Current season, competition or edition: 2023–24 Pro A season | |
Sport | Basketball |
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Founded | 1921 |
Administrator | LNB |
No. of teams | 18 |
Countries | France (17 teams) Monaco (1 team) |
Confederation | FIBA Europe |
Most recent champion(s) |
AS Monaco (1st title) ( 2022–23) |
Most titles | ASVEL (21 titles) |
TV partner(s) |
La Chaîne L'Equipe Sport en France Fanseat (select foreign markets) [1] NBA App [2] |
Relegation to | Pro B |
Domestic cup(s) |
French Cup Leaders Cup |
International cup(s) |
EuroLeague EuroCup Champions League FIBA Europe Cup |
Official website | LNB Pro A |
The LNB Élite, currently known for sponsorship reasons as Betclic Élite, [3] is the top-tier men's professional basketball league in France. The competition has existed since 1921. Since 1987, the Ligue Nationale de Basket (LNB) has governed the league.
Formerly known as the LNB Pro A, each season consists of 18 teams. The bottom two placed teams from each season are relegated to the second tier level Pro B. The winner of the play-offs of the league are crowned the French national champions.
All 18 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: [4]
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 the 2014–15 season.
Team | City | Arena | Capacity |
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ADA Blois Basket 41 | Blois | Jeu de Paume | 2,525 |
AS Monaco Basket | Fontvieille, Monaco | Salle Gaston Médecin | 3,700 |
ASVEL Basket | Lyon - Villeurbanne | Astroballe | 5,556 |
BCM Gravelines-Dunkerque | Gravelines | Sportica | 3,043 |
Cholet Basket | Cholet | La Meilleraie | 5,191 |
Élan Chalon | Chalon-sur-Saône | Le Colisée | 4,540 |
ESSM Le Portel | Le Portel | Le Chaudron | 3,500 |
JDA Dijon Basket | Dijon | Palais des Sports Jean-Michel Geoffroy | 4,628 |
JL Bourg Basket | Bourg-en-Bresse | Ekinox | 3,548 |
Le Mans Sarthe Basket | Le Mans | Antarès | 6,023 |
Limoges CSP | Limoges | Beaublanc | 5,516 |
Metropolitans 92 | Levallois-Perret | Palais des Sports Marcel Cerdan | 3,051 |
Nanterre 92 | Nanterre | Palais des Sports | 3,000 |
Paris Basketball | Paris | Porte de La Chapelle Arena | 8,000 |
Roanne Basket | Roanne | Halle André Vacheresse | 5,020 |
Saint-Quentin Basket-Ball | Saint-Quentin | Palais des Sports Pierre Ratte | 3,800 |
SIG Strasbourg | Strasbourg | Rhénus Sport | 6,200 |
SLUC Nancy Basket | Nancy | Jean Weille | 6,027 |
Currently, LNB Pro A clubs must play in arenas that seat at least 3,000 people.
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Club | Champions | Winning years |
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ASVEL | 21 | 1949–50, 1950–51, 1951–52, 1954–55, 1955–56, 1956–57, 1963–64, 1965–66, 1967–68, 1968–69, 1970–71, 1971–72, 1974–75, 1976–77, 1980–81, 2001–02, 2008–09, 2015–16, 2018–19, 2020–21, 2021–22 |
Limoges CSP | 11 | 1982–83, 1983–84, 1984–85, 1987–88, 1988–89, 1989–90, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1999–00, 2013–14, 2014–15 |
Pau-Lacq-Orthez | 9 | 1985–86, 1986–87, 1991–92, 1995–96, 1997–98, 1998–99, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2003–04 |
FAM | 7 | 1923–24, 1924–25, 1925–26, 1927–28, 1928–29, 1929–30, 1930–31 |
Le Mans Sarthe | 5 | 1977–78, 1978–79, 1981–82, 2005–06, 2017–18 |
Racing Paris | 4 | 1950–51, 1952–53, 1953–54, 1996–97 |
Alsace de Bagnolet | 3 | 1960–61, 1961–62, 1966–67 |
Olympique Antibes | 3 | 1969–70, 1990–91, 1994–95 |
Stade Français | 2 | 1920–21, 1926–27 |
CAUFA Reims | 2 | 1931–32, 1932–33 |
CAM | 2 | 1934–35, 1936–37 |
SCPO | 2 | 1935–36, 1937–38 |
Métro | 2 | 1938–39, 1941–42 |
Grenoble | 2 | 1942–43, 1943–44 |
Étoile Charleville-Mézières | 2 | 1957–58, 1959–60 |
PUC | 2 | 1946–47, 1962–63 |
Berck | 2 | 1972–73, 1973–74 |
ASPO Tours | 2 | 1975–76, 1979–80 |
Chorale Roanne | 2 | 1958–59, 2006–07 |
SLUC Nancy | 2 | 2007–08, 2010–11 |
Élan Chalon | 2 | 2011–12, 2016–17 |
ICAM Lille | 1 | 1921–22 |
École Normale Arras | 1 | 1922–23 |
Olympique Lillois | 1 | 1933–34 |
Championnet Sports | 1 | 1944–45 |
ESSMG Lyon | 1 | 1945–46 |
Marseille | 1 | 1947–48 |
Denain Voltaire | 1 | 1964–65 |
SIG | 1 | 2004–05 |
Cholet | 1 | 2009–10 |
Nanterre 92 | 1 | 2012–13 |
AS Monaco | 1 | 2022–23 |
Player | Club(s) | Number of Titles Won |
---|---|---|
Richard Dacoury | Limoges CSP (8), Racing Paris (1) | 9 |
Alain Gilles | ASVEL | 8 |
Frédéric Fauthoux | Pau-Lacq-Orthez | 7 |
Didier Gadou | Pau-Lacq-Orthez | 7 |
Henri Grange | ASVEL | 7 |
Jean-Michel Sénégal | ASVEL (2), ASPO Tours (2), Limoges CSP (3) | 7 |
André Buffière | Éveil Lyon (1), Marseille (1), ASVEL (4) | 6 |
Laurent Foirest | Olympique Antibes (2), Pau-Lacq-Orthez (3), ASVEL (1) | 6 |
Raymond Sahy | ASVEL | 6 |
In each Pro A season, individual honors are given to players and head coaches in the Pro A Awards ceremony who performed well during a given season. The awards that are handed out include: