Liga ACB
The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administrated by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, with the two lowest-placed teams relegated to the LEB Oro and replaced by the top team in that division plus the winner of the playoffs. The competition was founded as the ACB Primera División on 1983 following the decision of clubs in the Liga Nacional, founded in 1957, to break away from the Spanish Basketball Federation and professionalize the  league. The league is a corporation in which the member clubs act as shareholders. A total of 49 teams have competed in Liga ACB since its inception in 1983. Seven teams have been crowned champions, with FC Barcelona winning the title a record 16 times and Real Madrid 13 times, though Liga ACB also saw other champions, including Baskonia, Joventut Badalona, Bàsquet Manresa, Baloncesto Málaga and Valencia Basket. Liga ACB is one of the most popular professional indoor sports leagues in the world, with an average attendance of 6,236 for league matches in the 2018–19 season. This is the ninth -highest of any domestic professional indoor sports league in the world and the fourth-highest of any professional basketball league in the world, behind the National Basketball Association, the EuroLeague, and the Women's National Basketball Association. Competition format. The competition format follows the usual double round-robin format. During the course of a season, which lasts from October to May, each club plays every other club twice, once at home and once away, for a total of 34 games. Teams are ranked by total wins, with the eight highest-ranked clubs at the end of the season plays the  playoffs and the winner of the playoffs is crowned champion. Promotion and relegation. A system of promotion and relegation exists between the Liga ACB and the LEB Oro. The two lowest placed teams in Liga ACB are relegated to the LEB Oro, and the top team from the LEB Oro promoted to Liga ACB, with an additional club promoted after a series of playoffs involving the second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth placed clubs. Below is a complete record of how many teams played in each season throughout the league's history: Controversies about promotion to Liga  ACB. Until 2012, in the 29 editions played of the Liga ACB, only three teams declined promotion, due to acting as reserve teams or for lack of funds: CB Guadalajara and CB Cornellà in 1993 and CB Cajabilbao in 1994. Since 2012, due to the financial crisis that started in 2008, only two teams (Canarias and Andorra) of a possible 10 could promote to Liga ACB. This started a discussion about the promotion requirements of the ACB, considered by the LEB Oro clubs as "disproportionate". For clubs that promote and would make their debut in the ACB demands: In 2012 , Iberostar Canarias and Menorca Bàsquet achieved promotion to ACB, but neither could fulfill the requirements in order to promote. However, Canarias finally played in ACB after buying the berth in the league of Lucentum Alicante, previously sold to the association. In 2013, neither CB Atapuerca, Ford Burgos by sponsorship reasons, nor Lucentum Alicante could promote. The latter resigned also to play in the second league and joined the fifth division. In 2014 and 2015, CB Tizona, also Ford Burgos by sponsorship reasons, did not promote despite achieving the place two years in a row. After its second failed promotion, the  third in the city of Burgos, the club sued the Association any accused them of "distorting the reality". Also in 2015, despite having played in the league during the 1980s and 1990s, Club Ourense Baloncesto was not admitted in the league despite fulfilling all the requirements, after not passing an accounts audit. However, ACB would admit Ourense for the 2016–17 season if it fulfilled the requirements regardless of their position in the 2015–16 LEB Oro season. On 24 April 2016, the National Commission of the Markets and the Competence argued that the inbound impedes, in an "unjustified, disproportionate and discriminatory  way, access of new clubs to Liga ACB. On June 2016, the two promoted teams from LEB Oro (Palencia and Melilla) resigned promotion to the 2016–17 ACB season and requested to the ACB their sign-in before the 2017–18 season. However, as Gipuzkoa Basket, who finished in relegation positions in three of the last four seasons, resigned from ACB, the Association offered again its place to Palencia and Melilla under these conditions: Palencia and Mellila refused the invitation, to reinforce their position against the inbound to play in the league. In April 2017, the National Commission for Markets and Competition 	Liga ACB
