ABA League
The ABA League, renamed to the ABA League First Division in 2017, is the top-tier regional men's professional basketball league that originally featured clubs from the former Yugoslavia (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Slovenia). Due to sponsorship reasons, the league was also known as the Goodyear League from 2001 to 2006, the NLB League from 2006 to 2011, and as the AdmiralBet ABA League from 2021.
 AdmiralBet ABA League logo | |
| Formerly | Goodyear liga (2001–2006) NLB League (2006–2010) |
|---|---|
| Organising body | ABA League JTD |
| Founded | 2001 |
| First season | 2001–02 |
| Countries |  Bosnia and Herzegovina Croatia Montenegro North Macedonia Serbia Slovenia Bulgaria (former) Czech Republic (former) Hungary (former) Israel (former) |
| Confederation | FIBA Europe |
| Number of teams | 14 |
| Level on pyramid | 1st |
| Relegation to | ABA Second Division |
| Domestic cup(s) | ABA Super Cup |
| International cup(s) | |
| Current champions | Partizan (7th title) (2022–23) |
| Most championships | Partizan (7 titles) |
| CEO | Dubravko Kmetović |
| President | Đorđije Pavićević |
| TV partners | |
| Website | aba-liga.com |
 2023–24 season | |
The league coexists alongside scaled-down national leagues in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia. All but one of Adriatic League clubs join their country's own competitions in late spring after the Adriatic League regular season and post-season have been completed. In the past, the league has also consisted of clubs from Bulgaria (Levski), the Czech Republic (ČEZ Nymburk), Hungary (Szolnoki Olaj), and Israel (Maccabi Tel Aviv) that received wild card invitations.
The Adriatic League is a private venture, founded in 2001 and run until 2015 by the Sidro, a Slovenian limited liability company. Since 2015, the league has been operated by ABA League JTD, a Zagreb-based general partnership for organizing sports competitions. Adriatic Basketball Association is the body that organizes the league and is a full member of ULEB, as well as a voting member of Euroleague Basketball's board.
History
At various points throughout mid-to-late 1990s, in the years following the breakup of SFR Yugoslavia and ensuing Yugoslav Wars, different basketball administrators from the newly independent Balkan states floated and informally discussed the idea of re-assembling a joint basketball competition to fill the void left by the dissolution of the former Yugoslav Basketball League whose last season was 1991–92.[1]
However, no concrete action towards that end was taken before the summer 2000 ULEB-supported creation of Euroleague Basketball Company under the leadership of Jordi Bertomeu that immediately confronted FIBA Europe, then proceeded to take a handful of top European clubs into its new competition for the 2000–01 season thereby opening an organizational split in European club basketball. During the 2000–01 split in the continent's top club competition, local Balkan basketball administrators from the ULEB-affiliated clubs Cibona, Olimpija, and Budućnost (that already competed in this new 'breakaway' Euroleague competition) shifted the discussions of creating a regional Balkan-wide basketball league into higher gear.
On the public relations front, Adriatic League was met with strong and mixed reactions. Though many hailed it as an important step for the development of club basketball in the Balkans region, many others felt that it brings no new quality and that it's not worth dismantling three domestic leagues. There was a lot of negative reaction from political circles, especially in Croatia, with even TV panel discussions being broadcast on Croatian state television. A very vociferous opinion in the country saw the league's formation as a political attempt to reinstate Yugoslavia.[2] The league organizers for their part did their best to appease the Croatian public with statements such as the one delivered by Radovan Lorbek in Slobodna Dalmacija in September 2001:
This is not a Yugoslav league, and it will never become a Yugoslav league. The Adriatic League has no clubs from Serbia and Macedonia, therefore the Adriatic League and Yugoslav league are not the same thing.[3][4]
Ten years later, in a 2011 interview for the Serbian newspaper Press, Roman Lisac explained the league's behind the scenes strategy during its nascent stages was actually quite different:
I'm convinced the league would've never been able to survive without Serbian clubs. Getting Crvena zvezda and Partizan to join the league was something that we worked on from day one. However, the situation ten years ago was not that simple. Too much antagonistic post-war politics was still all around us, and it made our task all the more difficult. Everything that smelled of old Yugoslavia caused a lot of resistance both in Croatia and in Serbia. I repeat, the idea of having both Crvena zvezda and Partizan in the league was there from the very beginning, but we avoided talking about it publicly because of politics.[5]
On 28 September 2001, the league announced a five-year sponsorship deal with Slovenian company Sava Tires from Kranj, a subsidiary of Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. The deal also included naming rights, hence from 2001 until 2006, the competition was known as the Goodyear League.
