Basketball is a fairly popular sport in Belgium, handled entirely by Royal Belgian Basketball Association.
Belgian national teams
Belgian men’s national basketball team is a team of professional basketball players representing Belgium in international events and friendly matches. They are nicknamed “Belgian Lions”, fully embracing that name, making their entire images based on that of a lion.
Similarly, the women’s national basketball team regularly represents Belgium in official competitions and friendly matches. The team is frequently called “Belgian Cats” in all languages.
Men’s league
Belgium shares the league with the Netherlands, called BNXT League (or betFirst BNXT League, for sponsorship reasons). In 2021, the Belgian Pro Basketball League and Dutch Basketball League merged into one multinational league, with 10 Belgian clubs and 10 Dutch ones.
Before that, the Belgian Pro Basketball League was the highest tier basketball league in the country, having 15 clubs in total. However, before the merge, most of them have disbanded.
Women’s league
Belgian Jupiler Women’s Basketball League is the highest level tournament for women teams in Belgium. Their current champion is Castors Braine and their most titled member is BC Namur-Capitale, with 17 wins.
Individual awards
Belgian leagues have multiple individual wards. Even though some aren’t official, they’re considered BLB awards.
The awards handed out by BLB include:
- Belgian Basketball Player of the year is an annual award given out to the best players of Belgian nationality.
- Coach of the Year is an annual award given to the best coaches in the league.
- MVP is a seasonal award given to the most valuable player of the season.
- Star of the Coaches is the award given to the player who got the most votes from the coaches for being the best player in the league.
- Young Player of the Year (or Pro Basketball League Rising Star) is an annual award given to the best young player in the league.
- Lifetime Achievement Award is an award given to the players who have shown extraordinary skills or has committed sporting achievement on a big scale.
