The Latvian Basketball League (LBL; ) also known as Optibet LBL for sponsorship reasons, is the top-level national basketball championship in Latvia composed of 6 teams. Since 2018/19, only the playoff matches are played, as the top Latvian clubs play the regular season in the Latvian–Estonian Basketball League. The LBL is governed by the Latvian Basketball Association, the national governing body of basketball in Latvia.

Its 6 teams are located in 5 cities; two in Riga, and one in Ventspils, Liepāja, Valmiera, and Ogre. The LBL season usually ran from September to April, with the playoffs in April–May. The league was founded in 1992, and its first season was played in the same year.

History

Before 1992 After American YMCA volunteers introduced the sport in Riga around 1920, interest in the sport grew, and in 1923 the YMCA organized the first ever basketball tournament in Latvia, with 14 teams registering. In 1924, the newly-founded Latvian Basketball Association announced the first Latvian Basketball Championship in the winter of 1924 () with 6 teams participating. It was won by the Latvian Sports Society () team, who defeated the Riga YMCA team () in the final game with a score of 25:15. The first official national women's tournament followed in 1932.

The tournaments became defunct after the Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940 (a Latvian League was played from 1942 to 1944 under the German occupation of the Baltic states during World War II). During the Soviet occupation after WWII, the Latvian SSR Basketball Championship was organized until 1991.

Early years

The first LBL season was played in 1992, with LBL2 (LBL 2. divīzija) as its second division and LBL3 as the third. From 1992 to 1999 all championships were won by BK Brocēni, however, from 2000 to 2006 BK Ventspils were the champions. In 2007, ASK Rīga stopped BK Ventspils' winning streak. BK Ventspils won again in 2009, beating Barons/LMT in a thriller 4–3.

Later history Barons would return to the final the following year, this time against VEF Rīga, and win by the same 4–3 margin. The 2011 final again went to 7 games, with VEF Rīga defeating Ventspils. Between 2011 and 2018, the title changed hands frequently, with BK Valmiera Ordo claiming the title in 2016.

Since the introduction of the Latvian-Estonian Basketball League in the 2018/2019 season, the regular LBL championship was merged into the LEBL. The six top Latvian teams then qualify for the LBL playoffs after the end of the LEBL regular season. VEF Rīga has held the title ever since.

Starting from the 2020/2021 season, the 2nd tier Latvian league - LBL2 - was reformed into the Ramirent (NBL, National Basketball League) and the third-level league - LBL3 - became the Reģionālā basketbola līga (Regional Basketball League).

Sponsorships From 2012 to 2015, the league was known as Aldaris Latvijas Basketbola līga due to the AS Aldaris brewery becoming the general sponsor of the Latvian Basketball Association. In 2016, they were succeeded by betting brand OlyBet and in 2019 by Pafbet. Since 2024, the league has been sponsored by the sports bar and betting company Optibet.

Teams

TeamHome city ArenaLiepāja Liepāja Liepāja Olympic CenterLatvijas Universitāte Rīga Olympic Sports CenterOgre Ogre Ogre Secondary School No.1Valmiera Glass/VIA Valmiera Vidzeme Olympic CenterVEF Rīga Rīga Arena RigaOlympic Sports CentreVentspils Ventspils Ventspils Olympic CenterRīgas Zeļļi Rīga Daugava Sports Hall

Title holders

Latvian champions 1924 LSB Rīga 1925 JKS Rīga 1926 Rīgas FK 1927 Rīgas FK 1928 LSB Rīga 1929 JKS Rīga 1930 Universitātes Sports 1931 Latvju Jaunatne 1932 JKS Rīga 1933 Latvijas Valsts Karoga Apvienība 1934 Universitātes Sports 1935 Universitātes Sports 1936 Universitātes Sports 1937 Universitātes Sports 1938 Starts Rīga 1939 ASK Rīga 1940 ASK Rīga 1941 RDKA Rīga 1943 Starts Rīga 1944 Starts Rīga Latvian SSR champions 1945 Daugava Rīga 1946 Daugava Rīga 1947 Daugava Rīga 1948 Daugava Rīga 1949 1950 LVU Rīga 1951 Dinamo Rīga 1952 LVU Rīga 1953 Rīgas ASK 1954 Spartaks Rīga 1955 Spartaks Rīga 1956 Spartaks Rīga 1957 Rīgas ASK 1958 Spartaks Rīga 1959 Rīgas VEF 1960 Rīgas VEF 1961 Rīgas VEF 1962 Rīgas ASK 1963 Liepājas Sarkanais Metalurgs 1964 Lokomotīve Rīga 1965 Rīgas ASK 1966 Rīgas ASK 1967 Rīgas ASK 1968 Liepājas Sarkanais Metalurgs 1969 Rīgas ASK 1970 Lokomotīve Rīga 1971 Rīgas VEF 1972 9. Auda 1973 Rīgas ASK 1974 Rīgas VEF 1975 Rīgas ASK 1976 Rīgas ASK 1977 BK Ķekava 1978 Rīgas ASK 1979 RPI Rīga 1980 BK Ādaži 1981 BK Ķekava 1982 RPI Rīga 1983 LVFKI Rīga 1984 RPI Rīga 1985 Jelgava SCO 1986 Jelgava SCO 1987 Rīgas ASK 1988 Rīgas ASK 1989 LVU Rīga 1990 LVU Rīga 1991 9. Auda Latvian champions 1992 Brocēni Parair 1992–93 Brocēni 1993–94 SWH Brocēni 1994–95 SWH Brocēni 1995–96 ASK Brocēni 1996–97 ASK Brocēni LMT 1997–98 ASK Brocēni LMT 1998–99 Brocēni LMT 1999–00 Ventspils 2000–01 Ventspils 2001–02 Ventspils 2002–03 Ventspils 2003–04 Ventspils 2004–05 Ventspils 2005–06 Ventspils 2006–07 ASK Riga 2007–08 Barons LMT 2008–09 Ventspils 2009–10 Barons LMT 2010–11 VEF Rīga 2011–12 VEF Rīga 2012–13 VEF Rīga 2013–14 Ventspils 2014–15 VEF Rīga 2015–16 Valmiera Ordo 2016–17 VEF Rīga 2017–18 Ventspils 2018–19 VEF Rīga 2019–20 VEF Rīga 2020–21 VEF Rīga 2021–22 VEF Rīga 2022–23 VEF Rīga 2023–24 VEF Rīga 2024–25 VEF Rīga 2025–26 Valmiera Glass/VIA

