Dutch Basketball League

For the current top level Dutch league, see BNXT League.

The Dutch Basketball League (DBL), formerly the Eredivisie, was the highest professional basketball league in the Netherlands, run by the Federatie Eredivisie Basketball (FEB).^[1] Since 2021, the league has been replaced by the Belgian-Dutch BNXT League.^[2]

Dutch Basketball League

Formerly	Eredivisie (1960–2010)
Founded	1960; 65 years ago (1960)
First season	1960–61
Folded	2021
Replaced by	BNXT League
Country	Netherlands
Confederation	FIBA Europe
Number of teams	12
Level on pyramid	1
Domestic cup(s)	NBB Cup
Supercup	Dutch Supercup
International cup(s)	Basketball Champions League FIBA Europe Cup
Last champions	Heroes Den Bosch (18th title) (2024–25)
Most championships	Heroes Den Bosch (18 titles)
All-time top scorer	Kees Akerboom Sr. (9,878 points)
Website	www.dutchbasketballleague.nl

The league had a closed system: to participate, a team has to have enough money and potential. The league began in 1960 as the Eredivisie and was organized by the NBB and later the FEB. In 1977 the league introduced play-offs. As of 2019, the Dutch Basketball League consists of ten teams and plays under the FIBA rules.

History

2010s

Starting with the 2010–11 season, the Eredivisie changed its name to the Dutch Basketball League, shortly the DBL. The beginning of the 2010s saw Donar and ZZ Leiden emerge as top teams in the Netherlands. Donar won five titles, including three straight (2015–2018). The decade also saw clubs disappear due to financial problems, with Amsterdam in 2011,^[3] West-Brabant Giants in 2011,^[4] Magixx in 2014.^[5][6] The decade also saw the emergence of new clubs in Apollo Amsterdam and Den Helder Suns.

In Europe, Donar had one of the biggest successes in Dutch history after reaching the semi-finals of the 2017–18 FIBA Europe Cup. It was the first European semi-final of a team since Amsterdam in 2001.

2020s

In December 2019, it was announced that the DBL has partnered with the Belgian Pro Basketball League (PBL) to look at the potential of a future "BeNe League".^[7] The 2019–20 season was cancelled prematurely in March because of the COVID-19 pandemic.^[8] It was the first time in league history that a season was not finished and no champions were named. Due to the pandemic, entry requirements for the following season were lowered which led to the entrance of Basketball Community Gelderland, The Hague Royals and Almere Sailors.

Format and rules

Each team has to play all the other teams in the league four times, twice at home and twice away. This means that the league's regular season ends after all teams play 36 matches. Like many other national domestic leagues in continental Europe, the Dutch Basketball League takes a winter break once each team has played half of its scheduled games.

Playoffs

At the end of the league season schedule, the eight best teams in the standings play in a play-off, pitting the first place team in the standings versus the eighth place team in the standings, and so on. The quarter finals are played in a best-of-three format and the semi-finals are played in a best-of-five format, and the finals are played in a best-of-seven format.

In seasons were the number of teams dropped to 9 or lower, six teams qualified for the playoffs. In this case, the numbers one and two qualified for the semifinals and the other four teams played the quarterfinals.

Foreign players

The DBL has had many rules in place to restrict the number of foreign players of clubs. This way the league seek to keep developing Dutch talent in the league. For several seasons. Until 2019, teams in the DBL were not allowed to have more than four players without a Dutch passport in their on court team at the same time.

