BNXT League

The BNXT League, for sponsorship reasons the betFirst BNXT League, is a professional basketball league in Belgium and the Netherlands. The league is the first tier in both the Dutch and Belgian system, replacing the DBL and PBL. The inaugural season was the 2021–22 season, which started in September 2021.

BNXT League
Organising bodyDutch Basketball League
Pro Basketball League
FoundedDecember 10, 2020 (2020-12-10)
First season2021–22
CountryBelgium Belgium
Netherlands Netherlands
ConfederationEuropean Union FIBA Europe
Number of teams20
Level on pyramid1
Domestic cup(s)Basketball Cup (Netherlands)
Basketball Cup (Belgium)
SupercupBNXT Supercup
Dutch Supercup
International cup(s)Basketball Champions League
FIBA Europe Cup
Current championsZZ Leiden (1st title)
(2021–22)
Most championshipsZZ Leiden
CEOWim Van de Keere
PresidentRamses Braakman
TV partnersbnxt.tv (PlaySight Interactive)
Websitebnxtleague.com
2022–23 BNXT League

The BNXT League plays national playoffs as well as a cross-border playoffs to determine a Dutch champion, Belgian champion and BNXT champion.

History

On 10 December 2020, it was announced that the Belgian Pro Basketball League and Dutch Basketball League would merge to form a new multinational league.[1] All clubs from the Dutch DBL voted for, while 9 of 10 teams in Belgium voted in favor of the decision. Serious talks about the initiative had been ongoing since fall 2019.[2] On 20 May 2021, the new name "BNXT League" and logo of the league were announced.[3]

The league started its inaugural season amidst an ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and a great number of games had to be played behind locked doors as a result of national lockdowns.[4] On 11 June 2022, ZZ Leiden were crowned the inaugural BNXT champions.[5]

Sponsorship

On 10 September 2021, the league announced its first name sponsorship when Belgian betting company betFirst signed to become naming sponsor for three seasons.[6]

Competition formula

The league consists of different stages. In the first stage, teams play each other home and away in the national regular season. After this, the teams are divided in the Elite Gold and Elite Silver group for the cross-border season. Next, the teams from the Elite Gold and the best team from the Elite Silver play in the national playoffs to compete for the national championships. At the same time the BNXT Play-offs start to determine the league winner.[1]

Teams entering in this round
National regular season
(22 teams)
  • Belgian teams play each other twice
  • Dutch teams play each other twice
Elite Gold
(10 teams)
  • Best 5 Dutch teams
  • Best 5 Belgian teams
Elite Silver
(10 teams)
  • Bottom-5 Dutch teams
  • Bottom-5 Belgian teams
National play-offs
(6 teams)
  • Top two Gold teams from each country go directly to semifinals
  • Three other Gold teams play in quarter-finals
  • Best Silver team joins the quarter-finals
BNXT League play-offs
(16–24 teams)

Teams

The following 20 teams will play in the 2022–23 season:

Stadiums and locations
Location of teams in the 2021–22 BNXT League.
Note: Table lists in alphabetical order.
Club Location Venue Capacity Founded National
titles
Netherlands
Apollo AmsterdamAmsterdamApollohal1,5002011–
Aris LeeuwardenLeeuwardenKalverdijkje1,7002004–
BALWeertSporthal Boshoven1,0002013–
Den Helder SunsDen HelderSporthal Sportlaan1,0002016–
DonarGroningenMartiniPlaza4,35019517
FeyenoordRotterdamTopsportcentrum Rotterdam2,5001954–
Heroes Den Bosch's-HertogenboschMaaspoort2,800195217
Landstede HammersZwolleLandstede Sportcentrum1,20019951
Yoast UnitedBemmelDe Kooi6502020–
ZZ LeidenLeidenVijf Meihal2,00019584
Belgium
Antwerp Giants Antwerp Lotto Arena 5,218 1995 1
Kangoeroes Mechelen Mechelen Winketkaai 1,500 2009 –
Leuven Bears Leuven Sportoase 3,400 1999 –
Liège Basket Liège Country Hall 5,000 1967 –
Limburg United Hasselt Alverberg Sporthal 1,730 2014 –
Mons-Hainaut Mons Mons Arena 4,000 1959 –
Okapi Aalst Aalst Okapi Forum 2,800 1949 –
Oostende Ostend Sleuyter Arena 5,000 1970 23
Circus Brussels Brussels Complexe de Neder-Over-Hembeek 1,200 1957 –
Spirou Charleroi Spiroudome 6,200 1989 10

Former teams
Club Location Venue Capacity Founded Seasons Last season
The Hague RoyalsThe HagueSportcampus Zuiderpark3,50020201 2021–22

BNXT champions
Season Champions Score Runners-up Finals MVP
2021–22 ZZ Leiden 146–142
(75–72, 71–70)		 Donar Worthy de Jong

National champions

Netherlands
Season Champions Score Runners-up Finals MVP
2021–22 Heroes Den Bosch 3–2 ZZ Leiden Thomas van der Mars

Belgium
Season Champions Score Runners-up Finals MVP
2021–22 Oostende 3–1 Kangoeroes Mechelen Keye van der Vuurst de Vries

Awards

Broadcasting partners

Notes

    References
    1. "The Pro Basketball League and Dutch Basketball League about to launch BeNeLeague as of the 2021–2022 season". Pro Basketball League. 10 December 2020. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
    2. "Ook basketbalbonden onderzoeken mogelijkheden BeNeLeague". AD (in Dutch). 23 December 2019. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
    3. "BeNeLiga in het basketbal wordt de BNXT League: toekomst, de 'Generation Z' en groei". HLN.be. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
    4. "Basketbalclubs BNXT League beslissen drie weken lang zelf of thuisduels doorgaan". nos.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 25 February 2022.
    5. "ZZ Leiden first BNXT League champion". BNXT League. 2022-06-11. Retrieved 2022-06-12.
    6. "BETFIRST NEW TITLE SPONSOR BNXT LEAGUE". BNXT League. 10 September 2021. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
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