Performance by club Club Winners Runners-up Winning years VEF Rīga 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 Ventspils 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2014, 2018 Brocēni 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999 Barons 2008, 2010 ASK Riga 2007 Valmiera Glass/VIA 2026 Valmiera 2016 Bonus Skonto Ogre Metropole Liepāja Rīgas Zeļļi

The finals Year Winner Runner-up Score Finals MVP 1992 Brocēni Parair Bonus 1993 Brocēni Bonus 1994 SWH Brocēni Bonus 1995 SWH Brocēni Bonus 1996 ASK Brocēni Metropole 1997 ASK Brocēni LMT Liepājas Baltika 1998 ASK Brocēni LMT Ventspils Ainārs Bagatskis 1999 Brocēni LMT Ventspils Edgars Šneps 2000 Ventspils Brocēni LMT Aigars Vītols 2001 Ventspils BK LMT 2002 Ventspils Skonto Kristaps Purnis 2003 Ventspils Skonto Mire Chatman 2004 Ventspils Skonto Kestutis Sestokas 2005 Ventspils Barons Justin Love 2006 Ventspils Barons Marijonas Petravičius 2007 ASK Riga Ventspils Sandis Valters 2008 Barons LMT ASK Riga Armands Šķēle 2009 Ventspils Barons LMT Mareks Jurevičus 2010 Barons LMT VEF Rīga Oritseweyinmi Efejuku Year Winner Runner-up Score Finals MVP 2011 VEF Rīga Ventspils Sandis Valters2012 VEF Rīga Ventspils Kristaps Janičenoks 2013 VEF Rīga Ventspils Earl Rowland2014 Ventspils VEF Rīga Jānis Timma2015 VEF Rīga Ventspils Mareks Mejeris2016 Valmiera Ordo VEF Rīga Artūrs Bērziņš2017 VEF Rīga Ventspils Mareks Mejeris2018 Ventspils VEF Rīga Aigars Šķēle2019 VEF Rīga Ventspils Jabril Durham 2020 VEF Rīga Ogre 2021 VEF Rīga Ventspils Kyle Allman Jr. 2022 VEF Rīga Ventspils Kristers Zoriks2023VEF RīgaVentspilsNysier Brooks2024VEF RīgaRīgas ZeļļiArnaldo Toro2025 VEF RīgaVentspils Dairis Bertāns2026 Valmiera Glass/VIAVentspils

All–time national champions Total number of national champions won by Latvian clubs. Table includes titles won during the Latvian Championships (1924–1944) and (1992–present) and the USSR Premier Basketball League (1945–1992). ClubTrophiesYears won VEF Rīga 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 Ventspils 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2014, 2018 Brocēni 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999 Rīgas ASK 1939, 1940, 1941, 1955, 1957, 1958 Universitātes Sports 1930, 1934, 1935, 1936, 1937 JKS Rīga 1925, 1929, 1932 Starts Rīga 1938, 1943, 1944 Rīgas FK 1926, 1927 LSB Rīga 1924, 1928 Barons 2008, 2010 Latvju Jaunatne 1931 Latvijas Valsts Karoga Apvienība 1933 ASK Riga 2007 Valmiera 2016 Valmiera Glass/VIA 2026

Titles by team (only Latvian 1924–2026) TeamTitlesChampion years Rīgas ASK 1939, 1940, 1941, 1953, 1957, 1962, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1969, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1987, 1988 VEF Rīga 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 Ventspils 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2014, 2018 Rīgas VEF 1954, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1971, 1974 Brocēni 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999 Universitātes Sports 1930, 1934, 1935, 1936, 1937 Daugava Rīga 1945, 1946, 1947, 1948 LVU Rīga 1950, 1952, 1989, 1990 JKS Rīga 1925, 1929, 1932 Starts Rīga 1938, 1943, 1944 RPI Rīga 1979, 1982, 1984 Rīgas FK 1926, 1927 LSB Rīga 1924, 1928 Liepājas Sarkanais Metalurgs 1963, 1968 Lokomotīve Rīga 1964, 1970 BK Ķekava 1977, 1981 Jelgava SCO 1985, 1986 9. Auda 1972, 1991 Barons 2008, 2010 Latvju Jaunatne 1931 Latvijas Valsts Karoga Apvienība 1933 Dinamo Rīga 1951 BK Ādaži 1980 LVFKI Rīga 1983 ASK Riga 2007 Valmiera 2016 Valmiera Glass/VIA 2026

See also Latvian Basketball All-Star Game

References

External links Official Website Eurobasket.com League Page