# Basketball National League

The Basketball National League (BNL) is the pre-eminent male professional basketball league in South Africa. The league was founded in 2013, however, before the Premier Basketball League had been running as the country's premier basketball league.
The league also has a female counterpart, the Women's Basketball National League, which was established in 2021.
Egoli Magic are the most successful club in league history, having won five championships. The current champions are the Cape Town Tigers, who won the 2023 season.

## History
### PBL era

Founded in 1994 as the Premier Basketball League (PBL), the league was founded by six franchises. In an agreement with the national federation Basketball South Africa, the league began with four new teams, namely Capetown Eagles, Soweto Panthers, Capetown Kings and Pretoria Suns.
The leaguge was sponsored by Allied Bank, and later by Telkom. The PBL was disbanded in 1996.
The PBL disappeared for the following years, but made a return after nine years in 2007. The final of that season was won by the Soweto Panthers.

### BNL era

After a 14-year period without a national men's league, the Basketball National League (BNL) was founded in 2013. The Tshwane Suns won the inaugural BNL championship.
The BNL Season of 2018 started in August, the 3rd and ended on October, the 27th. For the first time ever, the championship was won by the Soweto Panthers.
In 2016 the league piloted a women's division in Gauteng, The Sturdy Stars won the title that year.
South Africa saw the official nationwide launch of the Women's Basketball National League (WBNL) in 2021, with the participating club expansion the W-Tshwane Suns won their first national championship on the 27 November 2021.
Because of the scarcity of available basketball arenas, all games between 2013 and 2015 were played at Wembley Stadium in Stafford, Gauteng, City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality, a former ice-rink which holds up to 3,000 visitors.
The league expanded to 12 clubs in the 2023 season, when the Cape Town Tigers, joined the league. The Tigers had already played in two seasons of the Basketball Africa League (BAL), the continent's most important tournament. The Tigers won the league in their debut season, after going unbeaten.
The defending champions Tigers withdrew for the sequential 2024 season because of budgetary constraints. Meanwhile, a promotion and relegation was introduced and last-ranked Eastern Cape Windbreakers were relegated, while MBB from the Inner City Super League (ICSL) joined the league.

## Current clubs

The league currently has 11 clubs:
| Team | Location | Founded | Joined |
| Egoli Magic | Johannesburg, Gauteng | 1994 | 1994 |
| Free State Warriors | Free State | 2012 | 2012 |
| KwaZulu Marlins | Durban, KwaZulu-Natal | 1994 | 1994 |
| Limpopo Pride | Limpopo | 2012 | 2012 |
| MBB | Johannesburg, Gauteng | 2012 | 2024 |
| Mpumalanga Rhinos | Mbombela, Mpumalanga | 2012 | 2012 |
| Northern Cape Zebras | Northern Cape | 2012 | 2012 |
| North West Eagles | Potchefstroom, North West | 2012 | 2012 |
| Soweto Panthers | Soweto, Gauteng | 1986 | 1994 |
| Tshwane Suns | Tswhane, Gauteng | 1996 | 1996 |
| Western Cape Mountaineers | Cape Town, Western Cape | 2013 | 2013 |

### Former teams

| Team | Location | Founded | Joined | Last season |
| Cape Town Tigers | Cape Town | 2019 | 2023 | 2023 |
| Eastern Cape Windbreakers | Eastern Cape | 2012 | 2012 | 2023 |

## List of champions

| Season | Champions | Runners-up | Finals score | Venue | Ref. |
| 1997 | KwaZulu Marlins | | | | |
| 1998–2006 | Inactive | Inactive | Inactive | Inactive | Inactive |
| 2007 | Soweto Panthers | KwaZulu Marlins | 79–78 | Mandeville Indoor Center, Johannesburg | |
| 2008–2012 | Inactive | Inactive | Inactive | Inactive | |
| 2013 | Tshwane Suns | Mbombela Wildcats | 79–68 | Wembley Stadium, Johannesburg | |
| 2014 | Tshwane Suns (2) | Duzi Royals | 65–60 | Wembley Stadium, Johannesburg | |
| 2015 | Egoli Magic | Duzi Royals | 2–1 (series) | Wembley Stadium, Johannesburg | |
| 2016 | Egoli Magic (2) | Tshwane Suns | 62–47 | Wembley Stadium, Johannesburg | |
| 2017 | Tshwane Suns (3) | Egoli Magic | 58–51 | Wembley Stadium, Johannesburg | |
| 2018 | Soweto Panthers | Egoli Magic | 84–58 | Wembley Stadium, Johannesburg | |
| 2019 | Egoli Magic (3) | Soweto Panthers | 59–55 | Wembley Stadium, Johannesburg | |
| 2020–21 | Egoli Magic (4) | Soweto Panthers | 85–67 | Wembley Stadium, Johannesburg | |
| 2021 | Egoli Magic (5) | Tshwane Suns | 53–39 | Wembley Stadium, Johannesburg | |
| 2022 | Tshwane Suns (4) | Western Cape Mountaineers | 66–62 | Wembley Stadium, Johannesburg | |
| 2023 | Cape Town Tigers | Tshwane Suns | 85–60 | Mandeville Indoor Center, Johannesburg | |
| 2024 | KwaZulu Marlins | Mpumalanga Rhinos | 2–0 (series) | Mandeville Indoor Center, Johannesburg | |

## Performance by team

| Club | Winners | Runners-up | Years won | Years runner-up |
| Egoli Magic | 5 | 2 | 2015, 2016, 2019, 2020–21, 2021 | 2017, 2018 |
| Tshwane Suns | 4 | 2 | 2013, 2014, 2017, 2022 | 2016, 2021, 2023 |
| KwaZulu Marlins | 2 | 1 | 1997, 2024 | 2007 |
| Soweto Panthers | 2 | 0 | 2007, 2018 | 2019, 2020–21 |
| Cape Town Tigers | 1 | — | 2023 | — |
| Duzi Royals | — | 2 | — | 2014, 2015 |
| Mbombela Wildcats | — | 1 | — | 2013 |
| Western Cape Mountaineers | — | 1 | — | 2022 |

## Individual awards
### MVP and Final MVP

| Season | MVP | Final MVP |
| 2007 | | Neo Mothiba (Panthers) |
| 2013 | | Neo Mothiba (Suns) |
| 2014 | Tichifara Mabiza (Suns) | |
| 2015 | Jose Salvador (Egoli) | |
| 2017 | Stephen Gabriel (Suns) | |
| 2018 | Tatenda Maturure (Soweto) | |
| 2019 | Bandile Nsele (Egoli) | |
| 2020–21 | Miguel Ferrão (Egoli) | Lehlogonolo Tholo (Soweto) |
| 2021 | Emmanuel Shine (Suns) | Nkosinathi Sibanyoni (Suns) |
| 2022 | Emmanuel Shine (Suns) | Kagiso Ngoetjana (Suns) |
| 2023 | Emmanuel Shine (Suns) | Nkosinathi Sibanyoni (Tigers) |