LNB Élite

LNB Élite
Organising body	LNB
Founded	1921; 103 years ago
Countries	France (17 teams); Monaco (1 team)
Confederation	FIBA Europe
Number of teams	18
Relegation to	Pro B
Domestic cup(s)	French Cup ; Leaders Cup
International cup(s)	EuroLeague; EuroCup; Champions League; FIBA Europe Cup
Current champions	AS Monaco (2nd title) ; (2023–24)
Most championships	ASVEL (21 titles)
All-time top scorer	Hervé Dubuisson (19,013)
TV partners	DAZN; La Chaîne L'Equipe; Sport en France; Fanseat (select foreign markets); NBA App
Website	LNB Pro A
	2024–25 LNB Élite season

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.

Competition format

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]

1987–1992: Best-of-3 series
1993: Best-of-5
1994: Best-of-3
1995–1996: Best-of-5
1997–2004: Best-of-3
2005–2012: Single match (at Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy in Paris)
2013–present: Best-of-5
2021 only: Single match due to COVID-19 issues^[5]

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.

Current teams

Team	City	Arena	Capacity
ADA Blois Basket 41	Blois	Jeu de Paume	2,525
AS Monaco Basket	Fontvieille, Monaco	Salle Gaston Médecin	4,560
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	Adidas 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

Arena rules

Currently, LNB Pro A clubs must play in arenas that seat at least 3,000 people.

French League history

1920–21 to 1948–49 Excellence
1949–50 to 1962–63 Nationale
1963–64 to 1964–65 Première Division
1965–66 to 1986–87 Nationale 1
1987–88 to 1991–92 Nationale 1A
1992–93 Nationale A1
1993–94 to 2017–18 Pro A
2017–18 to 2020–21 Jeep Élite (title sponsorship took effect in the later stages of the 2017–18 season)^[6]
2021–22 to present: Betclic Elite^[3]

Title holders

1920–21: Stade Français
1921–22: Lille
1922–23: École Normale Arras
1923–24: FAM
1924–25: FAM
1925–26: FAM
1926–27: Stade Français
1927–28: FAM
1928–29: FAM
1929–30: FAM
1930–31: FAM
1931–32: CAUFA Reims
1932–33: CAUFA Reims
1933–34: Olympique Lillois
1934–35: CAM
1935–36: SCPO
1936–37: CAM
1937–38: SCPO
1938–39: Métro
1939–41: Not held due to WWII
1941–42: Métro
1942–43: Grenoble
1943–44: Grenoble
1944–45: Championnet Sports
1945–46: ESSMG Lyon
1946–47: PUC
1947–48: Union athlétique de Marseille
1948–49: ASVEL
1949–50: ASVEL
1950–51: Racing Club de France
1951–52: ASVEL
1952–53: Racing Club de France
1953–54: Racing Club de France
1954–55: ASVEL
1955–56: ASVEL

1956–57: ASVEL
1957–58: Étoile Charleville-Mézières
1958–59: Chorale Mulsant
1959–60: Étoile Charleville-Mézières
1960–61: Alsace de Bagnolet
1961–62: Alsace de Bagnolet
1962–63: PUC
1963–64: ASVEL
1964–65: Denain Voltaire
1965–66: ASVEL
1966–67: Alsace de Bagnolet
1967–68: ASVEL
1968–69: ASVEL
1969–70: Olympique Antibes
1970–71: ASVEL
1971–72: ASVEL
1972–73: Berck
1973–74: Berck
1974–75: ASVEL
1975–76: ASPO Tours
1976–77: ASVEL
1977–78: Moderne
1978–79: Moderne
1979–80: ASPO Tours
1980–81: ASVEL
1981–82: Moderne
1982–83: Limoges CSP
1983–84: Limoges CSP
1984–85: Limoges CSP
1985–86: Orthez
1986–87: Orthez
1987–88: Limoges CSP
1988–89: Limoges CSP
1989–90: Limoges CSP
1990–91: Olympique Antibes

1991–92: Pau-Orthez
1992–93: Limoges CSP
1993–94: Limoges CSP
1994–95: Olympique Antibes
1995–96: Pau-Orthez
1996–97: PSG Racing
1997–98: Pau-Orthez
1998–99: Pau-Orthez
1999–00: Limoges CSP
2000–01: Pau-Orthez
2001–02: ASVEL
2002–03: Pau-Orthez
2003–04: Pau-Orthez
2004–05: SIG Strasbourg
2005–06: Le Mans Sarthe
2006–07: Chorale Roanne
2007–08: SLUC Nancy
2008–09: ASVEL
2009–10: Cholet
2010–11: SLUC Nancy
2011–12: Élan Chalon
2012–13: JSF Nanterre
2013–14: Limoges CSP
2014–15: Limoges CSP
2015–16: ASVEL
2016–17: Élan Chalon
2017–18: Le Mans Sarthe
2018–19: LDLC ASVEL
2019–20: Cancelled due to COVID-19
2020–21: LDLC ASVEL
2021–22: LDLC ASVEL
2022–23: AS Monaco
2023–24: AS Monaco

Performance by club

Club	Champions	Winning years
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
AS Monaco	2	2022–23, 2023-24
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

