2023–24 British Basketball League season

The 2023–24 BBL season was the 37th and final season of the British Basketball League, the top British professional basketball league, since its establishment in 1987. The season features 10 teams from across England and Scotland.

2023–24 BBL season
LeagueBritish Basketball League
Season2023–24
Dates14 September 2023 – 19 May 2024
Games played180
Teams10
TV partner(s)Great Britain: Online:
Regular season
League championsLondon Lions (3rd title)
BBL TrophyCheshire Phoenix (6th title)
Season MVPUnited States Matt Morgan (London)
Playoffs
ChampionsLondon Lions (2nd title)
  Runners-upCheshire Phoenix
Finals MVPUnited States Sam Dekker (London)
BBL seasons

Teams

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Arenas and locations

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Team Location Arena Capacity
Bristol Flyers Bristol SGS College Arena
750
Caledonia Gladiators East Kilbride Playsport Arena
1,800
Cheshire Phoenix Ellesmere Port Cheshire Oaks Arena
1,400
Leicester Riders Leicester Mattioli Arena
2,400
London Lions London Copper Box Arena
6,000
Manchester Giants Manchester National Basketball Centre
2,000
Newcastle Eagles Newcastle upon Tyne Vertu Motors Arena
2,800
Plymouth City Patriots Plymouth Plymouth Pavilions
1,500
Sheffield Sharks Sheffield Canon Medical Arena
2,500
Surrey Scorchers Guildford Surrey Sports Park
1,000

Personnel and sponsorship

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Team Head coach Captain
Bristol Flyers   Andreas Kapoulas   Raphell Thomas-Edwards
Caledonia Gladiators   Gareth Murray   Fahro Alihodžić
Cheshire Phoenix   Ben Thomas   Maceo Jack
Leicester Riders   Rob Paternostro   Kimbal Mackenzie
London Lions   Petar Božić   Sam Dekker
Manchester Giants   Brian Semonian   Callum Jones
Newcastle Eagles   Marc Steutel   Darius Defoe
Plymouth City Patriots   Paul James   Elvisi Dusha
Sheffield Sharks   Atiba Lyons   Bennett Koch
Surrey Scorchers   Lloyd Gardner   Tayo Ogedengbe

Coaching changes

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Team Outgoing coach Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming coach Date of appointment
Manchester Giants   Vince Macaulay End of contract 26 May 2023[1] Pre season   Brian Semonian 26 July 2023[2]
London Lions   Ryan Schmidt Signed by Atlanta Hawks 18 July 2023[3] Pre season   Petar Božić 17 August 2023

BBL Championship

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The BBL Championship maintained the four-game series format, reintroduced for the 2022–23 season, for a 36-game regular season.[4]

Standings

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Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification
1 London Lions (C) 36 33 3 3376 2935 +441 66 Playoffs
2 Cheshire Phoenix 36 23 13 3334 3148 +186 46
3 Caledonia Gladiators 36 23 13 3152 3044 +108 46
4 Sheffield Sharks 36 19 17 2930 2849 +81 38
5 Leicester Riders 36 18 18 3281 3291 −10 36
6 Newcastle Eagles 36 18 18 3256 3177 +79 36
7 Bristol Flyers 36 16 20 2925 2918 +7 32
8 Surrey Scorchers 36 14 22 2955 3092 −137 28
9 Manchester Giants 36 9 27 2920 3311 −391 18
10 Plymouth City Patriots 36 7 29 2887 3251 −364 14
Updated to match(es) played on 21 April 2024. Source: BBC Sport
(C) Champions


Results

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Home \ Away BRI CAL CHE LEI LON MAN NEW PLY SHE SUR
Bristol Flyers 94–77 74–70 74–92 93–101 68–74 74–81 82–65 67–65 81–94
75–80 76–78 108–71 71–86 87–67 97–83 83–89 78–76 74–80
Caledonia Gladiators 85–82 83–92 84–83 79–87 86–80 73–82 99–83 87–83 86–79
78–72 116–110 93–97 76–82 101–68 98–80 96–81 73–64 84–75
Cheshire Phoenix 96–73 82–92 102–96 82–92 83–67 91–113 89–77 70–75 100–80
75–89 100–93 87–83 92–105 88–92 96–85 95–73 93–78 86–81
Leicester Riders 81–87 96–90 86–110 95–102 94–79 111–88 88–81 103–75 91–74
77–89 90–115 101–93 79–89 89–94 91–96 102–81 108–94 94–86
London Lions 98–84 93–65 99–80 100–62 94–89 109–104 91–84 83–64 82–70
95–67 94–100 102–95 105–89 99–91 80–102 105–84 84–73 97–85
Manchester Giants 87–91 79–97 88–116 94–80 76–115 85–106 91–90 64–87 87–85
103–80 87–106 93–103 73–86 84–92 91–89 79–93 68–99 78–86
Newcastle Eagles 71–89 105–93 73–80 85–92 86–99 97–85 98–82 79–72 88–93
86–90 84–90 104–89 95–90 87–105 109–77 95–82 77–87 125–84
Plymouth City Patriots 63–92 72–82 79–102 109–93 94–70 73–77 68–95 92–87 105–110
68–92 87–84 80–112 111–121 57–93 77–68 80–92 55–67 63–65
Sheffield Sharks 88–78 96–78 85–104 91–84 76–92 92–73 86–56 97–60 81–78
76–66 69–62 92–99 85–88 79–89 86–75 91–83 98–92 71–62
Surrey Scorchers 80–75 72–80 101–103 84–104 61–83 98–72 87–100 71–65 67–70
82–73 89–95 73–91 88–94 80–85 89–85 90–77 94–92 82–75
Updated to match(es) played on 21 April 2024. Source: BBL.org.uk
Legend: Blue = home team win; Red = away team win.

Ladder progression

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Leader and qualification to playoffs
Qualification to playoffs
Last place
2023–24 BBL Championship
Team ╲ Round123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627
Bristol Flyers448432223466456677787787777
Caledonia Gladiators366664344553322223333333333
Cheshire Phoenix135353432222233332222222222
Leicester Riders1073225556777777744545555655
London Lions211111111111111111111111111
Manchester Giants81078888999999999999999991099
Newcastle Eagles522777777645645465454444465
Plymouth City Patriots799991010101010101010101010101010101010101091010
Sheffield Sharks654546665334564556666666544
Surrey Scorchers981010109988888888888878878888
Updated to match(es) played on 21 April 2024. Source: BBL.org.uk

BBL Trophy

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The 37th BBL Trophy takes a new format for the 2023–24 season. Wholly played within the month of January and during a break in Championship matches, two five team groups were randomly drawn from the 10 member clubs. Each club will play the other once, home or away. The top two teams from each group will qualify for the Final Four weekend at Arena Birmingham, to be played on 28 and 29 January 2023.[5]

Group stage

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Group A

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Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification CHE CAL SUR SHE PLY
1 Cheshire Phoenix 4 4 0 385 304 +81 8 Semifinals 78–70 102–74
2 Caledonia Gladiators 4 2 2 357 334 +23 4 97–100 99–74
3 Surrey Scorchers 4 2 2 293 338 −45 4 63–105 91–71
4 Sheffield Sharks 4 1 3 290 322 −32 2 72–80 77–73
5 Plymouth City Patriots 4 1 3 298 325 −27 2 88–81 63–65
Source: BBL

Group B

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Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification LON LEI NEW BRI MAN
1 London Lions 4 3 1 360 336 +24 6 Semifinals 89–74 99–77
2 Leicester Riders 4 3 1 374 336 +38 6 95–74 104–88
3 Newcastle Eagles 4 2 2 338 360 −22 4 85–101 92–78
4 Bristol Flyers 4 2 2 355 331 +24 4 94–72 82–84
5 Manchester Giants 4 0 4 337 401 −64 0 91–100 80–105
Source: BBL

Final Four

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27 January 2024
15:30
London Lions 85–75 Caledonia Gladiators
Scoring by quarter: 19–28, 25–24, 17–9, 24–14
Pts: Sharma 19
Rebs: Olaseni 15
Asts: M.Morgan 4
Pts: Bothwell 17
Rebs: Bothwell, Whelan 6
Asts: Whelan 6
27 January 2024
18:00
Cheshire Phoenix 92–91 Leicester Riders
Scoring by quarter: 18–22, 28–12, 23–23, 23–34
Pts: Rai 27
Rebs: Rai 11
Asts: Rideau 13
Pts: Allen 20
Rebs: Thomas 12
Asts: Mackenzie, Shelton 4

Trophy Final

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28 January 2024
15:30
London Lions 82–98 Cheshire Phoenix
Scoring by quarter: 27–30, 22–15, 12–22, 21–31
Trophy MVP: Laquincy Rideau
Pts: Nwaba 18
Rebs: Grantham 9
Asts: Grantham 3
Pts: Rideau 25
Rebs: Rai 11
Asts: Rai 4

Playoffs

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The 2024 BBL Playoffs will be played in April and May 2024, consisting of four best-of-three quarterfinals series, two best-of-three semifinal series and the Playoff Final game. In the quarterfinals, semifinals, the higher seed hosts the first and third games. The Playoff Final will be played at The O2 Arena, London.

