Basketligaen

Not to be confused with Basketligan.

The Basketligaen (English: The Basketball League) is the highest professional basketball league in Denmark. The men’s first division was originally founded in 1957.

Basketligaen

Founded	1995; 30 years ago (1995)
First season	1995–96
Country	Denmark
Confederation	FIBA Europe
Number of teams	10
Level on pyramid	1
Relegation to	First Division
Domestic cup(s)	Danish Cup
International cup(s)	Basketball Champions League Europe Cup
Current champions	Bakken Bears (23rd title) (2024–25)
Most championships	Bakken Bears (23 titles)
TV partners	Sport Live
Website	basketligaen.dk
2024–25 Basketligaen

Over the years, the league has undergone several name changes due to sponsorship deals. It was formerly known as Canal Digital Ligaen, Jordanligaen, and Premierligaen, among other names, including Elitedivisionen and 1. division. The current iteration of the league was officially established in 1998, though it has occasionally operated without a sponsor name.

The Bakken Bears are the league’s all-time record holders, having won 18 titles. BMS is notable for securing 5 consecutive titles from 1986 to 1990. The league’s main TV partner is Sport Live.

The league consists of 11 teams, and notably, it does not follow a relegation system. In the 2021/2022 season, the league was consolidated into a single division once again. Initially, the league started with 10 teams, and it expanded to 11 in the 2022/23 season when Holbæk/Stenhus joined.

2024–25 teams

Bakken Bears

B.A.

Svendborg

Næstved

Randers

Værløse

Horsens

Herlev

Copenhagen

Amager

Location of teams in 2024–25 Basketligaen

Basketligaen

Team	Home city	Arena	Capacity
Bakken Bears	Aarhus	Vejlby Risskov Center	2,050
BC Copenhagen	Copenhagen	Nørrebrohallen	600
Bears Academy	Aarhus	Vejlby Risskov Center	2,050
BK Amager	Tårnby	Amagerhallen	1,500
BMS Herlev	Herlev	Skovlundehallen	1,000
Holdbæk Stenhus	Holbæk	Holbæk Sportsby	1,000
Horsens IC	Horsens	Forum Horsens	4,000
Randers Cimbria	Randers	Arena Randers	3,000
Svendborg Rabbits	Svendborg	Arena Svendborg	3,600
Team FOG Næstved	Næstved	Arena Næstved	3,500
Værløse Blue Hawks	Værløse	Søndersøhallen	750

Title holders

1957–58: Aarhus 1958–59: Gladsaxe 1959–60: Gladsaxe 1960–61: SISU 1961–62: SISU 1962–63: Gladsaxe 1963–64: Gladsaxe 1964–65: Gladsaxe 1965–66: SISU 1966–67: SISU 1967–68: Gladsaxe 1968–69: Gladsaxe 1969–70: Virum 1970–71: Virum 1971–72: SISU 1972–73: SISU 1973–74: Falcon 1974–75: Falcon 1976–77: SISU 1973–74: Falcon 1977–78: Falcon 1978–79: Stevnsgade

1979–80: Stevnsgade 1980–81: SISU 1981–82: BMS 1982–83: SISU 1983–84: SISU 1984–85: SISU 1985–86: BMS 1986–87: BMS 1987–88: BMS 1988–89: BMS 1989–90: BMS 1990–91: Hørsholm 1991–92: Horsens 1992–93: Hørsholm 1993–94: Horsens 1994–95: Stevnsgade 1995–96: Værløse 1996–97: Skovbakken 1997–98: Horsens 1998–99: Skovbakken 1999–00: Skovbakken 2000–01: Skovbakken

2001–02: Værløse Farum 2002–03: Copenhagen [da] 2003–04: Århus 2004–05: Skovbakken 2005–06: Horsens 2006–07: Skovbakken 2007–08: Bakken Bears 2008–09: Bakken Bears 2009–10: Svendborg Rabbits 2010–11: Bakken Bears 2011–12: Bakken Bears 2012–13: Bakken Bears 2013–14: Bakken Bears 2014–15: Horsens 2015–16: Horsens 2016–17: Bakken Bears 2017–18: Bakken Bears 2018–19: Bakken Bears 2019–20: Bakken Bears 2020–21: Bakken Bears 2021–22: Bakken Bears 2022–23: Bakken Bears 2023–24: Bakken Bears 2024–25: Bakken Bears