• 2015–2017: maximum 4 foreign players
• 2017–2019: maximum 5 foreign players (1 Dutch player at the court any time)
• 2019–2021: minimum of 6 home grown players

Logos

• 
  The first league logo, introduced in 2011
• 
  Updated version of the logo that was introduced in 2011, first used in the 2019–2020 season

Clubs

Current clubs

As of the end of the 2020–21 season:

Club	City	Arena	Capacity	1st season in DBL	No. of seasons in DBL	DBL titles	Last title
Almere Sailors	Almere	Topsportcentrum Almere	3,000	2020–21	1	–	–
Apollo Amsterdam	Amsterdam	Apollohal	1,500	2012–13	8	–	–
Aris Leeuwarden	Leeuwarden	Kalverdijkje	1,700	2004–05	16	–	–
BAL	Weert	Sporthal Boshoven	1,000	2017–18	4	–	–
Heroes Den Bosch	's-Hertogenbosch	Maaspoort	2,800	1962–63	54	16	2015
Den Helder Suns	Den Helder	Sporthal Sportlaan	1,500	1981–82	29	6	1998
Donar	Groningen	MartiniPlaza	4,350	1970–71	51	7	2018
Feyenoord	Rotterdam	Topsportcentrum	2,400	1988–89	32	–	–
Landstede Hammers	Zwolle	Landstede Sportcentrum	1,200	1995–96	25	1	2019
The Hague Royals	The Hague	Sportcampus Zuiderpark	3,500	2020–21	1	–	–
Yoast United	Bemmel	De Schaapskooi	650	2020–21	1	–	–
ZZ Leiden	Leiden	Vijf Meihal	2,000	1967–68	31	4	2021

Timeline

The following is the timeline of the teams in the Dutch Basketball League era (since 2011).

• * – Indicates championship season

Former clubs

Sailors

Apollo

United

Royals

Suns

Aris

Feyenoord

Donar

Hammers

Den Bosch

BAL

Leiden

Location of teams in the 2020–21 Dutch Basketball League

The following clubs are not competing in the DBL during the 2020–21 season, but have previously competed in the DBL for at least one season. Teams in italics were folded and do not exist anymore.

Club	City	Current league	First season in DBL	Most recent season in DBL	Seasons in DBL	DBL titles	Last DBL title
Agon Amsterdam / Racing Agona	Amsterdam		1961–62	1972–73	12	–	–
Almere Pioneers		Promotiedivisie	1998–99	2006–07	9	–	–
Amsterdam Basketball		–	1995–96	2010–11	15	7	2009
AMVJ	Amsterdam	Regional	1966–67		1	–	–
ASVU	Amstelveen	–	1963–64	1974–75	5	–	–
GOBA		Regional levels	1990–91	1995–96	4	–	–
Blue Starsa	Diemen	Regional	1960–61	1975–76	13	1	1970
BSW		–	1982–83	2016–17	24	1	1994
BVG		Promotiedivisie	1979–80		1	–	–
Landlust / Canadians Amsterdama	Amsterdam	–	1960–61	1992–93	32	2	1963
C3 Cobra's		–	2000–01		1	–	–
DAS Delft		Regional levels	1986–87	1988–89	3	–	–
DEDa	Amsterdam	Regional	1960–61	1973–74	14
Dutch Windmills		–	2018–19		1	–	–
Dunckers	Hilversum	Regional levels	1995–96		1	–	–
EiffelTowers Nijmegen		–	2000–01	2004–05	5	1	2003
Herly Amsterdama	Amsterdam	Regional	1960–61	1968–69	9	1	1969
NAC		–	2000–01	2001–02	2	–	–
Magixx		–	2005–06	2013–14	9	–	–
Monark Amsterdama	Amsterdam	–	1960–61	1963–64	4	–	–
Orca's Urk		Eerste Divisie	1983–84	1990–91	8	–	–
Puncha		Promotiedivisie	1960–61	1982–83	22	2	1975
Red Giants		Eerste Divisie	1987–88	1994–95	8	–	–
SVE Utrecht	Utrecht	–	1965–66	1970–71	6	1	1967
Suvrikri	The Hague	–	1966–67	1971–72	6	–	–
The Arrowsa	Rotterdam	–	1960–61	1963–64	4	–	–
The Wolves Amsterdama		–	1960–61	1968–69	9	5	1965
Tonego		Regional levels	1980–81	1986–87	8	–	–
Typhoons Haarlem	Haarlem	–	1961–62		1	–	–
USa	Amstelveen	Regional	1960–61	1966–67	6	–	–
Virtus		Eerste Divisie	1983–84	2000–01	8	–	–
West-Brabant Giants		–	2003–04	2010–11	8	–	–
Wilskracht Amsterdam	Amsterdam	–	1964–65	1969–70	6	–	–
ZBVS Santpoort		–	1960–61		1	–	–

^a: Founding member of the DBL.

