# 2018–19 Dutch Basketball League

The 2018–19 Dutch Basketball League (DBL) was the 59th season of the Dutch Basketball League, the highest professional basketball league in the Netherlands. The regular season started on 6 October 2018 and ended 30 April 2019. The best eight teams qualify for the playoffs which start on 2 May 2019. Donar was the defending champion.
The season saw Landstede Zwolle win its first domestic championship, after defeating defending champions Donar in the finals.

## Format

Due to the increase of teams from nine to ten, the format for the DBL season was changed. The eight highest-placed teams during the regular season qualify for the play-offs, while the two last-placed teams are eliminated. In the quarter-finals, a best-of-three series is played. In the semi-finals, a best-of-five series is played. The finals are decided through a best-of-seven series.

## Teams

On 3 May 2018, the DBL officially announced the Dutch Windmills would make their debut in the upcoming season. Forward Lease Rotterdam changed its name to Feyenoord Basketball, as the team became a part of the multi-sports club of association football club Feyenoord.
Despite reaching the semi-finals of the NBB Cup and being in the fifth place in the DBL, Windmills struggled with financial problems throughout the season. In December 2018, Windmills was refused entrance to its home arena due to its payment arrears. On 10 April 2019, it was announced that Windmills would withdraw from the DBL. Its results in the second half of the competition were scrapped by the DBL.

### Arenas and locations

| Club | Location | Venue | Capacity |
| Apollo Amsterdam | Amsterdam | Apollohal | 1,500 |
| Aris Leeuwarden | Leeuwarden | Kalverdijkje | 1,700 |
| BAL | Weert | Sporthal Boshoven | 1,000 |
| Den Helder Suns | Den Helder | Sporthal Sportlaan | 1,000 |
| Donar | Groningen | MartiniPlaza | 4,350 |
| Dutch Windmills | Dordrecht | Sporthal de Boulevard | 1,100 |
| Feyenoord | Rotterdam | Topsportcentrum | 1,000 |
| Landstede | Zwolle | Landstede Sportcentrum | 1,200 |
| New Heroes | 's-Hertogenbosch | Maaspoort | 2,800 |
| ZZ Leiden | Leiden | Vijf Meihal | 2,000 |

### Personnel and sponsorship

| Team | Head coach | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
| Apollo Amsterdam | Patrick Faijdherbe | Dimeo van der Horst | Adidas | Paul Meijering |
| Aris Leeuwarden | Anne van Dijk (interim) | David Michaels | Jako | Friezon |
| BAL | Radenko Varagić | Daan Rosenmuller | Spalding | – |
| Den Helder Suns | Peter van Noord | Tom Koopman | Burned | – |
| Donar | Erik Braal | Jason Dourisseau | Macron | Hepro Kunststof Kozijnen |
| Dutch Windmills | Geert Hammink | Alec Wintering | – | PyrOil |
| Feyenoord | Jan Stalman (interim) | Ties Theeuwkens | Adidas | Autohaag Zeeuw |
| Landstede | Herman van den Belt | Nigel van Oostrum | Burned | Landstede |
| New Heroes | Ivica Skelin | Stefan Wessels | Burned | New Heroes |
| ZZ Leiden | Rolf Franke | Mohamed Kherrazi | Peak | Zorg en Zekerheid |

### Coaching changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| ZZ Leiden | Paul Vervaeck | End of contract | 30 May 2018 | Pre-season | Rolf Franke | 11 June 2018 |
| Feyenoord | Armand Salomon | End of contract | 23 June 2018 | Pre-season | Richard den Os | 23 June 2018 |
| New Heroes | Silvano Poropat | Mutual consent | 27 August 2018 | Pre-season | Ivica Skelin | 4 September 2018 |
| Feyenoord | Richard den Os | Resigned | 10 March 2019 | 8th (7–19) | Jan Stalman (interim) | 10 March 2019 |
| Aris Leeuwarden | Tony van den Bosch | Signed with Okapi Aalstar | 8 April 2019 | 8th (9–22) | Anne van Dijk (interim) | 8 April 2019 |

## Players
### Foreign players

In 2017, league policy was changed and the number of allowed foreign players per team was increased from 4 to 5. Additional was the restriction that a team is not allowed to have five foreign players on the court at the same time.
| Club | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 | Player 4 | Player 5 | Left during season |
| Apollo Amsterdam | | | | | | |
| Aris Leeuwarden | Nick Masterson | David Michaels | Griffin Kinney | Deividas Kumelis | Darian Anderson | Jonathan Williams |
| BAL | Tony Washington | | | | | |
| Den Helder Suns | Alex Laurent | Steve Harris | Thibault Vanderhaegen | | | Lavone Holland |
| Donar | Drago Pašalić | Lance Jeter | Teddy Gipson | Grant Sitton | LaRon Dendy | Jordan Callahan Jobi Wall |
| Dutch Windmills | Shavon Coleman | Bennett Koch | Ryan Richardson | LaVonte Dority | Alec Wintering | |
| Feyenoord | Justin Gordon | Emanuele Montaguti | Trevor Setty | | | La'Shard Anderson Marius Mwendanga |
| Landstede | Noah Dahlman | Sherron Dorsey-Walker | Kaza Kajami-Keane | Kayel Locke | | Franko House |
| New Heroes | Jonathon Williams | Keshun Sherrill | Payton Henson | Vernon Taylor | | Steven Cook Darrell Davis Torian Graham |
| ZZ Leiden | Kenneth Simms | Clayton Vette | Maurice Watson Jr. | Darius Thompson | Sergio De Randamie | |