Finals

Season	Home court advantage	Result	Home court disadvantage	1st of Regular Season	Record
1987–88	Limoges CSP	2–0	Cholet	Limoges CSP	26–4
1988–89	Limoges CSP	2–0	Orthez	Limoges CSP	28–2
1989–90	Limoges CSP	2–1	Olympique Antibes	Limoges CSP	33–1
1990–91	Olympique Antibes	2–1	Limoges CSP	Olympique Antibes	22–8
1991–92	Limoges CSP	0–2	Pau-Orthez	Limoges CSP	27–3
1992–93	Limoges CSP	3–1	Pau-Orthez	Limoges CSP	25–1
1993–94	Limoges CSP	2–0	Olympique Antibes	Limoges CSP	23–3
1994–95	Olympique Antibes	3–1	Pau-Orthez	Olympique Antibes	21–5
1995–96	Pau-Orthez	3–2	ASVEL	Pau-Orthez	27–3
1996–97	ASVEL	0–2	PSG Racing	Pau-Orthez	24–6
1997–98	Pau-Orthez	2–0	Limoges CSP	ASVEL	24–6
1998–99	Pau-Orthez	2–0	ASVEL	Pau-Orthez	27–3
1999–00	ASVEL	1–2	Limoges CSP	ASVEL	24–6
2000–01	ASVEL	0–2	Pau-Orthez	ASVEL	24–6
2001–02	Pau-Orthez	0–2	ASVEL	Pau-Orthez	24–6
2002–03	Pau-Orthez	2–1	ASVEL	Pau-Orthez	27–3
2003–04	Pau-Orthez	2–0	BCM Gravelines	Le Mans Sarthe	27–7
2004–05	SIG	1–0 (72–68)	SLUC Nancy	Le Mans Sarthe	25–9
2005–06	SLUC Nancy	0–1 (88–93)	Le Mans Sarthe	Pau-Orthez	26–8
2006–07	SLUC Nancy	0–1 (74–81)	Chorale Roanne	SLUC Nancy	25–9
2007–08	SLUC Nancy	1–0 (84–53)	Chorale Roanne	Le Mans Sarthe	23–7
2008–09	ASVEL	1–0 (55–41)	Entente Orléanaise Loiret	ASVEL	22–8
2009–10	Cholet	1–0 (81–65)	Le Mans Sarthe	Cholet	23–7
2010–11	Cholet	0–1 (74–76)	SLUC Nancy	Cholet	22–8
2011–12	Élan Chalon	1–0 (95–76)	Le Mans Sarthe	BCM Gravelines	27–3
2012–13	SIG	1–3	JSF Nanterre	BCM Gravelines	21–9
2013–14	SIG	0–3	Limoges CSP	SIG	20–10
2014–15	SIG	1–3	Limoges CSP	SIG	30–4
2015–16	SIG	2–3	ASVEL	Monaco	27–7
2016–17	Élan Chalon	3–2	SIG	Monaco	30–4
2017–18	Monaco	2–3	Le Mans	Monaco	25–9
2018–19	LDLC ASVEL	3–2	Monaco	LDLC ASVEL	35–10
2019–20	Not awarded due to the COVID-19 pandemic			Monaco	21–3
2020–21	LDLC ASVEL	87–74	JDA Dijon	JDA Dijon	30–7
2021–22	LDLC ASVEL	3–2	Monaco	LDLC ASVEL	34–11
2022–23	Monaco	3–0	Metropolitans 92	Monaco	26–8
2023–24	Monaco	3–1	Paris Basketball	Monaco	29–5

Historical players

Players with the most French League championships won

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

French basketball clubs in European and worldwide competitions

Individual awards

D. J. Cooper receiving the Most Valuable Player award in 2017

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:

LNB All-Star Game

Broadcasting

In July 2024, the LNB accounced it had signed an agreement until 2029 with DAZN which becomes the exclusive broadcaster for the Pro A.^[7] DAZN will broadcast all games, as well as the Leaders Cup and All-Star Game.^[7] The league's games are also accessible through the FIBA-operated Courtside 1891 platform.^[7]

Notes and references

^ "French Basketball League". fanseat.com. Spring Media. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
^ "NBA APP TO STREAM ALL LNB GAMES WITH TOP DRAFT PROSPECT VICTOR WEMBANYAMA FOR FREE". National Basketball Association. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
^ ^a ^b "Betclic nouveau partenaire et namer du championnat de France Élite". L'Équipe (in French). Retrieved 24 June 2021.
^ "2006–07 French League". Euroleague.net. Retrieved 2007-05-29.
^ "La Phase Finale de la Saison de Jeep® ÉLITE 2020-21 Officialisée" (Press release) (in French). Ligue Nationale de Basket. 1 June 2021. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
^ "La PRO A devient la Jeep® ELITE" [The PRO A becomes the Jeep® ELITE]. Msb.fr. 2 March 2018. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
^ ^a ^b ^c "DAZN, nouveau diffuseur officiel et exclusif du championnat Betclic ELITE jusqu'en 2029". Betclic ELITE (in French). 2024-07-03. Retrieved 2024-08-03.

External links

[1] "French Basketball League". fanseat.com. Spring Media. Retrieved October 2, 2021.

[2] "NBA APP TO STREAM ALL LNB GAMES WITH TOP DRAFT PROSPECT VICTOR WEMBANYAMA FOR FREE". National Basketball Association. Retrieved 2022-10-27.

[betclic-3] "Betclic nouveau partenaire et namer du championnat de France Élite". L'Équipe (in French). Retrieved 24 June 2021.

[4] "2006–07 French League". Euroleague.net. Retrieved 2007-05-29.

[5] "La Phase Finale de la Saison de Jeep® ÉLITE 2020-21 Officialisée" (Press release) (in French). Ligue Nationale de Basket. 1 June 2021. Retrieved 2 June 2021.

[jeepelite-6] "La PRO A devient la Jeep® ELITE" [The PRO A becomes the Jeep® ELITE]. Msb.fr. 2 March 2018. Retrieved 2 March 2018.

[:0-7] "DAZN, nouveau diffuseur officiel et exclusif du championnat Betclic ELITE jusqu'en 2029". Betclic ELITE (in French). 2024-07-03. Retrieved 2024-08-03.

[3]