2023–24 B1 League season

The 2023–24 B1 League season was the eighth season of the B1 League, the top Japanese professional basketball league, since its establishment in 2015.^[1] The regular season began on 5 October 2023.^[2]

2023–24 B1 League season
League	B.League
Season	2023–24
Duration	5 October 2023 – 28 May 2024
TV partner(s)	Basket LIVE, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, NHK, SKY PerfecTV!, others
B1 Regular season
Relegated	Shinshu Brave Warriors Toyama Grouses
B1 Finals
Champions	Hiroshima Dragonflies
Runners-up	Ryukyu Golden Kings
Statistical leaders
Points Perrin Buford (Shimane) 22.6 Rebounds Thomas Welsh (Hokkaido) 12.2 Assists Yuki Kawamura (Yokohama) 8.1
← 2022-23 2024-25 →

The Ryukyu Golden Kings are the defending champions, having won their first B1 League title after defeating the Chiba Jets in the 2023 Finals.^[3]

Teams

Team changes

Promoted from 2022–23 B2 League	Relegated from 2022–23 B1 League
Saga Ballooners Nagasaki Velca	Niigata Albirex BB Shiga Lakes

Coaching changes

Team	Outgoing	Incoming
Off-season
Ibaraki Robots	Richard Glesmann	James Andrisevic
SeaHorses Mikawa	Kimikazu Suzuki	Ryan Richman
Sunrockers Shibuya	Ken Hamanaka	Luka Pavićević
In season
Ibaraki Robots	James Andrisevic	Richard Glesmann
Toyama Grouses	Daisuke Takaoka	J. R. Sakuragi

Regular season

Standings

Central

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD	Qualification or relegation
1	San-en NeoPhoenix (Q)	60	46	14	5371	4749	+622	Qualification to playoffs
2	SeaHorses Mikawa (Q)	60	36	24	4821	4545	+276
3	Sun Rockers Shibuya	60	35	25	4520	4443	+77
4	Kawasaki Brave Thunders	60	33	27	4825	4703	+122
5	Fighting Eagles Nagoya	60	33	27	4553	4496	+57
6	Yokohama B-Corsairs	60	24	36	4629	4945	−316
7	Shinshu Brave Warriors (R)	60	10	50	4332	4955	−623	Relegated to B2 League
8	Toyama Grouses (R)	60	4	56	4318	5150	−832

Source: B.League
(Q) Qualified for the phase indicated; (R) Relegated

Eastern

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD	Qualification or relegation
1	Utsunomiya Brex (Q)	60	51	9	4896	4154	+742	Qualification to playoffs
2	Alvark Tokyo (Q)	60	48	12	4875	4197	+678
3	Chiba Jets (Q)	60	35	25	5054	4900	+154	Wildcard
4	Gunma Crane Thunders	60	31	29	4801	4913	−112
5	Akita Northern Happinets	60	30	30	4450	4514	−64
6	Sendai 89ers	60	27	33	4759	4846	−87
7	Levanga Hokkaido	60	17	43	4519	4914	−395
8	Ibaraki Robots	60	12	48	4580	5193	−613

Source: B.League
(Q) Qualified for the phase indicated

Western

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD	Qualification or relegation
1	Nagoya Diamond Dolphins (Q)	60	41	19	5041	4761	+280	Qualification to playoffs
2	Ryukyu Golden Kings (Q)	60	41	19	4956	4667	+289
3	Hiroshima Dragonflies (Q)	60	36	24	4751	4402	+349	Wildcard
4	Shimane Susanoo Magic	60	32	28	4899	4724	+175
5	Saga Ballooners	60	29	31	4523	4504	+19
6	Nagasaki Velca	60	27	33	4869	5012	−143
7	Osaka Evessa	60	25	35	4748	4970	−222
8	Kyoto Hannaryz	60	17	43	4640	5073	−433

Source: B.League
(Q) Qualified for the phase indicated

Playoffs

Bracket

All matches in the playoffs were in a best-of-three series. Teams in bold advanced to the next round.

	Quarterfinals					Semifinals					Finals
	1	Utsunomiya Brex	1
	8	Chiba Jets	2
						8	Chiba Jets	1
						5	Ryukyu Golden Kings	2
	4	Alvark Tokyo	1
	5	Ryukyu Golden Kings	2
											5	Ryukyu Golden Kings	1
											7	Hiroshima Dragonflies	2
	3	Nagoya Diamond Dolphins	2
	6	SeaHorses Mikawa	0
						3	Nagoya Diamond Dolphins	1
						7	Hiroshima Dragonflies	2
	2	San-en NeoPhoenix	0
	7	Hiroshima Dragonflies	2

Quarterfinals

(1) Utsunomiya Brex vs. (8) Chiba Jets

10 May 2024 19:25

boxscore

Utsunomiya Brex	70–82	Chiba Jets
Scoring by quarter: 18–26, 21–28, 16–13, 15–15
Pts: Newbill 15 Rebs: Edwards 9 Asts: Newbill 4		Pts: Togashi 24 Rebs: Mooney 9 Asts: Togashi 4
Chiba leads series, 1–0

Nikkan Arena Tochigi, Tochigi Attendance: 5,774 Referees: Hijiri Abe, Kohei Kano, Toshihiro Aoki

11 May 2024 19:30

boxscore

Utsunomiya Brex	67–58	Chiba Jets
Scoring by quarter: 13–19, 23–10, 18–19, 13–10
Pts: Edwards 21 Rebs: Edwards 13 Asts: Newbill 8		Pts: Mooney, Togashi 16 Rebs: Mooney 12 Asts: Brown, Togashi 3
Series tied, 1–1

Nikkan Arena Tochigi, Tochigi Attendance: 5,780 Referees: Hijiri Abe, Kohei Kano, Toshihiro Aoki

13 May 2024 19:25

boxscore

Utsunomiya Brex	93–103 (2OT)	Chiba Jets
Scoring by quarter: 20–25, 15–14, 22–17, 17–18, Overtime: 9–9, 10–20
Pts: Newbill 30 Rebs: Jerrett 7 Asts: Hiejima 5		Pts: Smith 36 Rebs: Cooks, Smith 11 Asts: Togashi 12
Chiba wins series, 2–1

Nikkan Arena Tochigi, Tochigi Attendance: 5,681 Referees: Hijiri Abe, Kohei Kano, Toshihiro Aoki

(2) San-en NeoPhoenix vs. (7) Hiroshima Dragonflies

11 May 2024 13:05

boxscore

San-en NeoPhoenix	70–77	Hiroshima Dragonflies
Scoring by quarter: 23–21, 18–17, 18–16, 11–23
Pts: Maten 17 Rebs: Dudzinski 8 Asts: Oura 7		Pts: Evans 22 Rebs: Blackshear, Kawata 7 Asts: Evans, Mayo, Nakamura 3
Hiroshima leads series, 1–0

Toyohashi City Gymnasium, Aichi Attendance: 3,006 Referees: Takaki Kato, Yuki Kubo, Tsutomu Ozawa

12 May 2024 13:05

boxscore

San-en NeoPhoenix	66–69	Hiroshima Dragonflies
Scoring by quarter: 21–23, 20–20, 14–7, 11–19
Pts: Dudzinski 25 Rebs: Maten 14 Asts: Oura 7		Pts: Evans 18 Rebs: Evans 6 Asts: Evans 5
Hiroshima wins series, 2–0

Toyohashi City Gymnasium, Aichi Attendance: 4,022 Referees: Takaki Kato, Yuki Kubo, Tsutomu Ozawa

(3) Nagoya Diamond Dolphins vs. (6) SeaHorses Mikawa

11 May 2024 15:05

boxscore

Nagoya Diamond Dolphins	78–69	SeaHorses Mikawa
Scoring by quarter: 16–20, 23–19, 20–15, 19–15
Pts: Saito 21 Rebs: Soares 13 Asts: Saito 7		Pts: Auguste 16 Rebs: Auguste, Gardner 8 Asts: Gardner, Nagano 4
Nagoya leads series, 1–0

Dolphins Arena, Aichi Attendance: 5,414 Referees: Shigeyuki Arisawa, Ryosuke Ito, Norito Okawara

12 May 2024 15:05

boxscore

Nagoya Diamond Dolphins	84–75	SeaHorses Mikawa
Scoring by quarter: 18–19, 23–28, 11–11, 32–17
Pts: Saito 23 Rebs: Soares 11 Asts: Saito 8		Pts: Gardner, Layman 14 Rebs: Auguste 9 Asts: Nagano 6
Nagoya wins series, 2–0

Dolphins Arena, Aichi Attendance: 5,744 Referees: Shigeyuki Arisawa, Ryosuke Ito, Norito Okawara

(4) Alvark Tokyo vs. (5) Ryukyu Golden Kings

10 May 2024 19:05

boxscore

Alvark Tokyo	80–81 (2OT)	Ryukyu Golden Kings
Scoring by quarter: 18–18, 25–11, 10–20, 14–18, Overtime: 6–6, 7–8
Pts: Rossiter 24 Rebs: Rossiter 18 Asts: Saiz, Toews 4		Pts: Durham 18 Rebs: Cooley 8 Asts: Imamura 6
Ryukyu leads series, 1–0