Debut season
With twelve clubs taking part in the inaugural 2001–02 season, the competition commenced in fall 2001 with four teams from Slovenia, four teams from Croatia, three teams from Bosnia-Herzegovina, and one team from FR Yugoslavia. The very first game was contested in Ljubljana between Olimpija and Široki on Saturday, 29 September 2001 at 5:30pm.[6]
Though the competition purported to gather the strongest sides from former Yugoslavia, as mentioned, teams from Serbia were noticeably absent, particularly Belgrade powerhouses and biggest regional crowd draws Partizan and Crvena zvezda. In addition to no clubs from Serbia proper, the league had no Serb-dominated clubs from Bosnia-Herzegovina either. Since the league founders mostly avoided talking about the issue due to fears of media backlash, the fact that no invitations were extended to Serbian clubs was generally explained through security issues due to organizers' fears of crowd trouble if Croatian and Serbian clubs were to start playing again in the same competition. Then in early February 2002, the public got a preview of just that when Cibona and Partizan met in Zagreb as part of that season's EuroLeague group stage. In a nationalistically charged and incident-filled encounter, Croatian fans peppered the Partizan players with rocks, flares, and even ceramic tiles before physically assaulting Partizan head coach Duško Vujošević in the guest team dressing room after the game.[6]
The Adriatic League debut season was marked by dwindling attendances and lukewarm media support. Still the league did receive a bit of a shot in the arm on 24 February 2002, when its managing body ABA got accepted as full member of ULEB.[7]
Second season
For the 2002–03 season, the league remained at the total number of 12 teams, while it went through major re-tooling internally. By the time season started, four teams dropped out (Sloboda Dita, Budućnost, Triglav, and Geoplin Slovan) to be replaced by: Israeli powerhouse Maccabi Tel Aviv, Crvena zvezda (the first team from Serbia in the competition), the Bosnian outfit KK Borac, and Croatian club KK Zagreb.
It was important for the league's long-term business to negotiate acceptable terms for the Serbian clubs to join the competition. To that end, Lorbek and Lisac went to Belgrade in early April 2002 with an offer of taking in three clubs from FR Yugoslavia for the Adriatic League's 2002–03 season.[8] The offer was flatly rejected initially by the representatives of five YUBA Liga clubs – Partizan, Crvena zvezda, Hemofarm, FMP, and Budućnost – as their unified platform was either all five or nothing. Taking in all five required expanding the league to 14 teams, which was something the league organizers weren't prepared to do due to the associated increase in operating costs. The negotiated agreement thus fell through for the time being. However, it didn't take long for dents to appear in the unified front put forth by five YUBA league clubs – in May 2002 Crvena zvezda's management (three businessmen close to the ruling Democratic Party in Serbia: Živorad Anđelković, Igor Žeželj, and Goran Vesić) hired Zmago Sagadin to be the club's new general manager – and soon after, in June 2002, the club broke the ranks by negotiating terms on its own thus agreeing to join the Adriatic League for the 2002–03 season.[8]
Competition
Competition system
As of the 2013–14 season the league comprises a 26-game regular season, with the top 4 sides making the play-offs.[9]
From 2002 through 2004, four teams qualified, and the playoffs were termed the "Final Four"; starting in 2005, eight teams advanced to the "Final Eight" round. All playoff rounds consist of one-off knockout matches, unusual among European leagues. However, since all Adriatic League clubs play in domestic leagues at the same time, and many also play in the EuroLeague, the current format has the virtue of limiting fixture congestion for the playoff sides.
In 2017, the ABA League Second Division was created. The last qualified team from ABA League would be relegated to the Second Division and replaced by the winner of this one.
