# 2018–19 Pro A season

The 2018–19 Pro A season, for sponsorships reasons the Jeep Élite, was the 97th season of the Pro A, the top basketball league in France organised by the Ligue Nationale de Basket (LNB). It was the second season with Jeep as main sponsor. The season started on 21 September 2018 with the regular season and ended on 25 June 2019 with the last game of the finals.
LDLC ASVEL won its nineteenth French championship and its first one since 2016. In the finals, they defeated Monaco.

## Teams
### Promotion and relegation

Hyères-Toulon and Boulazac Basket Dordogne were relegated after the 2017–18 season after the teams ended in the last two places.
Blois promoted by finishing first in the regular season with a 27–7 record in the Pro B. Fos Provence made its Pro A debut after promoting, as Fos defeated Roanne in the finals of the promotion play-offs.
However, as ADA Blois did not meet the requirements for playing in Pro A, Boulazac remained in the league.

### Locations and arenas

| Team | Home city | Stadium | Capacity |
| Antibes Sharks | Antibes | Azur Arena Antibes | 5,249 |
| AS Monaco | Fontvieille, Monaco | Salle Gaston Médecin | 3,700 |
| ASVEL | Lyon–Villeurbanne | Astroballe | 5,556 |
| BCM Gravelines-Dunkerque | Gravelines | Sportica | 3,500 |
| Boulazac Dordogne | Boulazac | Le Palio | 5,200 |
| Champagne Châlons Reims | Reims | Complexe René-Tys | 3,000 |
| Cholet | Cholet | La Meilleraie | 5,191 |
| Élan Béarnais Pau-Lacq-Orthez | Pau | Palais des Sports de Pau | 7,707 |
| Élan Chalon | Chalon-sur-Saône | Le Colisée | 5,000 |
| ESSM Le Portel | Le Portel | Le Chaudron | 3,500 |
| Fos Provence | Fos-sur-mer | Parsemain Sports Complex | 2,000 |
| JDA Dijon | Dijon | Palais des Sports de Dijon | 5,000 |
| JL Bourg | Bourg-en-Bresse | Ekinox | 3,548 |
| Le Mans Sarthe | Le Mans | Antarès | 6,003 |
| Levallois Metropolitans | Levallois | Palais des Sports Marcel Cerdan | 4,000 |
| Limoges CSP | Limoges | Beaublanc | 6,000 |
| Nanterre 92 | Nanterre | Palais des Sports de Nanterre | 3,000 |
| SIG Strasbourg | Strasbourg | Rhénus Sport | 6,200 |

### Personnel and sponsorship

| Team | Head coach | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
| Antibes Sharks | Nikola Antić | Spalding | Mutuelles du Soleil |
| AS Monaco | Saša Obradović | Erreà | - |
| ASVEL | Zvezdan Mitrović | Peak | LDLC |
| BCM Gravelines-Dunkerque | Julien Mahé | BIG Sports | Caisse d'Épargne |
| Boulazac Dordogne | Thomas Andrieux | Kappa | E.Leclerc |
| Champagne Châlons Reims | Nikola Antić | Kappa | E.Leclerc |
| Cholet | Erman Kunter | Spalding | Système U |
| Élan Béarnais Pau-Lacq-Orthez | Laurent Vila | Peak | DPD |
| Élan Chalon | Jean-Denys Choulet | BIG Sports | Joker |
| ESSM Le Portel | Éric Girard | Kappa | Intersport |
| Fos Provence | Rémi Giuitta | Vive | Eiffage Construction |
| JDA Dijon | Laurent Legname | Erreà | Groupe Iserba |
| JL Bourg | Savo Vučević | Spalding | Charles Réma |
| Le Mans Sarthe | Alexandre Ménard | Kappa | Fermier de Loué |
| Levallois Metropolitans | Frédéric Fauthoux | Li-Ning | IDEX |
| Limoges CSP | Kyle Milling | BIG Sports | Intermarché |
| Nanterre 92 | Pascal Donnadieu | Nike | GTM Bâtiment |
| SIG Strasbourg | Vincent Collet | Adidas | Suez |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Replaced with | Date of appointment |
| ASVEL | Terence Parker | End of contract | 1 June 2018 | Pre-season | Zvezdan Mitrović | 26 June 2018 |
| AS Monaco | Zvezdan Mitrović | Signed with ASVEL | 26 June 2018 | Pre-season | Sašo Filipovski | 28 June 2018 |
| AS Monaco | Sašo Filipovski | Fired | 1 February 2019 | During Season | Saša Obradović | 1 February 2019 |