### Notable transactions

Transactions including players who have won a DBL award, were named to an All-DBL Team or were DBL All-Stars.
| Date | Player | From | To |
| 14 June 2018 | Jessey Voorn | ZZ Leiden | New Heroes |
| 25 November 2018 | Lance Jeter | Pieno žvaigždės | Donar |

### Notable retirements

| Player | Date | Team | Playing career | Notable honors |
| Tjoe de Paula | 19 April 2018 | Den Helder Suns | 2001–2018 | 2x DBL champion DBL Rookie of the Year |
| Kees Akerboom Jr. | 31 May 2018 | New Heroes | 2001–2018 | 11x DBL All-Star 3x DBL champion |

## Regular season
### League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | ZZ Leiden | 34 | 31 | 3 | 2950 | 2409 | +541 | 62 | Qualification to play-offs |
| 2 | Landstede | 34 | 28 | 6 | 2844 | 2314 | +530 | 56 | Qualification to play-offs |
| 3 | New Heroes | 34 | 26 | 8 | 2752 | 2313 | +439 | 52 | Qualification to play-offs |
| 4 | Donar | 34 | 22 | 12 | 2833 | 2457 | +376 | 44 | Qualification to play-offs |
| 5 | Den Helder Suns | 34 | 12 | 22 | 2489 | 2758 | −269 | 24 | Qualification to play-offs |
| 6 | Apollo Amsterdam | 34 | 10 | 24 | 2469 | 2855 | −386 | 20 | Qualification to play-offs |
| 7 | Aris Leeuwarden | 34 | 9 | 25 | 2409 | 2765 | −356 | 18 | Qualification to play-offs |
| 8 | Feyenoord | 34 | 9 | 25 | 2401 | 2747 | −346 | 18 | Qualification to play-offs |
| 9 | BAL | 34 | 5 | 29 | 2267 | 2828 | −561 | 10 | |
| 10 | Dutch Windmills (D) | 18 | 10 | 8 | 1282 | 1270 | +12 | 0 | Expelled |
* ↑ Dutch Windmills withdrew during the third round. Only matches of the two first rounds count for the standings.

### Results

| Home \ Away | AMS | LEE | BAL | DHE | WIN | DON | FEY | LAN | NHO | ZZL | AMS | LEE | BAL | DHE | WIN | DON | FEY | LAN | NHO | ZZL |
| Apollo Amsterdam | — | 94–80 | 91–71 | 92–80 | 59–71 | 73–85 | 91–89 | 60–91 | 66–106 | 61–93 | — | 88–59 | 80–60 | 92–80 | — | 58–72 | 89–78 | 63–87 | 85–79 | 83–91 |
| Aris Leeuwarden | 77–65 | — | 75–69 | 88–85 | 74–80 | 60–97 | 90–79 | 57–110 | 73–84 | 81–95 | 70–78 | — | 72–53 | 62–93 | — | 65–60 | 75–100 | 71–78 | 63–82 | 69–92 |
| BAL | 91–78 | 63–60 | — | 91–102 | 74–82 | 60–104 | 85–72 | 71–89 | 49–80 | 65–82 | 68–75 | 79–65 | — | 64–78 | — | 60–78 | 85–72 | 64–94 | 71–79 | 55–97 |
| Den Helder Suns | 77–68 | 67–68 | 95–64 | — | 55–76 | 73–91 | 76–67 | 67–80 | 55–88 | 73–78 | 102–82 | 76–66 | 95–64 | — | — | 67–96 | 80–69 | 44–76 | 76–87 | 57–68 |
| Dutch Windmills | 71–69 | 78–73 | 70–52 | 73–46 | — | 75–76 | 60–69 | 64–78 | 59–81 | 73–79 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Donar | 86–55 | 91–57 | 90–51 | 110–83 | 68–69 | — | 90–59 | 84–90 | 80–75 | 71–73 | 101–57 | 61–76 | 101–67 | 96–63 | — | — | 111–72 | 56–78 | 82–80 | 76–81 |
| Feyenoord | 67–52 | 83–72 | 68–70 | 72–69 | 60–77 | 77–79 | — | 77–89 | 64–76 | 80–91 | 78–56 | 57–103 | 69–54 | 72–69 | — | 66–82 | — | 75–66 | 60–74 | 58–97 |
| Landstede | 100–73 | 82–54 | 84–69 | 89–54 | 76–49 | 88–81 | 85–48 | — | 67–74 | 71–81 | 104–59 | 88–87 | 71–58 | 92–57 | — | 101–96 | 90–64 | — | 76–69 | 70–77 |
| New Heroes | 87–63 | 97–67 | 80–39 | 91–70 | 77–46 | 73–65 | 86–57 | 71–65 | — | 83–91 | 87–72 | 79–59 | 89–72 | 97–81 | — | 69–63 | 104–72 | 77–73 | — | 65–74 |
| ZZ Leiden | 93–72 | 96–75 | 100–73 | 97–76 | 91–66 | 83–77 | 88–64 | 82–87 | 72–67 | — | 89–58 | 91–64 | 103–84 | 83–61 | — | 82–85 | 92–68 | 79–82 | 89–59 | — |
* Note: Dutch Windmills withdrew from the tournament during the third round. Only matches of the two first rounds would count for the league table.

