ABA League

ABA League
The ABA League, renamed to the ABA League First Division in 2017, is the top-tier regional men's professional basketball league that originally featured clubs from the former Yugoslavia (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Slovenia). Due to sponsorship reasons, the league was also known as the Goodyear League from 2001 to 2006, the NLB League from 2006 to 2011, and as the AdmiralBet ABA League from 2021.
The league coexists alongside scaled-down national leagues in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia. All but one of Adriatic League clubs join their country's own competitions in late spring after the Adriatic League regular season and post-season have been completed. In the past, the league has also consisted of clubs from Bulgaria (Levski), the Czech Republic (ČEZ Nymburk), Hungary (Szolnoki Olaj), and Israel (Maccabi Tel Aviv) that received wild card invitations.
The Adriatic League is a private venture, founded in 2001 and run until 2015 by the Sidro, a Slovenian limited liability company. Since 2015, the league has been operated by ABA League JTD, a Zagreb-based general partnership for organizing sports competitions. Adriatic Basketball Association is the body that organizes the league and is a full member of ULEB, as well as a voting member of Euroleague Basketball's board.
History
At various points throughout mid-to-late 1990s, in the years following the breakup of SFR Yugoslavia and ensuing Yugoslav Wars, different basketball administrators from the newly independent Balkan states floated and informally discussed the idea of re-assembling a joint basketball competition to fill the void left by the dissolution of the former Yugoslav Basketball League whose last season was 1991–92.
However, no concrete action towards that end was taken before the summer 2000 ULEB-supported creation of Euroleague Basketball Company under the leadership of Jordi Bertomeu that immediately confronted FIBA Europe, then proceeded to take a handful of top European clubs into its new competition for the 2000–01 season thereby opening an organizational split in European club basketball. During the 2000–01 split in the continent's top club competition, local Balkan basketball administrators from the ULEB-affiliated clubs Cibona, Olimpija, and Budućnost (that already competed in this new 'breakaway' Euroleague competition) shifted the discussions of creating a regional Balkan-wide basketball league into higher gear.
On the public relations front, Adriatic League was met with strong and mixed reactions. Though many hailed it as an important step for the development of club basketball in the Balkans region, many others felt that it brings no new quality and that it's not worth dismantling three domestic leagues. There was a lot of negative reaction from political circles, especially in Croatia, with even TV panel discussions being broadcast on Croatian state television. A very vociferous opinion in the country saw the league's formation as a political attempt to reinstate Yugoslavia. The league organizers for their part did their best to appease the Croatian public with statements such as the one delivered by Radovan Lorbek in Slobodna Dalmacija in September 2001:
Ten years later, in a 2011 interview for the Serbian newspaper Press, Roman Lisac explained the league's behind the scenes strategy during its nascent stages was actually quite different:
On 28 September 2001, the league announced a five-year sponsorship deal with Slovenian company Sava Tires from Kranj, a subsidiary of Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. The deal also included naming rights, hence from 2001 until 2006, the competition was known as the Goodyear League.
Debut season
With twelve clubs taking part in the inaugural 2001–02 season, the competition commenced in fall 2001 with four teams from Slovenia, four teams from Croatia, three teams from Bosnia-Herzegovina, and one team from FR Yugoslavia. The very first game was contested in Ljubljana between Olimpija and Široki on Saturday, 29 September 2001 at 5:30pm.
Though the competition purported to gather the strongest sides from former Yugoslavia, as mentioned, teams from Serbia were noticeably absent, particularly Belgrade powerhouses and biggest regional crowd draws Partizan and Crvena zvezda. In addition to no clubs from Serbia proper, the league had no Serb-dominated clubs from Bosnia-Herzegovina either. Since the league founders mostly avoided talking about the issue due to fears of media backlash, the fact that no invitations were extended to Serbian clubs was generally explained through security issues due to organizers' fears of crowd trouble if Croatian and Serbian clubs were to start playing again in the same competition. Then in early February 2002, the public got a preview of just that when Cibona and Partizan met in Zagreb as part of that season's EuroLeague group stage. In a nationalistically charged and incident-filled encounter, Croatian fans peppered the Partizan players with rocks, flares, and even ceramic tiles before physically assaulting Partizan head coach Duško Vujošević in the guest team dressing room after the game.