Current clubs
The following 14 clubs are competing in the 2023–24 ABA season:[10]
| Borac |
Buducnost |
Cedevita Olimpija |
Cibona |
| Crvena Zvezda |
FMP |
Igokea |
Krka |
| Mega Bemax |
Mornar Bar |
Partizan NIS |
Split |
| Studentski centar |
Zadar | ||
Finals
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Records and statistics
By club
| Club | Won | Runner-up | Years won | Years runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Partizan |
7 |
3 |
2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2023 | 2005, 2006, 2022 |
| Crvena zvezda |
6 |
3 |
2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2022 | 2013, 2018, 2023 |
| FMP (defunct) |
2 |
1 |
2004, 2006 | 2007 |
| Cibona |
1 |
3 |
2014 | 2004, 2009, 2010 |
| Budućnost |
1 |
2 |
2018 | 2019, 2021 |
| Maccabi Tel Aviv (restricted) |
1 |
1 |
2012 | 2003 |
| Vršac |
1 |
1 |
2005 | 2008 |
| Olimpija (defunct) |
1 |
1 |
2002 | 2011 |
| Zadar |
1 |
0 |
2003 | |
| Cedevita |
0 |
4 |
2012, 2014, 2015, 2017 | |
| Mega Basket |
0 |
1 |
2016 | |
| Krka |
0 |
1 |
2002 | |
| Total | 21 | 21 |
By country
| Club / Nation | Won | Runner-up | Finals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serbia |
16 |
9 |
25 |
| Croatia |
2 |
7 |
9 |
| Montenegro |
1 |
2 |
3 |
| Slovenia |
1 |
2 |
3 |
| Israel |
1 |
1 |
2 |
| Total | 21 | 21 | 42 |
All-time participants
The following is a list of clubs who have played in the Adriatic League at any time since its formation in 2001 to the current season. A total of 41 teams from 10 countries have played in the League.
| 2D | Played in the Second Division | |||||
| Canceled | Season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | |||||
| Defunct | Defunct teams | |||||
| Restricted | Teams out of the Adriatic area | |||||
| Suspended | Suspended teams | |||||
| 1st | Champions | |||||
| 2nd | Runners-up | |||||
| SF | Semi-finalists | |||||
| Bold | Teams playing in the 2023–24 season | |||||
| R | Regular season champions | |||||
| Team | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20[lower-alpha 1] | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | Total seasons |
Highest finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Borac Banja Luka | – | 11th | 13th | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2D | 2D | 2 | 11th |
| Bosna | 12th | 12th | – | QF | QF | 10th | – | 7th | 13th | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2D | – | – | – | – | – | – | 7 | Quarter-finals |
| Igokea | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 11th | – | SFR | 6th | 12th | 9th | 5th | 10th | 8th | Cn. | SF | QF | 9th | TBD | 13 | Semi-finals |
| Sloboda Tuzla | 5th | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | 5th |
| Široki | 6th | 9th | 12th | 13th | 11th | 11th | 12th | – | 10th | 9th | 5th | 10th | 14th | – | – | – | – | – | 2D | 2D | 2D | 2D | 2D | 12 | 5th |
| Levski Sofia | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 14th | Restricted | 1 | 14th | ||||||||
| Cedevita Junior | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 7th | 7th | 2nd | 6th | 2nd | 2nd | SF | 2nd | SF | SF | – | – | – | – | 2D | 10 | 2nd |
| Cibona | SF | 5th | 2ndR | QF | QF | SF | QF | 2nd | 2ndR | 12th | 7th | 11th | 1st | 11th | 8th | 7th | 11th | 7th | Cn. | 9th | 8th | 11th | TBD | 23 | 1st |
| Split | 8th | 10th | 9th | 15th | – | 14th | 10th | 10th | – | – | – | 14th | – | – | – | – | 2D | 2D | 2D | 13th | 13th | 10th | TBD | 12 | 8th |
| Šibenik | – | – | – | 11th | – | – | – | – | – | Defunct | 1 | 11th | |||||||||||||
| Triglav Osiguranje | 10th | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | Defunct | 1 | 10th | ||||||||||||||
| Zadar | 7th | 1st | 8th | QF | QF | 7th | SF | 5th | 8th | 14th | – | 12th | 13th | 8th | 6th | 12th | 6th | 11th | Cn. | 10th | 12th | QF | TBD | 22 | 1st |
| Zagreb | – | 6th | 11th | 12th | 13th | 12th | 11th | 13th | 6th | 5th | 9th | - | – | – | – | – | – | Defunct | 10 | 5th | |||||
| Nymburk | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 8th | – | – | – | – | Restricted | 1 | 8th | ||||||||
