BNXT League

BNXT League
Organising bodyDutch Basketball League
Pro Basketball League
FoundedDecember 10, 2020; 5 years ago (2020-12-10)
First season2021–22
CountryBelgium Belgium
Netherlands Netherlands
ConfederationEuropean Union FIBA Europe
Number of teams18
Level on pyramid1
Relegation toTop Division Men One (Belgium)
Promotiedivisie (Netherlands)
Domestic cup(s)Basketball Cup (Belgium)
Basketball Cup (Netherlands)
SupercupBNXT Supercup
Dutch Supercup
International cup(s)Champions League
FIBA Europe Cup
Current championsWindrose Giants Antwerp (1st title)
(2025–26 BNXT League)
Most championshipsZZ Leiden
(2 titles)
CEOWim Van de Keere
PresidentRamses Braakman
TV partnersbnxt.tv (PlaySight Interactive)
Websitebnxtleague.com
2026–27 BNXT League

The BNXT League is a professional basketball league in Belgium and the Netherlands. The league is the first tier in both the Dutch and Belgian systems, replacing the DBL and PBL. The inaugural season was the 2021–22 season, which started in September 2021.

History

On 10 December 2020, it was announced that the Belgian Pro Basketball League and Dutch Basketball League would merge to form a new multinational league. All clubs from the Dutch DBL voted for, while 9 of 10 teams in Belgium voted in favor of the decision. Serious talks about the initiative had been ongoing since fall 2019. On 20 May 2021, the new name "BNXT League" and logo of the league were announced.

The league started its inaugural season amidst an ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and a great number of games had to be played behind locked doors as a result of national lockdowns. On 11 June 2022, ZZ Leiden were crowned the inaugural BNXT champions. The following year, on 13 June 2023, Leiden repeated as champions.

On 19th of March, Den Helder Suns announced they were unable to continue in the league and would not apply for a license in the next season. They stated that it was increasingly difficult to sustain a competitive team while simultaneously investing in the required improvements the league demanded, like a general manager and a basketball floor. This decision was followed by LWD Basket and BAL, who battled with the same problems. This small exodus of Dutch teams and the promotion of CB Liège into the league meant that in the 2026-27 season, the balance of teams became heavily skewed towards Belgium, with 11 Belgium teams and only 5 Dutch teams.

Sponsorship

On 10 September 2021, the league announced its first name sponsorship when Belgian betting company betFirst signed to become naming sponsor for three seasons.

Competition formula

From 2021–22 to 2023–24, the league consisted of different stages. In the first stage, teams played each other home and away in the national regular season. After this, the teams were divided in the Elite Gold and Elite Silver group for the cross-border season. Next, the teams from the Elite Gold and the 3 best teams from the Elite Silver played in the national playoffs to compete for the national championships. The two winners of the national playoffs then played in the BNXT League Final.

Starting from the 2024–25 season, the league will have a new format in which all 19 teams play each other home and away in the regular season. The highest ranked teams from each country play national playoffs, and the two national winners play for the BNXT championship.

Teams

The following 18 teams were to play in the 2025–26 season. All teams from the Pro Basketball League and Dutch Basketball League transferred to the BNXT League in 2021. The newest club to have joined the BNXT League are the CB Liège, who joined in 2026.

Stadiums and locations

Note: Table lists in alphabetical order.
Club Location Venue Capacity
Netherlands
Donar Groningen MartiniPlaza 4,350
Heroes Den Bosch 's-Hertogenbosch Maaspoort 2,800
Landstede Hammers Zwolle Landstede Sportcentrum 1,200
Rotterdam City Basketball Rotterdam Topsportcentrum Rotterdam 2,500
ZZ Leiden Leiden Vijf Meihal 2,000
Belgium
Antwerp Giants Antwerp Lotto Arena 5,218
Brussels Basketball Brussels Sports Complex Neder-Over-Heembeek 1,200
CB Liège Waremme Province Ballons Arena 900
Kangoeroes Mechelen Mechelen Winketkaai 1,500
Kortrijk Spurs Kortrijk Sportcampus Lange Munte 2,400
Leuven Bears Leuven Sportoase 3,400
Limburg United Hasselt Alverberg Sporthal 1,730
CityX Mons Mons Mons Arena 4,000
Okapi Aalst Aalst Okapi Forum 2,800
Oostende Ostend Coretec Dôme 5,000
Spirou Charleroi Spiroudome 6,200