The Adriatic League debut season was marked by dwindling attendances and lukewarm media support. Still the league did receive a bit of a shot in the arm on 24 February 2002, when its managing body ABA got accepted as full member of ULEB.
Second season
For the 2002–03 season, the league remained at the total number of 12 teams, while it went through major re-tooling internally. By the time season started, four teams dropped out (Sloboda Dita, Budućnost, Triglav, and Geoplin Slovan) to be replaced by: Israeli powerhouse Maccabi Tel Aviv, Crvena zvezda (the first team from Serbia in the competition), the Bosnian outfit KK Borac, and Croatian club KK Zagreb.
It was important for the league's long-term business to negotiate acceptable terms for the Serbian clubs to join the competition. To that end, Lorbek and Lisac went to Belgrade in early April 2002 with an offer of taking in three clubs from FR Yugoslavia for the Adriatic League's 2002–03 season. The offer was flatly rejected initially by the representatives of five YUBA Liga clubs – Partizan, Crvena zvezda, Hemofarm, FMP, and Budućnost – as their unified platform was either all five or nothing. Taking in all five required expanding the league to 14 teams, which was something the league organizers weren't prepared to do due to the associated increase in operating costs. The negotiated agreement thus fell through for the time being. However, it didn't take long for dents to appear in the unified front put forth by five YUBA league clubs – in May 2002 Crvena zvezda's management (three businessmen close to the ruling Democratic Party in Serbia: Živorad Anđelković, Igor Žeželj, and Goran Vesić) hired Zmago Sagadin to be the club's new general manager – and soon after, in June 2002, the club broke the ranks by negotiating terms on its own thus agreeing to join the Adriatic League for the 2002–03 season.
Competition
Competition system
As of the 2013–14 season the league comprises a 26-game regular season, with the top 4 sides making the play-offs.
From 2002 through 2004, four teams qualified, and the playoffs were termed the "Final Four"; starting in 2005, eight teams advanced to the "Final Eight" round. All playoff rounds consist of one-off knockout matches, unusual among European leagues. However, since all Adriatic League clubs play in domestic leagues at the same time, and many also play in the EuroLeague, the current format has the virtue of limiting fixture congestion for the playoff sides.
In 2017, the ABA League Second Division was created. The last qualified team from ABA League would be relegated to the Second Division and replaced by the winner of this one.
Current clubs
The following 14 clubs are competing in the 2023–24 ABA season:
Finals
Records and statistics
By club
By country
All-time participants
The following is a list of clubs who have played in the Adriatic League at any time since its formation in 2001 to the current season. A total of 41 teams from 10 countries have played in the League.
Awards
ABA League MVP
ABA League Finals MVP
ABA League Top Scorer
ABA League Ideal Starting Five
ABA League Top Prospect
ABA League Player of the Month
ABA League-winning head coaches
Records
Source:
Players
Highest Index Ratings in a Game
59 by Dejan Milojević, Budućnost vs Reflex on 3 January 2004
Most Points in a Game
47 by Daron Russell, Mornar vs. Zadar on 9 October 2022
Most Two Point Field Goals Made in a Game
