Sport Basketball No. of teams 18 Most recent
champion(s) ASVEL (18th title) | Founded 1921 Continent FIBA Europe | |
Country France (17 teams)
Monaco (1 team) | ||
The LNB Pro A (full name: Ligue Nationale de Basket Pro A; English: Pro National Basketball League A) is the top-tier level men's professional basketball league in France. The competition has existed since the year 1921. Since 1987, the Ligue Nationale de Basket (LNB) has organized the league. The bottom two placed teams from each season are relegated to the 2nd-tier level LNB Pro B.
Contents
Format
All 16 Pro A League teams play each other twice during the regular season. At the end of the regular season, the top eight teams qualify for the playoffs. The two teams with the worst regular season records are relegated to the 2nd-tier Pro B.
Through the 1985–86 season, the league championship was determined by a one-off final, or solely by league play. Since then, the format for the league finals has changed many times:
From the 2003–04 season, through the 2006–07 season, the Pro A League had 18 teams. Through the wild-card system, it will have 18 teams again from 2014–15 season.
2016–17 clubs
Arena rules
Currently, LNB Pro A clubs must play in arenas that seat at least 3,000 people.