Spanish Basketball: The ACB League

As of 2020, Spanish basketball is the best it's ever been. Thanks to international stars and dedicated clubs, our players have improved over the years. Many are NBA stars now! Here’s what you need to know about the ACB league. Do you follow the matches already?

Spanish basketball is now better than ever. In fact, many people now watch the ACB league. ACB is the main basketball tournament in Spain, according to specific regulations of the Spanish Basketball Federation. Here, we’ll tell you a little more about it.

The ACB is the tournament of the Association of Basketball Clubs. In 1983, this Spanish professional sports league replaced the former National League, which ran from 1957 to 1983. In that year, the competition ceased to be in the hands of the national federation. At the time, the change wanted to professionalize and modernize basketball in the country.

At the time of creation, they wanted to constitute the second most important basketball league after the NBA. To do this, the federation copied some elements of the North American tournament, which combines sport and entertainment.

On the other hand, the league also has certain similarities to the soccer tournament of the first division of Spanish soccer. To be exact, many of the soccer clubs have their respective team in the Spanish basketball league.

Plus, instances such as the playoffs and the All-Stars Game come straight from the NBA. In addition, competitions such as the Copa del Rey played in soccer are also played in the Spanish tournament.

Tournament format

The ACB league has 18 teams that face each other in a regular season. In this initial part of the tournament, each team faces all competitors twice. The eight best teams in the general table are those who continue to play both the league and Copa del Rey.

The first tournament to play the classifieds is the Copa del Rey. For this, the eight best first-round teams draw their positions. Each match is a single match: quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals. If the host team isn’t among the first, then only the seven best clubs of the first round will enter.

Then, the league playoffs continue with the eight teams in the regular season. The rival fixation system is meritocratic, thus, it benefits the best teams. The club with the best first-round usually has greater advantages from then on.

League playoff in Spanish basketball

The first team in the classification plays against the eighth and the second with the seventh. So do the third and the sixth, as well as the fourth with the fifth. In this sense, the previous Copa del Rey serves to prepare clubs for this round and generates expectations in the fan base.

Those who win two of three matches continue in the tournament. Afterward, they move on to the semifinals, and then they play the grand final with a series of five games. The format of the ACB is much more attractive than the one maintained by the former Spanish Basketball League!

Teams with lower performance fall down the board, and they define this from the regular season. The two teams with the worst score in this phase descend to give way to those who win a promotion.

The ACB is associated with the International Basketball Federation – FIBA ​​-. This institution governs the discipline worldwide. Of course, the Spanish association abides by all the changes of regulations extended from this international entity.

ACB League: improving the level of Spanish basketball

More than three decades after the structural change of the league, improvements in the level of professionalization are noticeable.

In 2006, the Spanish team won its first basketball world cup! Several players of that selected champion played in the Spanish tournament at the time of being crowned.

In 2019, the national team won again at the World Cup played in China. At least seven players from that team currently play in the ACB league of Spain. This is a good example of the high competitiveness that the competition has achieved since its structural change in 1983.

On the other hand, at least 16 players of Spanish nationality have played in the NBA. All of them have made the jump from the Spanish league or have taken their first steps in it. The professionalization and modernization of facilities and equipment proposed by the Association of Basketball Clubs is now fully achieved!

The quality of basketball in Spain is evident in the plethora of international titles achieved by their clubs.

Real Madrid is the top Euroleague champion of all time. FC Barcelona, ​​meanwhile, has two titles, and Club Joventut holds one, which adds a total of 13 trophies. Undoubtedly, the 1983 changes paid off and Spanish basketball is reaping the benefits!