Champions

Main article: List of Dutch basketball champions

List of Dutch Basketball League winners (1945–present)

1945–46 DED 1946–47 DED 1947–48 APGS 1948–49 AMVJ 1949–50 DED 1950–51 AMVJ 1951–52 DED 1952–53 DED 1953–54 DED 1954–55 AMVJ 1955–56 DED 1956–57 The Wolves Amsterdam 1957–58 DED 1958–59 Blue Stars 1959–60 The Wolves Amsterdam 1960–61 The Wolves Amsterdam 1961–62 Landlust 1962–63 Landlust 1963–64 The Wolves Amsterdam 1964–65 The Wolves Amsterdam 1965–66 Herly Amsterdam 1966–67 SVE Utrecht 1967–68 Flamingo's Haarlem 1968–69 Punch Delft 1969–70 Blue Stars 1970–71 Levi's Flamingo's 1971–72 Levi's Flamingo's 1972–73 Levi's Flamingo's 1973–74 Transol RZ 1974–75 Raak Punch 1975–76 Kinzo Amstelveen 1976–77 Kinzo Amstelveen 1977–78 Parker Leiden 1978–79 EBBC Den Bosch 1979–80 EBBC Den Bosch 1980–81 Nashua Den Bosch 1981–82 Nationale-Nederlanden Donar 1982–83 Nashua Den Bosch 1983–84 Nashua Den Bosch 1984–85 Nashua Den Bosch 1985–86 Nashua Den Bosch 1986–87 Nashua Den Bosch 1987–88 Nashua Den Bosch 1988–89 Direktbank Den Helder 1989–90 Commodore Den Helder 1990–91 Commodore Den Helder 1991–92 Commodore Den Helder 1992–93 Canoe Jeans Den Bosch 1993–94 Lanèche Weert 1994–95 Mustang Jeans Den Helder 1995–96 America Today Den Bosch 1996–97 Libertel Den Bosch 1997–98 Hans Verkerk Keukens Den Helder 1998–99 Ricoh Astronauts 1999–00 Ricoh Astronauts 2000–01 Ricoh Astronauts 2001–02 Ricoh Astronauts 2002–03 EiffelTowers Nijmegen 2003–04 MPC Capitals 2004–05 Demon Astronauts 2005–06 EiffelTowers Den Bosch 2006–07 EiffelTowers Den Bosch 2007–08 My Guide Amsterdam 2008–09 EclipseJet-MyGuide Amsterdam 2009–10 GasTerra Flames 2010–11 Zorg en Zekerheid Leiden 2011–12 EiffelTowers Den Bosch 2012–13 Zorg en Zekerheid Leiden 2013–14 GasTerra Flames 2014–15 SPM Shoeters Den Bosch 2015–16 Donar 2016–17 Donar 2017–18 Donar 2018–19 Landstede Zwolle 2019–20 Not awarded 2020–21 ZZ Leiden 2021–22 Heroes Den Bosch 2022–23 ZZ Leiden 2023–24 ZZ Leiden 2024–25 Heroes Den Bosch

Finals

Main article: List of Dutch Basketball League Finals

The two teams that advance to the Finals of the play-offs play against each other in a best-of-seven playoff format.