The finals

Champions 1995–2024						Finals
Season	Teams	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Relegation	Score	Finals MVP
1995–96		Værløse/Farum (2)	Stevnsgade	Horsens IC
1996–97		Bakken Bears (3)	Hørsholm	Stevnsgade
1997–98		Horsens IC (3)	Bakken Bears	SISU BK
1998–99		Bakken Bears (4)	SISU BK	Horsens IC
1999-00		Bakken Bears (5)	Horsens IC	SISU BK
2000–01		Bakken Bears (6)	Værløse/Farum	BK Skjold/Stevnsgade Basket		2–1
2001–02		Værløse/Farum (3)	Aabyhøj IF [da]	Bakken Bears		2–0
2002–03	10	BF Copenhagen [da] (2)	Bakken Bears	SISU BK	BF Copenhagen [da]	2–0
2003–04	10	Bakken Bears (7)	Horsens IC	Team Sjælland [da]	BK Skjold/Stevnsgade Basket	3–1
2004–05	10	Bakken Bears (8)	SISU BK	Svendborg Rabbits	Team Sjælland [da]	3–2
2005–06	11	Horsens IC (4)	Bakken Bears	BK Amager	Herlev	3–1
2006–07	12	Bakken Bears (9)	Svendborg Rabbits	Horsens IC	AAB Basket [da], Horsens Basketball Club [da], Team Sjælland [da]	3–0
2007–08	9	Bakken Bears (10)	Svendborg Rabbits	BK Amager		4–0
2008–09	10	Bakken Bears (11)	Svendborg Rabbits	Randers Cimbria	Roskilde Basketball Klub	4–3
2009–10	10	Svendborg Rabbits	Bakken Bears	Hørsholm 79ers		4–1
2010–11	10	Bakken Bears (12)	Svendborg Rabbits	Horsens IC		4–0
2011–12	10	Bakken Bears (13)	Svendborg Rabbits	Team FOG Næstved		4–2
2012–13	10	Bakken Bears (14)	Svendborg Rabbits	Horsens IC		4–3	Chris Christoffersen
2013–14	10	Bakken Bears (15)	Randers Cimbria	Horsens IC	4–0	Kenny Barker
2014–15	10	Horsens IC (5)	Bakken Bears	Team FOG Næstved	Aalborg Vikings, Værløse Basket (withdrew), Copenhagen Wolfpack (withdrew)	4–2	Brian Fitzpatrick
2015–16	8	Horsens IC (6)	Bakken Bears	Team FOG Næstved		4–3	Nimrod Hilliard
2016–17	8	Bakken Bears (15)	Horsens IC	Svendborg Rabbits	SISU BK (withdrew)	4–1	DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell
2017–18	8	Bakken Bears (16)	Horsens IC	Randers Cimbria		4–0	Jeffrey Crockett
2018–19	9	Bakken Bears (17)	Horsens IC	Team FOG Næstved		4–0	Tobin Carberry
2019–20	10	Bakken Bears (18)	Randers Cimbria	Horsens IC			No finals due to COVID-19 pandemic[1]
2020–21	10	Bakken Bears (19)	Horsens IC	Svendborg Rabbits		4–2	Michel Diouf[2]
2021–22	10	Bakken Bears (20)	Svendborg Rabbits	Horsens IC		4–0	Marvelle Harris[3]
2022–23	11	Bakken Bears (21)	Team FOG Næstved	Randers Cimbria		4–0	Ryan Evans
2023–24	11	Bakken Bears (22)	Team FOG Næstved	Horsens IC		4–0	Gustav Knudsen
2024–25	11	Bakken Bears (23)	Svendborg Rabbits	Randers Cimbria		3–1	Urald King

