| Most recent season or competition: 2015-16 NBL Japan season | |
| Formerly | Japan Basketball League |
|---|---|
| Sport | Basketball |
| Founded | 2013 |
| First season | 2013-14 |
| Ceased | 2016 |
| Replaced by | B.League |
| Owner(s) | Japan Basketball Association |
| No. of teams | 12 |
| Country | Japan |
| Confederation | FIBA Asia |
| Last champion(s) | Toshiba Brave Thunders Kanagawa |
| Most titles | 2 (Toshiba) |
The National Basketball League (NBL) was a professional basketball league in Japan run by the Japan Basketball Association (JBA). The first NBL season started in Autumn 2013, replacing the JBA's previous top-flight league, the Japan Basketball League. Below the NBL was the National Basketball Development League (NBDL), which was the successor to the former JBL 2 division.
The NBL and its predecessor existed alongside the bj league, an independent league based on the American sports franchise model that had been active since 2005. The JBA was suspended by FIBA in November 2014 for failing to address the fragmentation of the sport into competing leagues. As a condition of FIBA lifting the suspension in August 2015, the NBL and NBDL merged with the bj-league to form the B.League, which commenced in October 2016.[1] Accordingly, the 2015-16 NBL season was the league's third and final season.