Ariake Coliseum, Tokyo Attendance: 6,301 Referees: Daigo Urushima, Yuji Hirahara, Haruka Iwai

11 May 2024 19:05

boxscore

Alvark Tokyo	73–69	Ryukyu Golden Kings
Scoring by quarter: 19–9, 27–26, 13–17, 14–17
Pts: Rossiter 24 Rebs: Rossiter 13 Asts: Toews 5		Pts: Kishimoto 14 Rebs: Kirk 8 Asts: Imamura 3
Series tied, 1–1

Ariake Coliseum, Tokyo Attendance: 9,011 Referees: Daigo Urushima, Yuji Hirahara, Haruka Iwai

13 May 2024 19:05

boxscore

Alvark Tokyo	57–58	Ryukyu Golden Kings
Scoring by quarter: 9–12, 20–20, 16–16, 12–10
Pts: Rossiter 20 Rebs: Gudaitis 9 Asts: Toews 4		Pts: Durham 16 Rebs: Law 11 Asts: Durham, Imamura 3
Ryukyu wins series, 2–1

Ariake Coliseum, Tokyo Attendance: 5,604 Referees: Daigo Urushima, Yuji Hirahara, Haruka Iwai

Semifinals

(3) Nagoya Diamond Dolphins vs. (7) Hiroshima Dragonflies

18 May 2024 14:05

boxscore

Nagoya Diamond Dolphins	75–79	Hiroshima Dragonflies
Scoring by quarter: 23–13, 22–18, 3–24, 27–24
Pts: Eatherton 14 Rebs: Eatherton, Soares 9 Asts: Eatherton, Nakahigashi, Saito 5		Pts: Blackshear 21 Rebs: Enomoto, Mayo 6 Asts: Mayo 5
Hiroshima leads series, 1–0

Dolphins Arena, Aichi Attendance: 5,272 Referees: Daigo Urushima, Kohei Kano, Taiyu Ohno

19 May 2024 13:10

boxscore

Nagoya Diamond Dolphins	84–77	Hiroshima Dragonflies
Scoring by quarter: 27–17, 24–20, 18–20, 15–20
Pts: Eatherton 18 Rebs: Eatherton 7 Asts: Saito 6		Pts: Evans 25 Rebs: Evans 9 Asts: Evans 6
Series tied, 1–1

Dolphins Arena, Aichi Attendance: 5,446 Referees: Daigo Urushima, Kohei Kano, Taiyu Ohno

20 May 2024 19:05

boxscore

Nagoya Diamond Dolphins	73–79	Hiroshima Dragonflies
Scoring by quarter: 13–23, 22–15, 25–21, 13–20
Pts: Parks 20 Rebs: Eatherton 9 Asts: Nakahigashi 4		Pts: Evans 28 Rebs: Evans 7 Asts: Evans 6
Hiroshima wins series, 2–1

Dolphins Arena, Aichi Attendance: 5,290 Referees: Daigo Urushima, Kohei Kano, Taiyu Ohno

(5) Ryukyu Golden Kings vs. (8) Chiba Jets

18 May 2024 16:05

boxscore

Ryukyu Golden Kings	62–95	Chiba Jets
Scoring by quarter: 24–29, 14–30, 12–11, 12–25
Pts: Law 16 Rebs: Cooley 8 Asts: Law 4		Pts: Smith 19 Rebs: Brown 6 Asts: Togashi 7
Chiba leads series, 1–0

Okinawa Arena, Okinawa Attendance: 8,582 Referees: Norito Okawara, Takeo Kitazawa, Shigeyuki Arisawa

19 May 2024 16:05

boxscore

Ryukyu Golden Kings	81–63	Chiba Jets
Scoring by quarter: 23–13, 20–20, 19–15, 19–15
Pts: Cooley 25 Rebs: Durham 16 Asts: Durham 7		Pts: Smith 19 Rebs: Cooks 7 Asts: Cooks 6
Series tied, 1–1

Okinawa Arena, Okinawa Attendance: 8,643 Referees: Norito Okawara, Takeo Kitazawa, Shigeyuki Arisawa

21 May 2024 19:05

boxscore

Ryukyu Golden Kings	83–67	Chiba Jets
Scoring by quarter: 22–14, 24–17, 19–24, 18–12
Pts: Cooley, Durham 15 Rebs: Cooley 10 Asts: Durham 8		Pts: Togashi 18 Rebs: Mooney 11 Asts: Togashi 6
Ryukyu wins series, 2–1