27068180	declared the entering inbound and the deposit for the regulation of promotions and relegations as illegal, as they consider it unjustified, discriminatory and excessive" and imposed a fine of €400,000 to the ACB. Subsequently, the ACB replied that it would appeal the decision of the CNMC, contending that it infringed on the self-organizing capacity of professional leagues, as recognized in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and in the European jurisprudence, and which was unprecedented in Europe and in the rest of the world. In May 2017, the ACB ratified to file a contentious-administrative  appeal and request for precautionary measures before the National Court, on the occasion of the resolution of the National Commission for Markets and Competition (CNMC), as well as to refuse any resolution or decision, present or future, which relates to that act. Also, the ACB approved to establish a negotiation plan with the CSD and the FEB regarding the number of participating teams and the conditions to access to the competition in the next seasons. In June 2017, the ACB agreed not to require the promotion requirements that have been the subject of the resolution (entering inbound and the deposit  for the regulation of promotions and relegations) and the participation fee. Also, the ACB agreed to continue negotiations with the CSD, the FEB and the CNMC to try to establish by mutual agreement new conditions for promotion. In view of the possibility of reaching an agreement that establishes economic and financial requirements in a consensual way before July 5, the Assembly has agreed to establish two new access criteria, provided that there is no pronouncement of the National Court on the precautionary measures regarding the resolution of the National Court, nor agreement with the different bodies that replace it. These  conditions were: On 10 July 2017, the ACB ratified the agreement with the FEB endorsed by the CSD, to change the conditions to make them easier for promoted teams from LEB Oro. The ACB had also reached a principle of agreement with FEB and CSD regarding a reduction of competition to 16 clubs in 2019 and the model of promotions and relegations in the coming seasons. However, this text has not obtained the necessary support of the clubs in the General Assembly and has not been approved, agreeing to continue the negotiations to find the model of competition appropriate to  the interests of the teams overall. These new conditions consist of: Ten days later and two years after the denounce of CB Tizona, Gipuzkoa Basket and CB Miraflores, also from Burgos, were promoted to Liga ACB. These were the first promotions since the one of Andorra in 2014. Also, Miraflores became the first team to make its debut in ACB since 2009. Ranking of clubs on equal wins. If wins are equal between two or more clubs, the rules are: Qualifying for European competitions. The top teams in Liga ACB, apart from EuroLeague clubs, qualify for the EuroCup and the  Champions League with no preference for any competition. Three teams have guaranteed spots in the EuroCup and two teams have guaranteed spots in the Champions League. In addition, other clubs could participate in the EuroCup or the Champions League. As of 2020–21 season, no team has participated in the FIBA Europe Cup. History. The first basketball league in Spain was the Liga Nacional, organised by the Spanish Basketball Federation, whose first edition was played in 1957 by six teams from Madrid and the province of Barcelona. Until 1983 it continued being organised by the federation and consisting in only a  round-robin tournament, where every teams faced all other twice, one at home and one away, with two points per win and one point in case of a draw. In 1982, the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto was founded and one year later took the helm of the organisation of the league, with several changes in the competition format as they introduced the playoffs and the overtimes in case of draw. All-time Liga ACB table. The all-time Liga ACB table is an overall record of all match results of every team that has played in Liga ACB since  the 1983–84 season. The table is accurate as of the end of the 2019–20 season. League or status at 2020–21 season: Statistical leaders. All-time scoring leaders. Player nationality set by the player's national team affiliation. In bold, active players. In gold, players with more than 6,000 points, considered by the ACB as historic players. Stats through end of 2018–19 ACB season: All-time rebounding leaders. Player nationality set by the player's national team affiliation. In bold, active players. In gold, players with more than 2,500 rebounds, considered by the ACB as historic players. Stats through the end  of the 2018–19 ACB season: Records. These are the standing ACB records for the regular season (RS) and play-offs (PO). Attendances. Since several years ago, the Liga ACB is the European domestic league with the highest average attendance, always surpassing the 6,000 spectators per game since the 2002–03 season. Season averages. All averages include playoffs games. Source: Historic average attendances. All averages include playoffs games. Source: Individual game highest attendance. Source: