The Nigerian Premier Basketball League, often abbreviated to the NPL, is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in Nigeria. The league consists of sixteen teams who are categorized into two conferences based on the geographical location. These conferences are Savannah and the Atlantic.
Format
The league usually spans from March till mid year. Each team plays a total of 14 games in a regular season after which the top four teams qualify for the Final Eight Playoffs which usually takes place at the National Stadium Surulere Lagos. The team at the bottom of the table in each conference is relegated from the league. Towards the end of the year, the Division 1 Championship is held to determine who will be promoted to the DSTV League for the new season. In the 2014 season, Royal Hoopers of Rivers State and Niger Potter of Nigers State were both relegated from the Atlantic and Savannah Conference respectively. Accordingly, the Delta Force and FCT Rocks were promoted to the league having won the Division 1 Championship in November 2014.
Amendments were made to the schedule of events this season. At the end of the season, the top six teams from each conference will play conference playoffs to determine the winner of each conference before the top four of each conference will play the Final Eight Playoffs to determine the league winner. This is to increase the number of games played by each team in a particular season.
History The Nigerian Premier League was founded in 1995.
In 2017, Nigeria Basketball Federation reached an agreement with Kwese Sports for the title rights of the league. The deal runs till 2021, and it was worth $12 million.
Since 2021, the champions of the Premier League qualify directly for the regular season of the Basketball Africa League (BAL), Africa's new first-tier created as a joint venture by the NBA and FIBA.
In the 2021 season, the league was organised by the Nigerian Ministry of Youth and Sports, after they earlier dissolved the caretaker committee of the NBBF. FIBA rules prohibit governments from intervening in federations, which is why the championship was ruled illegitimate. As a result, the 2021 champions Rivers Hoopers were excluded from participation in the 2022 BAL season.
Sponsorships For sponsorship reasons the league has known several names in its existence. The league was sponsored by the DSTV until 2017, who had both title and TV rights through the contract agreement. The league was then referred to as the DSTV Premier Basketball League.
7up Premier League Vmobile Premier League (2006) DSTV Premier Basketball League (2017)
List of winners SeasonChampionsRunner-upFinals scoreFinals venue2026Lagos LegendsAso SkyhawksRound-robinRivers State Complex, Port Harcourt2025Lagos LegendsRivers Hoopers74–722024Rivers HoopersHoops & Read71–542023Rivers HoopersGboko City ChiefsRound-robin2022Kwara FalconsNigeria Customs78–53National Stadium, Lagos 20211 Rivers Hoopers Gombe Bulls74–57Abuja Sports Hall, Abuja 2020Not held 2019 Rivers Hoopers Raptors97–57National Stadium, Lagos 2018 Gombe Bulls Kwara Falcons 2017 Kano Pillars Gombe Bulls 2016 Kano Pillars Nigeria Customs 2015 Mark Mentors Kano Pillars 2014 Kano Pillars Mark Mentors 2013 Kano Pillars Union Bank 2012 Royal Hoopers Kano Pillars 2011 Royal Hoopers Kano Pillars 2010 Kano Pillars Union Bank 2009 Kano Pillars Lagos Islanders83–72National Stadium, Lagos 2008 Kano Pillars Union Bank 2007Ebun CometsUnion Bank74–642006Plateau PeaksDodan Warriors2–0Ahmadu Bello Stadium, Kaduna2005Ebun CometsNiger PottersRound-robin2003Ebun Comets 2001 Lagos Islanders Plateau Peaks70–55 2000 Lagos Islanders 1999 Lagos Islanders 1998 Lagos Islanders 1997 Lagos Islanders 1 The 2021 season was not organised by the NBBF, but by the Nigerian Ministry of Youth and Sports in a response to the lack of . FIBA did not recognise Rivers Hoopers as champions, which caused them to lose their place in the 2022 BAL season.
Titles by club +ClubChampionsRunners-upYears won Kano Pillars722008, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017Rivers Hoopers712011, 2012, 2019, 2021, 2023, 2024, 2026Lagos Islanders501997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001Ebun Comets302003, 2005, 2007Gombe Bulls122018Plateau Peaks112006Kwara Falcons112022Lagos Legends102025
Clubs Savannah Conference Club City Mark Mentors Abuja Bauchi Nets Bauchi Kano Pillars Kano Civil Defenders Abuja Plateau Peaks Jos Gombe Bulls Gombe Niger Potters Minna Kada Stars Kaduna
Atlantic Conference Club City Oluyole Warriors Ibadan Delta Force Asaba Hoops And Read Lagos Nigeria Customs Lagos NAF Rockets Lagos Police Baton Lagos CAMAC Bayelsa Kwara Falcons Ilorin Rivers Hoopers Port-Harcourt
In the Basketball Africa League The champions of the Nigerian Premier League qualify directly to the Basketball Africa League (BAL). Two teams, namely Rivers Hoopers and Kwara Falcons, have represented the country in the BAL thus far. SeasonRepresentativeRoad to BALMain competition Result Qualified Result2021Rivers Hoopers colspan=4 1 2 3rd in Group Phase2022Rivers Hoopers colspan=4 colspan=3 2023Kwara Falcons colspan=4 056th in Sahara Conference2024 Rivers Hoopers colspan=4 642025 colspan=4 44Quarterfinals2026Maktown Flyers colspan=4 145th in Sahara Conference Total – – 12 19
Individual awards In some seasons, the NBBF has awarded individual awards to the best performing players of a given Premier League season.
Most Valuable Player
2009 – Abubakar Usman, Kano Pillars 2011 – Abubakar Usman, Kano Pillars 2012 – Azuoma Dike, Royal Hoopers 2013 – Azuoma Dike, Kano Pillars 2014 – Abubakar Usman, Kano Pillars 2015 – Abdul Yahaya, Royal Hoopers 2016 – Abubakar Usman, Kano Pillars 2018 – Ibe Agu, Gombe Bulls 2019 – Abdul Yahaya, Rivers Hoopers 2021 – Anaiye Johnson, Rivers Hoopers 2024 – Kelvin Amayo, Rivers Hoopers 2025 – Patrick Abah, Lagos Legends 2026 – Abel Offia, Rivers Hoopers
Finals Most Valuable Player
2017 – Nwafor Joseph, Kano Pillars 2021 – Victor Anthony Koko, Rivers Hoopers 2022 – Dada Samuel, Kwara Falcons
References
Notes
External links Africabasket.com League Page FIBA.com League Page BballNaija