Greek Basket League
The Greek Basket League (GBL), often also referred to as the Greek A1 Basketball League, or Greek Basketball Championship (originally called Panhellenic Basketball Championship), is the first tier level professional basketball league in Greece. It is run by HEBA (Greek: ΕΣΑΚΕ), under the legal authority of the Hellenic Basketball Federation (E.O.K.).
| Founded | 1927 |
|---|---|
| First season | 1927–28 |
| Country | Greece |
| Federation | HEBA |
| Confederation | FIBA Europe |
| Number of teams | 12 |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| Relegation to | A2 Basket League |
| Domestic cup(s) | Greek Cup Greek Super Cup |
| International cup(s) | EuroLeague EuroCup FIBA Champions League FIBA Europe Cup |
| Current champions | Olympiacos (14th title) |
| Most championships | Panathinaikos (39 titles) |
| All-time top scorer | Vassilis Spanoulis |
| Commissioner | Vangelis Galatsopoulos |
| TV partners | ERT |
| Website | esake.gr (Greek) esake (English) |
| 2023–24 Greek Basket League | |
It is the highest-tier level of the Greek league system. The GBL plays under FIBA rules and currently consists of 13 teams, with the lowest-placed team relegated to the A2 Basket League and replaced by the winner of the play-offs of that tier. It runs from October to June, with teams playing 22 games each during the regular season, and the top 8 teams then competing in the playoffs. The first official Greek Basketball Championship was held in the 1927–28 season. The league held a competition in which the teams of the league played under a format with a nationwide schedule, for the first time, in the 1963–64 season. The league first held a playoff round in the 1986–87 season. The league first allowed foreign (non-Greek) players, in the 1988–89 season. The league became a fully professional competition in the 1992–93 season.
The league has always been ranked as one of the top 3-5 level national domestic leagues in European basketball, since league rankings began. For further information, see historical European national basketball league rankings, and European national basketball league rankings.