Awards

Season	MVP	Defensive Player of The Year	Young Player of The Year	Coach of The Year		Referee of The Year
2002–03	Eric Bell
2003–04	Joshua Metzger			Mads Christensen	Svendborg Rabbits
2004–05	Eric Bell (2)			Craig Pedersen	Svendborg Rabbits
2005–06	Thomas Skotting			Geof Kotila	Team FOG Næstved
2006–07	Joshua Joel Buettner			Jesper Krone	BK Amager
2007–08	Brandon Omar Thomas			Roberto Velosa	Hørsholm 79ers
2008–09	Bonell Colas			Craig Pedersen (2)	Svendborg Rabbits
2009–10	Johnell Smith		Mathias Seilund	Marc Collins	Randers Cimbria	Jakob Hors
2010–11	Nicolai Iversen	Nicolai Iversen	Jonathan Gilling	Milan Škobalj	Hørsholm 79ers	Bo Bundgaard
2011–12	Chanan Colman	Corin Henry	Philip Hertz	Geof Kotila (2)	Team FOG Næstved	Bo Bundgaard (2)
2012–13	Darko Jukić	Bonell Colas	Frederik Rungby	Craig Pedersen (3)	Svendborg Rabbits	Morten Thomsen
2013–14	Johnell Smith (2)	Frederik Hougaard Nielsen	Peter Møller	James Vear	Aalborg Vikings	Morten Thomsen (2)
2014–15	Skyler Bowlin	Baye Keita	Gabriel Iffe Lundberg	Arnel Dedić	Horsens IC	Morten Thomsen (3)
2015–16	Brandon Rozzell	Michel Diouf	August Haas	Israel Martín	Bakken Bears	Jakob Hors (2)
2016–17	DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell	Jyles Smith	Asbjørn Midtgaard	Jim Jabir	SISU BK	Jakob Hors (3)
2017–18	Kevin Larsen	Michel Diouf (2)	Filip Rajovic	Arnel Dedić (2)	Horsens IC	Morten Thomsen (4)
2018–19	Ryan Evans	Michel Diouf (3)	Sylvester Berg	Steffen Wich	Bakken Bears	Andrada Monika Csender
2019–20	Roberto Gallinat	Michel Diouf (4)	Jonathan Klussmann	Jimmy Moore	Randers Cimbria	Andrada Monika Csender (2)
2020–21	QJ Peterson	Tylor Ongwae	Magnus Møllgaard	Jimmy Moore (2)	Svendborg Rabbits	Andrada Monika Csender (3)
2021–22	Sebastian Åris	Tylor Ongwae (2)	Mads Bro Hansen	Anders Sommer	Bakken Bears	Carsten Kristensen
2022–23	Mike McGuirl	Bakary Camara	Gustav Knudsen	Jimmy Moore (3)	Randers Cimbria	Carsten Kristensen (2)
2023–24	Gage Davis	Kur Jongkuch	Magnus Høj Madsen	Vedran Borovcanin	Horsens IC	Carsten Kristensen (3)
2024–25	Jagan Mosely	Olamide Pedersen	Gabriel Vogel	Mads Andersen	Svendborg Rabbits	Nikolai Norup

All-time Basketligaen table

The All-time Basketligaen table is an overall record of all match results of every team that has played in Basketligaen since 1958.

Last updated in June 2025.^[4]

Pos.	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	Total of medals
1	Bakken Bears	23	10	4	37
2	SISU BK	11	10	9	30
3	Efterslægten BK	6	4	2	12
4	BMS	6	1	6	13
5	Horsens IC	6	7	10	23
6	Falcon Basketball	4	8	4	16
7	Stevnsgade Basketball	3	5	9	17
8	Virum BK	2	–	6	8
9	Hørsholm 79ers	2	3	3	8
10	Værløse/Farum/BF Copenhagen [da]	3	2	1	7
11	Gladsaxe Basketball Klub	1	1	3	5
12	Svendborg Rabbits	1	8	5	14
13	Viby Idræts Forening	–	3	3	6
14	Randers Cimbria	–	2	4	6
15	ABC	–	1	1	2
16	Åbyhøj BK	–	1	–	1
17	Team FOG Næstved	–	2	4	6
18	Glostrup Basketball	–	–	2	2
19	BK Amager	–	–	2	2
20	Team Sjælland [da]	–	–	1	1