Okinawa Arena, Okinawa Attendance: 8,712 Referees: Norito Okawara, Takeo Kitazawa, Shigeyuki Arisawa

Finals

(5) Ryukyu Golden Kings vs. (7) Hiroshima Dragonflies

25 May 2024 12:00

boxscore

Ryukyu Golden Kings	74–62	Hiroshima Dragonflies
Scoring by quarter: 24–16, 19–9, 19–18, 12–19
Pts: Imamura 15 Rebs: Cooley, Law 7 Asts: Durham 8		Pts: Blackshear 15 Rebs: Blackshear 8 Asts: Blackshear, Mayo 4
Ryukyu leads series, 1–0

Yokohama Arena, Kanagawa Attendance: 12,969 Referees: Takaki Kato, Hijiri Abe, Takeshi Hiraide

26 May 2024 13:10

boxscore

Ryukyu Golden Kings	63–72	Hiroshima Dragonflies
Scoring by quarter: 14–21, 20–9, 13–18, 16–24
Pts: Law 16 Rebs: Imamura 7 Asts: Durham 7		Pts: Evans 16 Rebs: Evans, Enomoto 6 Asts: Evans 5
Series tied, 1–1

Yokohama Arena, Kanagawa Attendance: 13,203 Referees: Takaki Kato, Hijiri Abe, Takeshi Hiraide

28 May 2024 19:05

boxscore

Ryukyu Golden Kings	50–65	Hiroshima Dragonflies
Scoring by quarter: 12–17, 17–18, 11–11, 10–19
Pts: Law 16 Rebs: Cooley, Imamura 7 Asts: Durham 4		Pts: Evans 13 Rebs: Evans 9 Asts: Blackshear, Mayo 4
Hiroshima wins series, 2–1

Yokohama Arena, Kanagawa Attendance: 12,209 Referees: Takaki Kato, Hijiri Abe, Takeshi Hiraide

Statistics

Individual statistic leaders

Category	Player	Team	Statistic
Points per game	Perrin Buford	Shimane Susanoo Magic	22.6
Rebounds per game	Thomas Welsh	Levanga Hokkaido	12.2
Assists per game	Yuki Kawamura	Yokohama B-Corsairs	7.9
Steals per game	Koh Flippin	Gunma Crane Thunders	1.9
Blocks per game	Jordan Heath	Kawasaki Brave Thunders	1.7
FG%	Scott Eatherton	Nagoya Diamond Dolphins	61.0%
3FG%	Scott Eatherton	Nagoya Diamond Dolphins	47.1%
FT%	Atsunobu Hirao	Ibaraki Robots	91.1%

Team statistic leaders

Category	Team	Statistic
Points per game	San-en NeoPhoenix	89.5
Rebounds per game	Nagoya Diamond Dolphins	34.0
Assists per game	San-en NeoPhoenix	22.3
Steals per game	Nagasaki Velca	8.0
Blocks per game	Chiba Jets	3.6
FG%	SeaHorses Mikawa	46.5%
3FG%	Sun Rockers Shibuya	38.2%
FT%	Sun Rockers Shibuya	78.7%

B1 League clubs in Asian competitions

Team	Competition	Progress
Chiba Jets	East Asia Super League	Championship game
Ryukyu Golden Kings		Group stage Group B

Attendances

#	Club	Average attendance[4]
1	Ryukyu Golden Kings	7,746
2	Alvark Tokyo	6,012
3	Gunma Crane Thunders	5,244
4	Nagoya Diamond Dolphins	5,190
5	Saga Ballooners	5,061
6	Yokohama B-Corsairs	4,799
7	Utsunomiya Brex	4,742
8	Osaka Evessa	4,716
9	Chiba Jets Funabashi	4,634
10	Ibaraki Robots	4,619
11	Hiroshima Dragonflies	4,618
12	Levanga Hokkaido	4,617
13	Kawasaki Brave Thunders	4,559
14	Sun Rockers Shibuya	4,456
15	Sendai 89ers	4,373
16	Kyoto Hannaryz	4,345
17	Akita Northern Happinets	4,342
18	Shinshu Brave Warriors	4,291
19	Shimane Susanoo Magic	4,230
20	Toyama Grouses	4,180
21	Nagasaki Velca	3,630
22	SeaHorses Mikawa	3,443
23	Fighting Eagles Nagoya	2,730
24	Rizing Zephyr Fukuoka	2,304