Recent Dutch Basketball League seasons Finals

Season	Winner(s)	Score	Runners-up
2009–10	Donar[a]	4–1	West-Brabant Giants
2010–11	ZZ Leiden	4–3	Donar[a]
2011–12	Den Bosch	4–1	ZZ Leiden
2012–13	ZZ Leiden	4–0	Aris Leeuwarden
2013–14	Donar[a]	4–3	Den Bosch
2014–15	Den Bosch	4–1	Donar
2015–16	Donar	4–1	Landstede Zwolle
2016–17	Donar	4–1	Landstede Zwolle
2017–18	Donar	4–0	ZZ Leiden
2018–19	Landstede Zwolle	4–2	Donar
2019–20	Not awarded
2020–21	ZZ Leiden	3–0	Heroes Den Bosch
2021–22	Heroes Den Bosch	3–2	ZZ Leiden
2022–23	ZZ Leiden	3–2	Donar
2023–24	ZZ Leiden	3–1	Heroes Den Bosch
2024–25	Heroes Den Bosch	3–0	ZZ Leiden

1. Known as "GasTerra Flames".

Performance by club

Teams shown in italics are no longer in existence. Teams in bold are currently playing in the DBL.

Eredivisie / Dutch Basketball League winners by club

Club	Wins	Seasons won
Heroes Den Bosch	18	1978–79, 1979–80, 1980–81, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1984–85, 1985–86, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1992–93, 1995–96, 1996–97, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2011–12, 2014–15, 2021–22, 2024–25
DED	8	1945–46, 1946–47, 1949–50, 1951–52, 1952–53, 1953–54, 1955–56, 1957–58
Amsterdam	7	1998–99, 1999–00, 2000–01, 2001–02, 2004–05, 2007–08, 2008–09
Donar	7	1981–82, 2003–04, 2009–10, 2013–14, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18
Den Helder	6	1988–89, 1989–90, 1990–91, 1991–92, 1994–95, 1997–98
ZZ Leiden	6	1977–78, 2010–11, 2012–13, 2020–21, 2022–23, 2023–24
The Wolves Amsterdam	4	1959–60, 1960–61, 1963–64, 1964–65
Flamingo's Haarlem	4	1985–86, 1970–71, 1971–72, 1972–73
AMVJ	3	1948–49, 1950–51, 1954–55
Blue Stars	2	1958–59, 1969–70
Landlust	2	1961–62, 1962–63
Punch Delft	2	1968–69, 1974–75
Amstelveen	2	1975–76, 1976–77
APGS	1	1947–48
Herly Amsterdam	1	1965–66
SVE Utrecht	1	1966–67
RZ	1	1973–74
Landstede Hammers	1	2018–19
BSW Weert	1	1993–94
Matrixx Magixx	1	2002–03

Records

All-time scoring leaders

Kees Akerboom Sr. is the league's all-time scoring leader

The following are the ten players with the most points in the Eredivisie or DBL:^[9]

Rank	Player	Points	Played	PPG
1	Kees Akerboom Sr	9,878	491	20.1
2	Emil Hagens	7,810	583	13.4
3	Toon van Helfteren	7,385	605	12.2
4	Kees Akerboom Jr.	7,262	656	11.0
5	Hank Smith	7,119	297	24.0
6	Marcel Huijbens	6,842	481	14.2
7	Cees van Rootselaar	6,338	538	11.8
8	Jimmy Moore	6,099	277	22.0
9	Dan Cramer	6,000	329	18.2
10	Martin de Vries	5,943	357	16.7
11	Yoran Jorna	5,943	101	58.8
11	Joshua Bosma	5,942	69	63.5

Awards

• Most Valuable Player
• Playoffs MVP
• All-Star Team
• Coach of the Year
• Defensive Player of the Year
• Most Improved Player
• MVP Under U23
• Sixth Man of the Year
• Rookie of the Year
• All-Defense Team
• All-Rookie Team
• Statistical Player of the Year
• All-Star Game MVP
• All-Star Game U23 MVP

See also

• Basketball Cup
• Dutch Basketball Supercup