Statistical leaders

Season	Points		Rebounds		Assists		Steals		Turnovers
2002–03	Andy Wormsley (23.8)	Svendborg Rabbits	Marek Ondera (9.4)	Bakken Bears	Eric Bell (4.4)	Bakken Bears	Eric Bell (3.5)	Bakken Bears	Austin McKellar (4.5)	Hørsholm 79ers
2003–04	Steven Pettyjohn (28.4)	SISU BK	Jeff Markray (11.6)	Skjold Stevnsgade	Wayne Johnell Copeland (5.5)	Horsens IC	Wayne Johnell Copeland (5.0)	Horsens IC	Lasse Kristiansen (4.5)	AAB Basket [da]
2004–05	Flagan Prince (24.1)	BK Amager	Brian Sigafoos (11.2)	Hørsholm 79ers	Eric Bell (6.4)	Horsens IC	Eric Bell (4.4)	Horsens IC	Lasse Kristiansen (4.3)	AAB Basket [da]
2005–06	Joshua King (26.4)	Hørsholm 79ers	Monta McGhee (12.4)	Horsens IC	Martin Mariegaard (5.7)	Svendborg Rabbits	Spencer Ross (3.1)	Horsens IC	Alan Madsen (4.1)	Aabyhøj IF [da]
2006–07	Anthony Paez (27.7)	AAB Basket [da]	Monta McGhee (13.3)	Horsens IC	Tanoris Shepard (6.5)	Svendborg Rabbits	Dustin Pfeifer (2.9)	Team Sjælland [da]	Andreas Bloch (4.3)	SISU BK
2007–08	Brandon Omar Thomas (24.6)	Team FOG Næstved	Ivan Mišković (12.2)	Horsens IC	Jarrett Howell (4.7)	Svendborg Rabbits	Jarrett Howell (2.9)	Svendborg Rabbits	James Duane (3.4)	Hørsholm 79ers
2008–09	Christopher Gilliam (24.6)	Åbyhøj BK	Bonell Colas (14.3)	Randers Cimbria	David Smedley (5.2)	Randers Cimbria	Jesse Pellot-Rosa (3.0)	SISU BK	Darnell Kirkwood (3.8)	Horsens IC
2009–10	Mychal Lamont Kearse (23.4)	SISU BK	Chris Christoffersen (9.7)	Bakken Bears	David Smedley (6.5)	Randers Cimbria	Johnell Smith (2.8)	Svendborg Rabbits	Mychal Lamont Kearse (3.5)	SISU BK
2010–11	Thomas Soltau (22.8)	SISU BK	Lee Roberts (13.3)	Team FOG Næstved	David Smedley (6.4)	Team FOG Næstved	Lasse Kristiansen (2.1)	Aalborg Vikings	Thomas Soltau (3.6)	SISU BK
2011–12	Ryan Devon White (24.8)	Aalborg Vikings	D'Mario Curry (11.6)	Åbyhøj BK	Davor Sattler (5.4)	Horsens IC	Corin Henry (3.4)	Team FOG Næstved	D'Mario Curry (5.3)	Aabyhøj IF [da]
2012–13	Bonell Colas (24.3)	Randers Cimbria	Bonell Colas (14.7)	Randers Cimbria	Miguel Ortega (6.8)	Randers Cimbria	Skyler Bowlin (3.00)	Horsens IC	Miguel Ortega (3.7)	Randers Cimbria
2013–14	Joey Haywood (25.0)	Aalborg Vikings	Durell Vinson (15.2)	Falcon Basketball	Johnell Smith (5.8)	Svendborg Rabbits	Skyler Bowlin(2.65)	Horsens IC	Alex Murphy (3.3)	Team FOG Næstved
2014–15	Darryl Partin (27.0)	SISU BK	Bonell Colas (12.6)	Randers Cimbria	Antonio Porta (7.1)	Svendborg Rabbits	Marquis Addison (2.4)	Horsens IC	Chris Marius Nielsen (4.0)	Randers Cimbria
							Skyler Bowlin (2.4)	Horsens IC
2015–16	Brandon Rozzell (24.5)	Svendborg Rabbits	Evan Yates (9.9)	Hørsholm 79ers	Brandon Rozzell (5.8)	Svendborg Rabbits	Troy Franklin (2.2)	Team FOG Næstved	Brandon Rozzell (3.7)	Svendborg Rabbits
2016–17	DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell (21.4)	Bakken Bears	Tanner McGrew (10.5)	SISU BK	Frederik Hougaard Nielsen (6.5)	Hørsholm 79ers	Myles Mack (2.1)	Horsens IC	Chris Marius Nielsen (4.2)	Randers Cimbria
2017–18	Matt Bonds (22.4)	Hørsholm 79ers	Durell Vinson (12.8)	Copenhagen Wolfpack	Frederik Hougaard Nielsen (6.0)	Hørsholm 79ers	Troy Franklin (2.2)	Team FOG Næstved	Filip Rajovic (3.4)	Stevnsgade Basketball
2018–19	Deionte Simmons (20.1)	Wolfpack	Richard Granberry (9.6)	Værløse Blue Hawks	Sebastian Petersen (5.2)	Svendborg Rabbits	Derrick Wilson (2.8)	Svendborg Rabbits	Oliver Stroh (4.3)	Wolfpack
					Derrick Wilson (5.2)	Svendborg Rabbits
2019–20	Filip Rajovic (20.8)	Copenhagen	Louis Timms (10.8)	Amager	Javion Blake (5.7)	Wolfpack	Jahmal Jones (2.1)	Team FOG Næstved	Liam Churchill (3.8)	Bears Academy
2020–21	QJ Peterson (21.9)	Bakken Bears	Tyler Creammer (12)	Copenhagen	Marius Kirkholt (8.5)	Bears Academy	Magnus Mollgaard (2.3)	Bears Academy	Nicklas Jonsson (4.9)	Copenhagen
2021–22	Zeke Moore (20.1)	Copenhagen	Durell Vinson (11.8)	Copenhagen	Sebastian Åris (6.1)	Svendborg Rabbits	Andrew Ramirez (2.8)	Copenhagen	Magnus Bjørnå (3.5)	Amager
2022–23	Mike McGuirl (21.7)	Team FOG Næstved	Eysan Wiley (11)	Holdbæk Stenhus	Brandon Norfleet (7.5)	Randers Cimbria	August Haas (2.6)	BMS Herlev	Eysan Wiley (3.9)	Holdbæk Stenhus
2023–24	Andrew Sims (25.7)	Amager	Kevin Marfo (14.6)	Svendborg Rabbits	Adam Heede-Andersen (6.5)	Værløse Blue Hawks	Bakary Camara (2.3)	Randers Cimbria	Tomas Atli Bjarkason (4.5)	Amager

