu Golden Kings
- 2009-2010 Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix
- 2010–2011 Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix
- 2011–2012 Ryukyu Golden Kings
- 2012–2013 Yokohama B-Corsairs
- 2013-2014 Ryukyu Golden Kings
- 2014–2015 Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix
- 2016-2016 Ryukyu Golden Kings
Web links
- bj league (jap.)