### Budgets

On 3 October 2018, the LNB published the budgets and salary expenditures of the Pro A clubs.
| Club | Budget (in €) | Salary expenditures |
| AS Monaco | 8,089,000 | 2,995,000 |
| SIG Strasbourg | 7,705,000 | 2,494,000 |
| Le Mans Sarthe Basket | 6,589,000 | 2,010,000 |
| Limoges CSP | 7,029,000 | 2,189,000 |
| JDA Dijon | 4,488,000 | 1,300,000 |
| ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne | 9,158,000 | 2,949,000 |
| Nanterre 92 | 4,877,000 | 1,617,000 |
| Élan Béarnais Pau-Lacq-Orthez | 5,161,000 | 1,353,000 |
| JL Bourg | 5,123,000 | 1,547,000 |
| Levallois Metropolitans | 5,125,000 | 1,641,000 |
| ESSM Le Portel | 3,546,000 | 1,219,000 |
| Élan Chalon | 5,163,000 | 1,538,500 |
| BCM Gravelines-Dunkerque | 5,837,000 | 1,833,000 |
| Champagne Châlons Reims Basket | 4,129,000 | 1,395,000 |
| Cholet Basket | 4,111,000 | 1,184,500 |
| Olympique d'Antibes | 3,410,000 | 1,017,000 |
| Boulazac Basket Dordogne | 3,483,000 | 1,267,000 |
| Provence Basket | 3,179,000 | 1,105,500 |
| Average | 5,342,000 | 1,704,000 |

## Regular season
### League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | LDLC ASVEL | 34 | 27 | 7 | 2859 | 2602 | +257 | Qualification for playoffs |
| 2 | Monaco | 34 | 24 | 10 | 2834 | 2586 | +248 | Qualification for playoffs |
| 3 | JDA Dijon | 34 | 23 | 11 | 2761 | 2546 | +215 | Qualification for playoffs |
| 4 | Nanterre 92 | 34 | 23 | 11 | 2870 | 2684 | +186 | Qualification for playoffs |
| 5 | ÉB Pau-Lacq-Orthez | 34 | 21 | 13 | 2692 | 2614 | +78 | Qualification for playoffs |
| 6 | SIG Strasbourg | 34 | 20 | 14 | 2765 | 2709 | +56 | Qualification for playoffs |
| 7 | Limoges CSP | 34 | 20 | 14 | 2865 | 2778 | +87 | Qualification for playoffs |
| 8 | Le Mans Sarthe | 34 | 20 | 14 | 2782 | 2637 | +145 | Qualification for playoffs |
| 9 | JL Bourg | 34 | 19 | 15 | 2793 | 2778 | +15 | |
| 10 | Boulazac Basket Dordogne | 34 | 17 | 17 | 2708 | 2700 | +8 | |
| 11 | BCM Gravelines | 34 | 16 | 18 | 2775 | 2815 | −40 | |
| 12 | Levallois Metropolitans | 34 | 14 | 20 | 2692 | 2759 | −67 | |
| 13 | Champagne Châlons Reims | 34 | 13 | 21 | 2814 | 2931 | −117 | |
| 14 | Élan Chalon | 34 | 12 | 22 | 2902 | 2869 | +33 | |
| 15 | Cholet | 34 | 11 | 23 | 2669 | 2882 | −213 | |
| 16 | ESSM Le Portel | 34 | 10 | 24 | 2647 | 2889 | −242 | |
| 17 | Fos Provence Basket (R) | 34 | 9 | 25 | 2591 | 2913 | −322 | Relegation to Pro B |
| 18 | Antibes Sharks (R) | 34 | 7 | 27 | 2521 | 2848 | −327 | Relegation to Pro B |