Source: Eurobasket.com, Basketligaen.dk Archived 2017-10-04 at the Wayback Machine

All-time leaders

Last updated June 1, 2018.

	Player		Team
Points	Chris Marius Nielsen	6,385	17 seasons (Still active). Randers Cimbria (2002–2010, 2012–), Bakken Bears (2010–2013)
Rebounds	Bonell Colas	2,600	10 seasons. Randers Cimbria (2007–2009, 2012–2017), Hørsholm 79ers (2011–2012), Værløse Basket (2010–2011)
Assists	Frederik Hougaard Nielsen	1,478	12 seasons (Still active). Hørsholm 79ers (2005–2011, 2013–), Bakken Bears (2011–2013)
Steals	Chris Marius Nielsen	560	17 seasons (Still active). Randers Cimbria (2002–2010, 2012–), Bakken Bears (2010–2013)
Blocks	Chris Christoffersen	550	13 seasons (Still active). Bakken Bears (2004–)
2-points made	Bonell Colas	1,620	10 seasons. Randers Cimbria (2007–2009, 2012–2017), Hørsholm 79ers (2011–2012), Værløse Basket (2010–2011)
3-points made	Chris Marius Nielsen	828	17 seasons (Still active). Randers Cimbria (2002–2010, 2012–), Bakken Bears (2010–2013)
Free throws made	Chris Marius Nielsen	1,609	17 seasons (Still active). Randers Cimbria (2002–2010, 2012–), Bakken Bears (2010–2013)
Turnovers	Chris Marius Nielsen	1,083	17 seasons (Still active). Randers Cimbria (2002–2010, 2012–), Bakken Bears (2010–2013)
Minutes played	Chris Marius Nielsen	12,422	17 seasons (Still active). Randers Cimbria (2002–2010, 2012–), Bakken Bears (2010–2013)
Games played	Chris Marius Nielsen	417	17 seasons (Still active). Randers Cimbria (2002–2010, 2012–), Bakken Bears (2010–2013)

Stats since 2002.

Single game records

Last updated June 1, 2018.^[5]

	Player		Team	Date	Game
Points	Brandon Omar Thomas	49	Team FOG Næstved	01/23-2008	Team FOG Næstved	vs	Åbyhøj BK	104:92
Rebounds	Durell Vinson	28	Falcon Basketball	11/30-2013	Falcon Basketball	vs	Hørsholm 79ers	83:86
Assists	Arnar Jónsson	16	BC Aarhus	09/22-2012	BC Aarhus	vs	Aalborg Vikings	97:90
Steals	Wayne Johnell Copeland	12	Horsens IC	03/14-2004	Horsens IC	vs	Åbyhøj BK	97:52
Blocks	Nicholas Billings	10	Hørsholm 79ers	02/23-2008	Svendborg Rabbits	vs	Hørsholm 79ers	89:77
	Mikkel Langager Larsen		Horsens IC	03/17-2004	Åbyhøj BK	vs	Horsens IC	72:88
2-points made	Jason Siggers	18	Bakken Bears	12/13-2007	Åbyhøj BK	vs	Bakken Bears	73:92
3-points made	Jeff Schiffner	10	Bakken Bears	04/26-2005	SISU	vs	Bakken Bears	84:105
	Damian Jimenez Ocana		Svendborg Rabbits	03/07-2016	Svendborg Rabbits	vs	Randers Cimbria	114:62
Free throws made	Gregory William Lacasse	20	Horsens IC	12/09-2006	Team FOG Næstved	vs	Horsens IC	91:77
	Alan Madsen		Åbyhøj BK	12/20-2003	Åbyhøj BK	vs	Randers Cimbria	114:101
Turnovers	Austin McKellar	13	Hørsholm 79ers	11/30-2002	Randers Cimbria	vs	Hørsholm 79ers	79:83

Stats since 2002.