| Szolnoki Olaj | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 13th | 12th | 7th | Restricted | 3 | 7th | ||||||||
| Maccabi Tel Aviv | – | 2nd | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1stR | – | – | – | Restricted | 2 | 1st | ||||||||
| Budućnost | 9th | – | 5th | 14th | – | 5th | QF | 6th | 5th | SF | SF | 5th | 5th | SF | SFR | SF | 1st | 2nd | Cn. | 2nd | SF | SF | TBD | 21 | 1st |
| Lovćen | – | – | 14th | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2D | 2D | 2D | 2D | 2D | – | – | 1 | 14th |
| Mornar | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 8th | SF | 9th | Cn. | SF | 9th | 12th | TBD | 8 | Semi-finals |
| Studentski centar | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2D | 7th | QF | TBD | 3 | 7th |
| Sutjeska | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 13th | – | – | 2D | 2D | 2D | 2D | 2D | 2D | 1 | 13th |
| Karpoš Sokoli | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 10th | Suspended | – | – | 1 | 10th | ||||
| MZT Skopje | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 7th | 9th | 13th | 10th | 13th | 12th | 2D | 2D | 2D | 2D | 14th | 2D | 7 | 7th |
| Borac Čačak | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2D | 2D | 2D | 11th | 11th | 13th | TBD | 4 | 11th |
| Crvena zvezda | – | SFR | SF | SF | SF | 6th | QF | SF | 9th | 13th | 10th | 2nd | SFR | 1stR | 1st | 1stR | 2ndR | 1stR | Cn. | 1stR | 1stR | 2nd | TBD | 22 | 1st |
| FMP | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 9th | 8th | 6th | Cn. | 8th | QF | QF | TBD | 8 | Quarter-finals |
| FMP Železnik | – | – | 1st | SF | 1st | 2ndR | QF | 8th | 12th | – | Defunct | 7 | 1st | ||||||||||||
| Mega | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 8th | 10th | 2nd | 6th | 9th | 5th | Cn. | 6th | 10th | QF | TBD | 11 | 2nd |
| Metalac Valjevo | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 6th | 11th | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | 6th |
| Partizan | – | – | – | 2nd | 2ndR | 1st | 1stR | 1stR | 1st | 1stR | SF | 1st | SF | SF | 5th | SF | 5th | SF | Cn. | 7th | 2nd | 1stR | TBD | 20 | 1st |
| Radnički Kragujevac | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 11th | 10th | 8th | SF | 11th | Defunct | 5 | Semi-finals | |||||||||
| Vojvodina Srbijagas | – | – | – | – | QF | – | 9th | 14th | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | Defunct | 3 | Quarter-finals | |||||||
| Vršac | – | – | – | 1stR | SF | SF | 2nd | SF | SF | 6th | 12th | – | – | – | – | – | 2D | 2D | – | – | – | – | – | 8 | 1st |
| Cedevita Olimpija | Unfounded | Cn. | 5th | SF | SF | TBD | 5 | Semi-finals | |||||||||||||||||
| Helios Suns | – | – | – | 16th | 12th | 8th | 13th | 12th | 14th | – | 13th | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2D | 2D | 2D | 2D | 2D | 2D | 7 | 8th |
| Koper Primorska | Unfounded | – | – | 2D | 2D | Cn. | 14th | Defunct | 2 | 14th | |||||||||||||||
| Krka | 2nd | 7th | 7th | – | – | – | – | 11th | – | SF | 11th | 9th | 7th | 9th | 12th | 14th | 2D | 10th | Cn. | 12th | 14th | 2D | TBD | 16 | 2nd |
| Olimpija | 1stR | SF | SF | QF | 10th | 9th | SF | 9th | SF | 2nd | 6th | 8th | 10th | 5th | 7th | 11th | 7th | 12th | Defunct | 18 | 1st | ||||
| Slovan | 11th | – | 10th | 10th | 9th | 13th | 14th | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 6 | 9th |
| Tajfun | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 14th | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | 14th |
| Zlatorog Laško | SF | 8th | 6th | 9th | 14th | – | – | – | – | – | 14th | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 6 | Semi-finals |
Awards
Records
Source:[11]
Players
- Highest Index Ratings in a Game
- 59 by Dejan Milojević, Budućnost vs Reflex on 3 January 2004
- Most Points in a Game
- 47 by Daron Russell, Mornar vs. Zadar on 9 October 2022
- Most Two Point Field Goals Made in a Game
- 17 by Márton Báder, Szolnoki Olaj at Široki on 7 October 2012
- Most Three Point Field Goals Made in a Game
- 10 by Josip Sesar, Široki vs. Union Olimpija on 19 November 2005