17 by Márton Báder, Szolnoki Olaj at Široki on 7 October 2012
Most Three Point Field Goals Made in a Game
10 by Josip Sesar, Široki vs. Union Olimpija on 19 November 2005
10 by Teemu Rannikko, Union Olimpija at Zagreb on 18 December 2005
Most Free Throws Made in a Game
19 by Igor Rakočević, Crvena zvezda at Reflex on 16 April 2004
19 by Milan Gurović, Crvena zvezda at FMP on 30 September 2006
19 by Milan Gurović, Crvena zvezda vs. FMP on 16 December 2006
19 by Damir Mulaomerović, Zagreb vs. FMP on 19 January 2010
Most Rebounds in a Game
23 by Tommy Smith, Split vs. Reflex on 4 October 2003
23 by Boris Savović, Hemofarm vs. Radnički Kragujevac on 22 October 2011
Most Assists in a Game
19 by Žan Mark Šiško, Primorska vs. Zadar on 9 December 2019
Most Steals in a Game
9 by Curtis McCants, Split vs. Zagreb on 16 December 2003
9 by Andrés Rodríguez, Union Olimpija at Partizan on 7 November 2004
9 by Jure Močnik, Helios at Split on 6 April 2005
Most Blocks in a Game
7 by Smiljan Pavič, Union Olimpija vs. Bosna on 27 November 2004
7 by Slavko Vraneš, Partizan at Cibona on 10 January 2010
7 by Shawn James, Maccabi Tel Aviv vs. Zlatorog Laško on 5 January 2012
7 by Zoran Nikolić, Budućnost vs. Igokea on 15 October 2016
7 by Uroš Luković, Mornar vs. Mega Basket on 14 December 2019
Most Turnovers in a Game
11 by Jiří Welsch, Union Olimpija at Pivovarna Laško on 9 February 2002
11 by Nikola Korač, Sutjeska at Mega Basket on 30 October 2015
11 by Nejc Barič, Split at FMP on 14 December 2021
11 by Luka Božić, Zadar at Borac on 23 October 2022
Clubs
Longest winning streak
20 games by Crvena zvezda for the 2014–15 and 2016–17 seasons
Longest losing streak
21 games by Levski Sofia for the 2014–15 season
Biggest Winning Margin
60 points by Partizan vs. Split in the 2021–22 season
Most Won Games in a Season
Crvena zvezda won 25 out of 26 games for the 2016–17 season
Most Lost Games in a Season
Bosna lost 21 out of 22 games for the 2002–03 season
Most Points scored in a Season
Hemofarm scored 2591 points in 30 games for the 2004–05 season
Crvena zvezda scored 2325 points in 26 games for the 2006–07 season
Lowest Scored Points in a Season
Bosna scored 1443 points in 22 games for the 2001–02 season
Zlatorog Laško scored 1688 points in 26 games for the 2011–12 season
All-time leaders
From the 2001–02 to the 2022–23 season:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!width="420" colspan="3" |Accumulated
|-
! Points
| Nemanja Gordić ||align=center| 3,257
|-
! Field goals
| Nemanja Gordić ||align=center| 1,132
|-
! 3 Points
| Suad Šehović ||align=center| 406
|-
! Defensive Rebounds
| Marin Rozić||align=center| 1,043
|-
! Offensive Rebounds
| Alen Omić ||align=center| 434
|-
! Total Rebounds
| Marin Rozić||align=center| 1,327
|-
! Assists
| Nemanja Gordić||align=center| 1,100
|-
! Steals
| Nebojša Joksimović||align=center| 401
|-
! Blocks
| Slavko Vraneš||align=center| 272
|-
! Index Ratings
| Todor Gečevski ||align=center| 3,212
|-
! Games Played
| Branko Lazić||align=center| 378
Notable players
Well-known basketball players who have played in the Adriatic League include:
Australia
Aron Baynes
Nathan Jawai
Aleks Marić
Steven Marković
Mark Worthington
Belize
Milt Palacio
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Kenan Bajramović
J. R. Bremer
Nemanja Gordić
Jasmin Hukić
Elmedin Kikanović
Nenad Marković
Ratko Varda
Jusuf Nurkić
Bulgaria
Filip Videnov
Jermaine Anderson
