Ligue Nationale de Basketball

For the Swiss basketball league of the same name, see Ligue Nationale de Basketball (Switzerland).

Ligue National de Basket (LNB)

Current season or competition: 2011–12 LNB season
Logo LNB
Sport	Basketball
Founded	1987
No. of teams	16 (Pro A) 18 (Pro B)
Country(ies)	France
Continent	FIBA Europe (Europe)
Most recent champion(s)	Nancy (2nd title)
Most titles	Pau-Orthez (7 titles)
Related competitions	Semaine des As
Official website	http://www.LNB.fr

The Ligue National de Basket (LNB) is the top men's French professional basketball league. There are two divisions: French Pro A League (first division) and French Pro B League (second division).

Pro A

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 Pro B. Starting in 2006–07, all rounds except for the finals are best-of-three series (previously, they had been two-legged); the final is a single game played at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy in Paris.

From the 2003-04 season till the 2006-07 season, the Pro A League had 18 teams.

Current clubs

• ASVEL Basket
• BCM Gravelines
• Cholet Basket
• Chorale Roanne Basket
• Élan Béarnais Pau-Orthez
• Élan Sportif Chalonnais
• Orléans Loiret Basket
• Hyères-Toulon Var Basket
• JDA Dijon Basket
• JSF Nanterre
• Le Mans Sarthe Basket
• Paris-Levallois Basket
• STB Le Havre
• SLUC Nancy Basket
• Strasbourg Illkirch Graffenstaden Basket
• Poitiers Basket 86

Historical players

Ron Anderson Nicolas Batum Jim Bilba Yann Bonato Bruce Bowen Michael Brooks Marcus Brown Don Collins Richard Dacoury Nando de Colo

Boris Diaw Alain Digbeu Hervé Dubuisson Laurent Foirest Ken Gardner Didier Gadou Mickaël Gelabale Ricardo Greer Keith Jennings Cyril Julian

Conrad McRae Gheorghe Mureşan Stéphane Ostrowski Tony Parker Mickaël Piétrus Florent Piétrus Micheal Ray Richardson J.R. Reid Antoine Rigaudeau Stéphane Risacher

David Rivers Delaney Rudd Marc Salyers Laurent Sciarra Moustapha Sonko Graylin Warner Frédéric Weis Michael Young John Linehan

Pro B

All 18 Pro B teams play each other twice during the regular season. The top eight regular season teams qualify for the Pro B playoffs. The regular season and playoff champions are promoted to Pro A while the bottom two regular season teams are relegated to the amateur Nationale 1 league. The quarterfinals and the semifinals are two-legged and the final is a single game.

Current clubs

• Aix Maurienne Savoie Basket
• ALM Évreux Basket
• Boulazac Basket Dordogne
• Champagne Châlons-Reims Basket
• Limoges CSP
• Étoile Sportive Saint-Michel Le Portel Côte d'Opale
• Fos Ouest Provence Basket
• Hermine de Nantes Atlantique
• JA Vichy
• Jeunesse Laïque de Bourg-en-Bresse
• JSA Bordeaux Basket
• Lille Métropole Basket Clubs
• Olympique Antibes/Juan-les-Pins/Côte d'Azur Basket
• Saint-Étienne Basket
• Saint-Vallier Basket Drôme
• Spes Philippin Omnisports Rouen Basket
• Stade Olympique Maritime Boulonnais
• UJAP Quimper

LNB champions

Season	Team
1987–88	Limoges
1988–89	Limoges
1989–90	Limoges
1990–91	Antibes
1991–92	Pau-Orthez
1992–93	Limoges
1993–94	Limoges
1994–95	Antibes
1995–96	Pau-Orthez
1996–97	Paris
1997–98	Pau-Orthez
1998–99	Pau-Orthez
1999–00	Limoges
2000–01	Pau-Orthez
2001–02	Lyon-Villeurbanne
2002–03	Pau-Orthez
2003–04	Pau-Orthez
2004–05	Strasbourg
2005–06	Le Mans
2006–07	Roanne
2007–08	Nancy
2008–09	Lyon-Villeurbanne
2009–10	Cholet
2010–11	Nancy

Performance by club

Club	Champions	Winning years
Pau-Orthez	7	1992, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2004
Limoges	6	1988, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1994, 2000
Antibes	2	1991, 1995
Lyon-Villeurbanne	2	2002, 2009
Nancy	2	2008, 2011
Paris	1	1997
Strasbourg	1	2005
Le Mans	1	2006
Roanne	1	2007
Cholet	1	2010

See also

• List of basketball clubs in France

External links

• Official Site