- 10 by Teemu Rannikko, Union Olimpija at Zagreb on 18 December 2005
- Most Free Throws Made in a Game
- 19 by Igor Rakočević, Crvena zvezda at Reflex on 16 April 2004
- 19 by Milan Gurović, Crvena zvezda at FMP on 30 September 2006
- 19 by Milan Gurović, Crvena zvezda vs. FMP on 16 December 2006
- 19 by Damir Mulaomerović, Zagreb vs. FMP on 19 January 2010
- Most Rebounds in a Game
- 23 by Tommy Smith, Split vs. Reflex on 4 October 2003
- 23 by Boris Savović, Hemofarm vs. Radnički Kragujevac on 22 October 2011
- Most Assists in a Game
- 19 by Žan Mark Šiško, Primorska vs. Zadar on 9 December 2019
- Most Steals in a Game
- 9 by Curtis McCants, Split vs. Zagreb on 16 December 2003
- 9 by Andrés Rodríguez, Union Olimpija at Partizan on 7 November 2004
- 9 by Jure Močnik, Helios at Split on 6 April 2005
- Most Blocks in a Game
- 7 by Smiljan Pavič, Union Olimpija vs. Bosna on 27 November 2004
- 7 by Slavko Vraneš, Partizan at Cibona on 10 January 2010
- 7 by Shawn James, Maccabi Tel Aviv vs. Zlatorog Laško on 5 January 2012
- 7 by Zoran Nikolić, Budućnost vs. Igokea on 15 October 2016
- 7 by Uroš Luković, Mornar vs. Mega Basket on 14 December 2019
- Most Turnovers in a Game
- 11 by Jiří Welsch, Union Olimpija at Pivovarna Laško on 9 February 2002
- 11 by Nikola Korač, Sutjeska at Mega Basket on 30 October 2015
- 11 by Nejc Barič, Split at FMP on 14 December 2021
- 11 by Luka Božić, Zadar at Borac on 23 October 2022
Clubs
- Longest winning streak
- 20 games by Crvena zvezda for the 2014–15 and 2016–17 seasons
- Longest losing streak
- 21 games by Levski Sofia for the 2014–15 season
- Biggest Winning Margin
- Most Won Games in a Season
- Crvena zvezda won 25 out of 26 games for the 2016–17 season
- Most Lost Games in a Season
- Most Points scored in a Season
- Hemofarm scored 2591 points in 30 games for the 2004–05 season
- Crvena zvezda scored 2325 points in 26 games for the 2006–07 season
- Lowest Scored Points in a Season
- Bosna scored 1443 points in 22 games for the 2001–02 season
- Zlatorog Laško scored 1688 points in 26 games for the 2011–12 season
All-time leaders
From the 2001–02 to the 2022–23 season:
| Accumulated | ||
|---|---|---|
| Points | Nemanja Gordić | 3,257 |
| Field goals | Nemanja Gordić | 1,132 |
| 3 Points | Suad Šehović | 406 |
| Defensive Rebounds | Marin Rozić | 1,043 |
| Offensive Rebounds | Alen Omić | 434 |
| Total Rebounds | Marin Rozić | 1,327 |
| Assists | Nemanja Gordić | 1,100 |
| Steals | Nebojša Joksimović | 401 |
| Blocks | Slavko Vraneš | 272 |
| Index Ratings | Todor Gečevski | 3,212 |
| Games Played | Branko Lazić | 378 |
Source: ABA League player statistics
Notable players
Well-known basketball players who have played in the Adriatic League include:
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Notes
- Season was canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic
References
- Mitrović: Bogosavljev je dao ideju;Press, 11 July 2011
- Jadranska liga ili samoubistvo pod obručima;NSPM, 31 December 2008
- Deset godina NLB lige: Kako je Partizan gurnut u Jadran;Press, 15 July 2011
- Bibić, Milorad (28 September 2001). "Jadranska liga donosi košarkašku REVOLUCIJU!". Slobodna Dalmacija. Archived from the original on 2 August 2017. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
- Lisac: Jadranska liga bi propala bez Srba;Press, 23 July 2011
- Deset godina NLB lige: Huligani odložili ulazak Partizana;Press, 12 July 2011
- Deset godina Jadranske lige: Košarka nas je održala;Press, 10 July 2011
- Deset godina NLB lige: Zvezdin izlazak na Jadran;Press, 13 July 2011
- "ADRIATIC LEAGUE – Players showing off World Cup credentials". FIBA. 10 December 2013. Archived from the original on 30 December 2013. Retrieved 29 December 2013.
- "Conclusions of the ABA League j.t.d. Assembly session in Zagreb". aba-liga.com. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
- "ABA League – interesting facts and figures". abaliga.com. Archived from the original on 2 October 2014. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
External links
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