Carl English
Brady Heslip
Michael Meeks
Croatia
Marko Banić
Stanko Barać
Bojan Bogdanović
Dontaye Draper
Davor Kus
Oliver Lafayette
Davor Marcelić
Damir Mulaomerović
Davor Pejčinović
Zoran Planinić
Marko Popović
Nikola Prkačin
Dino Rađa
Slaven Rimac
Josip Sesar
Krunoslav Simon
Mate Skelin
Dario Šarić
Marko Tomas
Ante Tomić
Roko Ukić
Josip Vranković
Nikola Vujčić
Andrija Žižić
Ante Žižić
Luka Žorić
Czech Republic
Jan Veselý
Jiří Welsch
Finland
Teemu Rannikko
Sasu Salin
France
Joffrey Lauvergne
Léo Westermann
Mickaël Gelabale
Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot
Gabon
Stéphane Lasme
Germany
Maik Zirbes
Greece
Stratos Perperoglou
Sofoklis Schortsanitis
Guyana
Rawle Marshall
Hungary
Márton Báder
István Németh
Israel
David Blu
Tal Burstein
Lior Eliyahu
Yotam Halperin
Guy Pnini
Derrick Sharp
Gal Mekel
Jamaica
Kimani Ffriend
Jerome Jordan
Latvia
Roberts Štelmahers
Dāvis Bertāns
Montenegro
Milko Bjelica
Nebojša Bogavac
Omar Cook
Predrag Drobnjak
Vladimir Dragičević
Aleksandar Pavlović
Nikola Peković
Slavko Vraneš
Nigeria
Aloysius Anagonye
Obinna Ekezie
Michael Ojo
North Macedonia
Pero Antić
Todor Gečevski
Richard Hendrix
Vlado Ilievski
Bo McCalebb
Gjorgji Čekovski
Predrag Samardžiski
Damjan Stojanovski
Aleksandar Kostoski
Marko Simonovski
Bojan Trajkovski
Darko Sokolov
Ognen Stojanovski
Panama
Chris Warren
Puerto Rico
Larry Ayuso
Andrés Rodríguez
Serbia
Ognjen Aškrabić
Vule Avdalović
Stefan Birčević
Nemanja Bjelica
Bogdan Bogdanović
Petar Božić
Marko Gudurić
Milan Gurović
Tadija Dragićević
Mile Ilić
Nikola Janković
Nikola Jokić
Stefan Jović
Nikola Kalinić
Dušan Kecman
Ognjen Kuzmić
Nikola Lončar
Milan Mačvan
Boban Marjanović
Stefan Marković
Dejan Milojević
Dragan Milosavljević
Nikola Milutinov
Luka Mitrović
Miljan Pavković
Kosta Perović
Bojan Popović
Miroslav Raduljica
Igor Rakočević
Aleksandar Rašić
Duško Savanović
Marko Simonović
Miloš Teodosić
Milenko Tepić
Milenko Topić
Uroš Tripković
Novica Veličković
Rade Zagorac
Slovenia
Sani Bečirovič
Mirza Begić
Jaka Blažič
Goran Dragič
Nebojša Joksimović
Jaka Lakovič
Marko Milič
Hasan Rizvić
Uroš Slokar
Beno Udrih
Gašper Vidmar
Jurij Zdovc
Turkey
Ender Arslan
Hüseyin Beşok
Semih Erden
Ermal Kurtoğlu
Emir Preldžić
Matthew Bryan-Amaning
Alan Anderson
Jamie Arnold
Isaiah Austin
Corey L. Brewer
Elton Brown
Vonteego Cummings
Cade Davis
Corsley Edwards
Jordan Farmar
Reggie Freeman
James Gist
Drew Gordon
Jamon Gordon
Jamont Gordon
Marcus Goree
Will Hatcher
Kyle Hill
Shawn James
Curtis Jerrells
Charles Jenkins
Julius Johnson
Keith Langford
Acie Law
Michael Lee
Quincy Lewis
Chester Mason
Adam Morrison
Jimmy Oliver
Andre Owens
Scoonie Penn
Omar Thomas
Torey Thomas
Lawrence Roberts
Rumeal Robinson
David Simon
Devin Smith
Kenyan Weaks
Marcus Williams
Andrew Wisniewski
See also
List of current ABA Liga team rosters
Balkan International Basketball League (2008–)
Notes
References
External links
ABA League at Sportstats.com
Basketball leagues in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Basketball leagues in Croatia
Basketball leagues in North Macedonia
Basketball leagues in Montenegro
Basketball leagues in Serbia
Basketball leagues in Slovenia
Basketball leagues in Serbia and Montenegro
Multi-national basketball leagues in Europe
2001 establishments in Europe
Sports leagues established in 2001
Professional sports leagues in Serbia
Professional sports leagues in Slovenia
Multi-national professional sports leagues