### Results

| Home \ Away | ANT | ASV | BCM | BOU | CHA | CHO | PAU | ELA | FOS | POR | DIJ | JLB | LMS | LEV | LIM | MON | NAN | STR |
| Antibes Sharks | — | 72–87 | 66–78 | 79–91 | 78–86 | 72–69 | 83–73 | 63–100 | 72–76 | 78–63 | 71–84 | 76–71 | 78–92 | 62–67 | 85–92 | 60–83 | 70–86 | 81–86 |
| LDLC ASVEL | 91–60 | — | 95–72 | 77–61 | 91–84 | 68–76 | 88–75 | 106–104 | 88–64 | 91–73 | 80–62 | 81–66 | 80–76 | 81–75 | 82–68 | 92–91 | 74–96 | 85–61 |
| BCM Gravelines | 88–71 | 84–96 | — | 69–77 | 85–81 | 87–83 | 52–80 | 66–91 | 116–85 | 86–71 | 70–86 | 65–78 | 69–76 | 97–85 | 88–83 | 74–65 | 84–80 | 78–87 |
| Boulazac Dordogne | 85–84 | 73–78 | 72–65 | — | 98–86 | 117–92 | 90–77 | 80–75 | 81–52 | 82–57 | 73–84 | 86–82 | 69–74 | 72–75 | 70–96 | 77–61 | 83–78 | 62–79 |
| Champagne Châlons Reims | 91–80 | 73–82 | 88–78 | 83–81 | — | 94–79 | 78–82 | 91–87 | 81–80 | 82–70 | 81–89 | 96–102 | 77–91 | 102–98 | 83–106 | 86–93 | 77–102 | 93–91 |
| Cholet | 74–91 | 76–87 | 84–71 | 77–92 | 75–85 | — | 63–70 | 98–94 | 99–83 | 81–79 | 61–67 | 89–82 | 70–64 | 69–96 | 76–84 | 82–87 | 98–92 | 75–112 |
| ÉB Pau-Lacq-Orthez | 73–72 | 82–79 | 82–73 | 97–95 | 77–67 | 70–79 | — | 101–96 | 84–77 | 92–69 | 63–59 | 74–85 | 91–90 | 84–69 | 84–69 | 68–70 | 84–75 | 98–57 |
| Élan Chalon | 92–70 | 89–92 | 100–102 | 97–65 | 66–98 | 89–84 | 78–82 | — | 88–74 | 92–70 | 81–89 | 76–79 | 85–74 | 90–79 | 73–77 | 79–78 | 94–97 | 77–92 |
| Fos Provence Basket | 80–87 | 62–85 | 62–88 | 88–76 | 84–73 | 70–77 | 90–91 | 76–73 | — | 67–79 | 61–82 | 78–76 | 68–88 | 64–72 | 87–72 | 80–77 | 73–95 | 74–82 |
| ESSM Le Portel | 98–87 | 69–72 | 82–87 | 70–72 | 83–81 | 84–92 | 75–69 | 82–85 | 85–83 | — | 90–69 | 86–92 | 76–90 | 83–78 | 90–81 | 83–82 | 82–105 | 82–79 |
| JDA Dijon | 84–55 | 94–77 | 82–84 | 83–66 | 87–65 | 76–72 | 81–78 | 80–72 | 112–85 | 94–58 | — | 73–76 | 78–70 | 79–75 | 109–87 | 81–84 | 87–81 | 80–55 |
| JL Bourg | 82–57 | 81–82 | 85–100 | 93–75 | 102–83 | 95–86 | 72–64 | 93–84 | 75–93 | 89–84 | 90–88 | — | 83–77 | 78–80 | 88–99 | 100–90 | 75–70 | 83–73 |
| Le Mans Sarthe | 98–89 | 89–83 | 89–87 | 86–78 | 89–74 | 83–77 | 94–74 | 88–74 | 100–84 | 102–82 | 81–57 | 79–61 | — | 80–69 | 60–68 | 76–64 | 75–84 | 71–75 |
| Levallois Metropolitans | 86–92 | 79–88 | 86–83 | 66–69 | 83–78 | 74–59 | 68–66 | 68–81 | 81–90 | 84–74 | 80–89 | 85–96 | 85–74 | — | 98–90 | 79–80 | 85–92 | 80–65 |
| Limoges CSP | 86–63 | 74–85 | 95–99 | 89–84 | 88–84 | 84–76 | 81–68 | 111–103 | 92–87 | 89–67 | 67–79 | 103–74 | 91–81 | 106–78 | — | 73–85 | 80–62 | 90–76 |
| Monaco | 103–89 | 63–66 | 94–74 | 85–74 | 83–59 | 88–67 | 91–74 | 93–78 | 78–69 | 90–85 | 89–71 | 85–74 | 82–65 | 87–89 | 87–68 | — | 75–63 | 83–79 |
| Nanterre 92 | 78–73 | 79–78 | 88–82 | 68–90 | 73–67 | 89–70 | 74–82 | 81–78 | 93–71 | 99–93 | 77–73 | 85–64 | 98–77 | 90–82 | 86–65 | 77–82 | — | 92–86 |
| SIG Strasbourg | 75–55 | 97–92 | 90–84 | 93–88 | 90–97 | 96–82 | 65–70 | 90–81 | 107–74 | 87–73 | 91–78 | 76–71 | 77–75 | 69–58 | 81–61 | 71–101 | 75–85 | — |

