The Indian National Basketball League, aka INBL, is a developmental professional basketball league in India. In 2025, it shifted to a league for players under the age of 25.
Most recent season or competition: 2025 InBL Pro U25 season | |
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Sport | Basketball |
---|---|
Founded | 2021 |
First season | 2022–23 |
CEO | Parveen Batish Rupinder Brar Dushyant Khanna Abhishek Yash Tyagi |
Motto | Done. Hiding. |
No. of teams | 6 |
Country | India |
Most recent champion(s) | Chennai Heat (1st title) (2022–23) |
TV partner(s) | Sony Sports Network InBL Pro (YouTube) |
Official website | https://inblpro.com/ |
History
editThe INBL was founded in 2021.[1][2] The league was granted a five-year license by the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) to run the competition and also help promote the 3x3 version of the game.[1] In its first season, the INBL allowed only Indian players to participate, with the aim being to provide players with additional competitive games to improve their standards towards the Elite Pro Basketball League and look to qualify for competitions such as the Olympics and World Cups.[1][3]
The inaugural season was held between October 2022 and January 2023 across three different cities, namely Kochi, Pune and Delhi. The Chennai Heat won the first-ever INBL championship after defeating the Bengaluru Kings in the finals, that were hosted in the Kanteerava Indoor Stadium in Bengaluru.
Following the 5x5 tournament, the INBL also hosted an inaugural 3x3 tournament.[4]
In May 2024, the league was relaunched as INBL Pro with an August start date and six city-based teams.[4] The competition ultimately did not go ahead due to contract and legal disputes.[5][6]
On 30 October 2024, Indian Panthers, a team owned by the INBL Pro, entered the New Zealand National Basketball League (NZNBL) for the 2025 season. The team will be based exclusively in South Auckland.[7][8]
In December 2024, the league announced that the InBL Pro U25 would commence in January 2025, with six teams comprising youth and college players under the age of 25.[9]
Current teams
editTeam | Representing city/state |
---|---|
Chennai Heat | Chennai |
Punjab Warriors | Punjab |
Delhi Dribblers | Delhi |
Gujarat Stallions | Gujarat |
Hyderabad Falcons | Hyderabad |
Mumbai Titans | Mumbai |
Former teams
editTeam | Representing city/state |
---|---|
Bengaluru Kings | Bengaluru |
Kochi Tigers | Kochi |
Results
editList of finals
editSeason | Champions | Score | Runner-up | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2022–23 | Chennai Heat | 91–74 | Bengaluru Kings | [10] |
Awards
editMost valuable player
editSeason | Player | Team |
---|---|---|
2022–23 | Arvindkumar Muthu Krishnan | Chennai Heat |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c Indian National Basketball League from 4 January The Hindu, 18 November 2021. Accessed 23 February 2022.
- ^ "Indian National Basketball League announced in Bengaluru-League to get underway in January 2022". India Today. 20 November 2021. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
- ^ "BFI launch INBL (Indian National Basketball League), aim to take sport to higher standards across all formats". NBA.com. 19 November 2021. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
- ^ a b "Basketball league, INBL Pro, to be played with six teams over August, September". indiatimes.com. 13 May 2024. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
- ^ "Court Restrains Basketball Federation Of India Amid Contract Dispute". BW Businessworld. 31 May 2024. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
- ^ Keerthivasan, K. (12 June 2024). "Slam dunk or fade away: a pro basketball league at last?". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 30 October 2024. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
- ^ "Indian Panthers Join NBL & Tauihi – Kiwi Basketball Set To Soar In India". nznbl.basketball. 30 October 2024. Archived from the original on 30 October 2024.
- ^ "It's official – Indian Panthers confirmed to join New Zealand basketball leagues in 2025". Stuff.co.nz. 30 October 2024. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
- ^ Ekalavyas, Team (18 December 2024). "BFI-INBL Pro U25 Basketball League Announced". www.ekalavyas.com. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
- ^ "Indian National Basketball League (2022-2023)". asia-basket.com. Retrieved 19 July 2024.