## Playoffs
### Bracket

| Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Finals | Finals | Finals |
| 1 | ZZ Leiden | 2 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Feyenoord | 0 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Feyenoord | 0 | 1 | ZZ Leiden | 0 | | | |
| | | | 4 | Donar | 3 | | | |
| 4 | Donar | 2 | 4 | Donar | 3 | | | |
| 5 | Den Helder Suns | 0 | | | | | | |
| 5 | Den Helder Suns | 0 | | | | 4 | Donar | 2 |
| | | | | | | 2 | Landstede | 4 |
| 2 | Landstede | 2 | | | | | | | 2 | Landstede | 4 |
| 7 | Aris Leeuwarden | 0 | | | | | | |
| 7 | Aris Leeuwarden | 0 | 2 | Landstede | 3 | | | |
| | | | 3 | New Heroes Den Bosch | 1 | | | |
| 3 | New Heroes Den Bosch | 2 | 3 | New Heroes Den Bosch | 1 | | | |
| 6 | Apollo Amsterdam | 0 | | | | | | |

### Quarter-finals

| Team 1 | Series | Team 2 | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 |
| ZZ Leiden | 2–0 | Feyenoord | 96–72 | 103–68 | 0 |
| Landstede | 2–0 | Aris Leeuwarden | 92–70 | 100–72 | 0 |
| New Heroes | 2–0 | Apollo Amsterdam | 88–59 | 94–62 | 0 |
| Donar | 2–0 | Den Helder Suns | 102–52 | 75–69 | 0 |

### Semi-finals

| Team 1 | Series | Team 2 | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 | Game 5 |
| ZZ Leiden | 0–3 | Donar | 76–77 | 71–84 | 63–93 | 0 | 0 |
| Landstede | 3–1 | New Heroes | 63–89 | 75–67 | 76–68 | 75–74 | 0 |

### Finals

| Team 1 | Series | Team 2 | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 | Game 5 | Game 6 | Game 7 |
| Donar | 2–4 | Landstede | 72–69 | 53–62 | 70–84 | 88–88 | 53–85 | 71–78 | 0 |

## Final standings

The final standings are based upon performance in the playoffs.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | Qualification |
| 1 | Landstede (C) | 46 | 37 | 9 | Qualification to FIBA Europe Cup regular season |
| 2 | Donar | 45 | 29 | 16 | Qualification to Champions League qualifying rounds |
| 3 | ZZ Leiden | 39 | 33 | 6 | Qualification to FIBA Europe Cup qualifying rounds |
| 4 | New Heroes | 40 | 29 | 11 | |
| 5 | Den Helder Suns | 36 | 12 | 24 | |
| 6 | Apollo Amsterdam | 36 | 10 | 26 | |
| 7 | Aris Leeuwarden | 36 | 9 | 27 | |
| 8 | Feyenoord | 36 | 9 | 27 | |
| 9 | BAL | 34 | 5 | 29 | |
| 10 | Dutch Windmills (D) | 18 | 10 | 8 | Expelled |
* ↑ Landstede rejected its invitation for the 2019–20 Basketball Champions League, moving its place to Donar.
* ↑ Dutch Windmills withdrew during the third round. Only matches of the two first rounds count for the standings.

## Awards

| Award | Player | Team |
| Most Valuable Player | Darius Thompson | ZZ Leiden |
| Playoffs MVP | Kaza Kajami-Keane | Landstede Zwolle |
| Statistical Player of the Year | Darius Thompson | ZZ Leiden |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Mohamed Kherrazi | ZZ Leiden |
| Coach of the Year | Rolf Franke | ZZ Leiden |
| MVP U23 | Rienk Mast | Donar |
| Most Improved Player | Rienk Mast | Donar |
| Sixth Man of the Year | Sergio De Randamie | ZZ Leiden |
| Rookie of the Year | Boy van Vliet | Den Helder Suns |

## Dutch clubs in European competitions

| Team | Competition | Progress |
| Donar | Champions League | Second qualifying round |
| Donar | FIBA Europe Cup | Round of 16 |
| New Heroes Den Bosch | FIBA Europe Cup | Regular season |
| ZZ Leiden | FIBA Europe Cup | Round of 16 |