## Play-offs

Quarterfinals were played in a best-of-three games format, while the semifinals and the finals in a best-of-five (2–2–1) format.

### Bracket

| Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Finals | Finals | Finals |
| 1 | LDLC ASVEL | 2 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Le Mans Sarthe | 0 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Le Mans Sarthe | 0 | 1 | LDLC ASVEL | 3 | | | |
| | | | 4 | Nanterre 92 | 0 | | | |
| 4 | Nanterre 92 | 2 | 4 | Nanterre 92 | 0 | | | |
| 5 | ÉB Pau-Lacq-Orthez | 1 | | | | | | |
| 5 | ÉB Pau-Lacq-Orthez | 1 | | | | 1 | LDLC ASVEL | 3 |
| | | | | | | 2 | Monaco | 2 |
| 2 | Monaco | 2 | | | | | | | 2 | Monaco | 2 |
| 7 | Limoges | 0 | | | | | | |
| 7 | Limoges | 0 | 2 | Monaco | 3 | | | |
| | | | 3 | JDA Dijon | 0 | | | |
| 3 | JDA Dijon | 2 | 3 | JDA Dijon | 0 | | | |
| 6 | SIG Strasbourg | 0 | | | | | | |

### Quarterfinals

| Team 1 | Series | Team 2 | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 |
| LDLC ASVEL | 2–0 | Le Mans Sarthe | 73–67 | 70–63 | 0 |
| Monaco | 2–0 | Limoges | 93–73 | 90–62 | 0 |
| JDA Dijon | 2–0 | SIG Strasbourg | 94–62 | 89–85 | 0 |
| Nanterre 92 | 2–1 | ÉB Pau-Lacq-Orthez | 101–65 | 64–76 | 84–69 |

### Semifinals

| Team 1 | Series | Team 2 | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 | Game 5 |
| LDLC ASVEL | 3–0 | Nanterre 92 | 91–72 | 82–70 | 99–56 | 0 | 0 |
| Monaco | 3–0 | JDA Dijon | 82–77 | 84–75 | 81–78 | 0 | 0 |

### Finals

| Team 1 | Series | Team 2 | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 | Game 5 |
| LDLC ASVEL | 3–2 | Monaco | 81–71 | 73–67 | 62–97 | 81–89 | 66–55 |

## French clubs in European competitions

| Team | Competition | Progress |
| LDLC ASVEL | EuroCup | Quarterfinals |
| Limoges | EuroCup | Top 16 |
| Monaco | EuroCup | Top 16 |
| JDA Dijon | Champions League | Regular season |
| Le Mans Sarthe | Champions League | Round of 16 |
| Nanterre 92 | Champions League | Round of 16 |
| SIG Strasbourg | Champions League | Regular season |