 | |
| Sport | basketball |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2005 |
| First season | 2005–06 |
| Ceased | 2016 |
| Replaced by | B.League |
| Owner(s) | Basketball Japan League Co., Ltd. |
| Commissioner | Toshimitsu Kawachi |
| No. of teams | 24 |
| Country |  Japan |
| Continent | FIBA Asia |
| Last champion(s) | Ryukyu Golden Kings (4th title) |
| Most titles | Ryukyu Golden Kings (4 titles) |
| TV partner(s) | BS Fuji, Gaora |
| Sponsor(s) | Turkish Airlines (2014–2016) |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
The bj league (日本プロバスケットボールリーグ, Nihon Puro Basukettobōru Rīgu, also referred to as the Basketball Japan League) was a professional basketball league in Japan that began in November 2005 as a six-team league. The league was operated as a competitor to the established Japan Super League which was run by the Japan Basketball Association, the official governing body of basketball in Japan. Over the next ten years the league saw continual expansion, with at least one new team joining every season, reaching 24 teams divided into two conferences in its final season in 2015–16. Turkish Airlines was the major sponsor of the 2014–15 and 2015–16 seasons.[1]
The bj league operated on the American sports franchise system. This was in contrast to the Japan Super League and its successor, the National Basketball League, which was a corporate league composed primarily of company teams and other clubs affiliated with the JBA. There was no system of promotion and relegation between the two leagues. This division in the administration of the sport resulted in FIBA suspending the JBA from November 2014 until August 2015. As a condition of lifting the suspension, the bj league merged with the NBL and the National Basketball Development League to form the B.League.[2]
- ^ Turkish Airlines becomes top sponsor
- ^ Nagatsuka, Kaz (29 August 2015). "JPBL finalizes division placements for 2016–17". The Japan Times. Retrieved 16 September 2015.