Playoff bracket

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Quarterfinals Semifinals Playoff Final
             
1 London Lions 80 105
8 Surrey Scorchers 65 96
1 London Lions 106 94
6 Newcastle Eagles 75 81
3 Caledonia Gladiators 78 71
6 Newcastle Eagles 97 94
1 London Lions 88
2 Cheshire Phoenix 85
2 Cheshire Phoenix 91 91
7 Bristol Flyers 90 77
2 Cheshire Phoenix 89 92
4 Sheffield Sharks 83 73
4 Sheffield Sharks 81 77 86
5 Leicester Riders 84 74 69

*Note: Pairings are reseeded after quarterfinals.

Quarterfinals

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(1) London Lions vs. (8) Surrey Scorchers

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28 April 2024
15:15
London Lions 80–65 Surrey Scorchers
Scoring by quarter: 27–11, 28–19, 18–14, 7–21
Pts: Olaseni 16
Rebs: Olaseni 7
Asts: M.Morgan 7
Pts: Lawrence 17
Rebs: Jamison 14
Asts: Jamison, Lawrence 3
London leads series, 1–0
Copper Box Arena, London
Attendance: n/a
3 May 2024
19:30
Surrey Scorchers 96–105 London Lions
Scoring by quarter: 15–26, 39–30, 16–25, 26–24
Pts: Gooden 35
Rebs: Jamison 7
Asts: Lawrence 8
Pts: M.Morgan 22
Rebs: Olaseni 8
Asts: Taylor 7
London wins series, 2–0

(2) Cheshire Phoenix vs. (7) Bristol Flyers

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28 April 2024
18:00
Cheshire Phoenix 91–90 Bristol Flyers
Scoring by quarter: 27–22, 33–24, 13–15, 18–29
Pts: Rideau 22
Rebs: Jack 12
Asts: Rideau 11
Pts: Johnson, Olison 25
Rebs: Greene 9
Asts: Johnson 5
Cheshire leads series, 1–0
3 May 2024
19:45
Bristol Flyers 77–91 Cheshire Phoenix
Scoring by quarter: 21–20, 14–21, 21–24, 21–26
Pts: Lucas 16
Rebs: Smith, Thomas-Edwards 8
Asts: Olison 5
Pts: Rai 34
Rebs: Rai 12
Asts: Rideau 8
Cheshire wins series, 2–0
SGS College Arena, Bristol
Attendance: n/a

(3) Caledonia Gladiators vs. (6) Newcastle Eagles

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26 April 2024
19:45
Caledonia Gladiators 78–97 Newcastle Eagles
Scoring by quarter: 19–24, 24–21, 16–20, 19–32
Pts: Whelan 20
Rebs: Moore 6
Asts: Green 5
Pts: Johnson 31
Rebs: Austin 5
Asts: Johnson 7
Newcastle leads series, 1–0
3 May 2024
19:30
Newcastle Eagles 94–71 Caledonia Gladiators
Scoring by quarter: 26–18, 25–18, 18–20, 25–15
Pts: McGill 22
Rebs: Green 10
Asts: Austin, Johnson 6
Pts: Whelan 18
Rebs: Moore 9
Asts: Jimenez, Whelan 3
Newcastle wins series, 2–0
Vertu Motors Arena, Newcastle
Attendance: 2,800

(4) Sheffield Sharks vs. (5) Leicester Riders

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28 April 2024
16:00
Sheffield Sharks 81–84 Leicester Riders
Scoring by quarter: 26–28, 21–10, 20–22, 14–24
Pts: Nixon 25
Rebs: Green 12
Asts: Pipkins 5
Pts: Thomas 24
Rebs: Idowu, Thomas 8
Asts: Allen 4
Leicester leads series, 1–0
4 May 2024
18:45
Leicester Riders 74–77 Sheffield Sharks
Scoring by quarter: 22–18, 25–23, 9–19, 18–17
Pts: Allen 23
Rebs: Idowu 9
Asts: Thomas 4
Pts: Green 22
Rebs: Green 11
Asts: Nixon 7
Series tied, 1–1
Leicester Arena, Leicester
Attendance: n/a
5 May 2024
15:00
Sheffield Sharks 86–69 Leicester Riders
Scoring by quarter: 24–21, 22–16, 23–15, 17–17
Pts: Nixon 17
Rebs: Delpeche 9
Asts: Nichols 6
Pts: Idowu 16
Rebs: Idowu 12
Asts: Holmes 7
Sheffield wins series, 2–1

Semifinals

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(1) London Lions vs. (6) Newcastle Eagles

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10 May 2024
19:35
Newcastle Eagles 75–106 London Lions
Scoring by quarter: 29–26, 20–30, 16–28, 10–22
Pts: McGill 20
Rebs: three players 6
Asts: McGill 6
Pts: Nwaba 19
Rebs: Olaseni 10
Asts: Phillip 8
London leads series, 1–0
12 May 2024
13:35
London Lions 94–81 Newcastle Eagles
Scoring by quarter: 19–20, 22–21, 23–20, 30–20
Pts: M.Morgan, Nwaba 18
Rebs: Grantham 11
Asts: M.Morgan Phillip 5
Pts: McGill 23
Rebs: Austin 6
Asts: McGill 7
London wins series, 2–0
Copper Box Arena, London
Attendance: 1,740

(2) Cheshire Phoenix vs. (4) Sheffield Sharks

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10 May 2024
19:35
Cheshire Phoenix 89–83 Sheffield Sharks
Scoring by quarter: 22–22, 26–16, 14–19, 27–26
Pts: Rai 22
Rebs: Rai 9
Asts: Rai, Rideau 6
Pts: Nixon 20
Rebs: Delpeche 10
Asts: seven players 1
Cheshire leads series, 1–0
12 May 2024
16:35
Sheffield Sharks 73–92 Cheshire Phoenix
Scoring by quarter: 17–19, 12–31, 24–20, 20–22
Pts: Green 17
Rebs: Green 14
Asts: Ramsey 5
Pts: Jack 20
Rebs: four players 6
Asts: Rai 8
Cheshire wins series, 2–0

Playoff Final

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(1) London Lions vs. (2) Cheshire Phoenix

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19 May 2024
16:15
London Lions 88–85 Cheshire Phoenix
Scoring by quarter: 24–14, 28–27, 22–30, 14–14
Playoff MVP: Sam Dekker
Pts: Dekker 17
Rebs: Dekker 10
Asts: Phillip 7
Pts: Rai 21
Rebs: Rideau 12
Asts: Rideau 8
The O2 Arena, London
Attendance: n/a

All-Star Game

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17 March 2024
15:30
North All-Stars 116–149 South All-Stars
Scoring by quarter: 23–33, 33–33, 33–41, 27–45
All-Star MVP: Teddy Allen
Pts: Rideau 22
Rebs: Rideau 12
Asts: Austin Jr. 9
Pts: Allen 31
Rebs: Atwood 15
Asts: Mackenzie 11
Copper Box Arena, London
Attendance: 3,398

Awards

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2023–24 BBL Team of the Year

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# Player Team
PG Matt Morgan London Lions
SG Aaryn Rai Cheshire Phoenix
SF Teddy Allen Leicester Riders
PF Patrick Whelan Caledonia Gladiators
C Gabriel Olaseni London Lions

Source: 2023–24 BBL Team of the Year

2023–24 BBL All-British Team of the Year

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# Player Team
PG Kimbal Mackenzie Leicester Riders
SG Tarik Phillip London Lions
SF Aaryn Rai Cheshire Phoenix
PF Patrick Whelan Caledonia Gladiators
C Gabriel Olaseni London Lions

Source: 2023–24 BBL All-British Team of the Year

2023–24 BBL Defensive Team of the Year

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# Player Team
PG Laquincy Rideau Cheshire Phoenix
SG Tarik Phillip London Lions
SF Jamell Anderson Manchester Giants
PF Clifton Moore Caledonia Gladiators
C Josh Sharma London Lions

Source: 2023–24 BBL Defensive Team of the Year

British clubs in European competitions

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Team Competition Progress
London Lions EuroCup Semifinals
Caledonia Gladiators Champions League Pre-qualifying round
FIBA Europe Cup Regular season
Bristol Flyers ENBL Quarterfinals
Newcastle Eagles ENBL Quarterfinals

References

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  1. ^ "Vince Macaulay & Nigel Lloyd Depart The Club". manchestergiants.com. 26 May 2023. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  2. ^ "Giants Confirm Brian Semonian As New Head Coach". manchestergiants.com. 26 July 2023. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  3. ^ "Ryan Schmidt Departs London Lions". thelondonlions.com. 18 July 2023. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  4. ^ "British Basketball League announces exciting new formats for 2023/24 season". British Basketball League | BBL. 15 May 2023. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  5. ^ "British Basketball League announces exciting new formats for 2023/24 season". British Basketball League | BBL. 15 May 2023. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  6. ^ "London Lions guard Matt Morgan named Molten Most Valuable Player for 2023/24 season". bbl.or.uk. 17 May 2024. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
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Preceded by BBL seasons
2023–24
Succeeded by
2024–25 season