Former teams

Club Location Venue Capacity Founded Seasons Last season Reason
Netherlands Apollo Amsterdam Amsterdam Apollohal 1,500 2011 2 2022–23 Failed to meet the financial requirements
Netherlands BAL Weert Sporthal Boshoven 1,000 2013 5 2025–26 Voluntarily relegated due to financial reasons
Netherlands Den Helder Suns Den Helder Sporthal Quelderduijn 1,250 2016 5 2025–26 Voluntarily relegated due to financial reasons
Belgium Liège Basket Liège Country Hall 5,000 1967 3 2023–24 Dissolution of the club due to financial reasons
Netherlands LWD Basket Leeuwarden Kalverdijkje 1,700 2004 5 2025–26 Voluntarily relegated due to financial reasons
Netherlands QSTA United Bemmel De Kooi 650 2020 4 2024–25 Relegation
Netherlands The Hague Royals The Hague Sportcampus Zuiderpark 3,500 2020 1 2021–22 Dissolution of the club due to financial reasons

BNXT champions

The finals were played in a two-legged format in 2022, after that season the format was changed to a best-of-three playoffs series. Since the 2024–25 season, the BNXT League championship has been awarded to the club that finishes first in the regular season.

Season Champions Score Runners-up Finals MVP
2021–22 ZZ Leiden 146–142
(75–72, 71–70)		 Donar Worthy de Jong
2022–23 ZZ Leiden (2)
2–1
 Filou Oostende David Collins
2023–24 Filou Oostende 164–124
(85–58, 79–66)		 ZZ Leiden Damien Jefferson
2024–25 Kangoeroes Basket Mechelen N/a House of Talents Spurs N/a
2025–26 Windrose Giants Antwerp N/a Filou Oostende N/a

National champions

Netherlands

Season Champions Score Runners-up Finals MVP
2021–22 Heroes Den Bosch 3–2 ZZ Leiden Thomas van der Mars
2022–23 ZZ Leiden 3–2 Donar Thomas Rutherford
2023–24 ZZ Leiden 3–1 Heroes Den Bosch Brock Gardner
2024–25 Heroes Den Bosch 3–0 ZZ Leiden Le'Tre Darthard
2025–26 Landstede Hammers 3–1 ZZ Leiden Jalen Thomas

Belgium

Season Champions Score Runners-up Finals MVP
2021–22 Oostende 3–1 Kangoeroes Mechelen Keye van der Vuurst de Vries
2022–23 Oostende 3–1 Antwerp Giants Vrenz Bleijenbergh
2023–24 Oostende 3–1 Antwerp Giants Damien Jefferson
2024–25 Oostende 3–1 Kangoeroes Mechelen Timmy Allen
2025–26 Antwerp Giants 3–2 Oostende Rasheed Bello

Awards

Broadcasting partners

Notes

References

  1. 1 2 "The Pro Basketball League and Dutch Basketball League about to launch BeNeLeague as of the 2021–2022 season". Pro Basketball League. 10 December 2020. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  2. ↑ "Ook basketbalbonden onderzoeken mogelijkheden BeNeLeague". AD (in Dutch). 23 December 2019. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  3. ↑ "BeNeLiga in het basketbal wordt de BNXT League: toekomst, de 'Generation Z' en groei". HLN.be. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  4. ↑ "Basketbalclubs BNXT League beslissen drie weken lang zelf of thuisduels doorgaan". nos.nl (in Dutch). 15 November 2021. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  5. ↑ "ZZ Leiden first BNXT League champion". BNXT League. 2022-06-11. Retrieved 2022-06-12.
  6. ↑ "Den Helder suns will not apply for a license for the next BNXT League season". heren.denheldersuns.nl. Retrieved 18 May 2026.
  7. ↑ "BNXT League licenses awarded for the 2026-2027 season". bnxtleague.com. Retrieved 19 May 2026.
  8. ↑ "BETFIRST NEW TITLE SPONSOR BNXT LEAGUE". BNXT League. 10 September 2021. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  9. ↑ "BNXT League krijgt volgend seizoen nieuw format: vanaf de start heen- en terugwedstrijden". Het Nieuwsblad (in Belgian Dutch). 2024-03-11. Retrieved 2024-03-27.
  10. ↑ "Apollo Amsterdam will not participate in 23-24 BNXT League". bnxtleague.com. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
  11. ↑ "If all these people bought a ticket each week, we would still be in the BNXT League". limburger.nl. Retrieved 12 May 2026.
  12. ↑ "Den Helder suns will not apply for a license for the next BNXT League season". heren.denheldersuns.nl. Retrieved 18 May 2026.
  13. ↑ "The curtain falls for Basket Luik". nieuwsblad.be. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
  14. ↑ "LWD Basket does not apply for a BNXT license in the season 2026-27". www.lwdbasket.nl (in Dutch). 2026-03-26. Retrieved 2026-04-08.
  15. ↑ "Relegation as the starting point of a new chapter". bnxtleague.com. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
  16. ↑ "The Hague Royals quit". haagsetopsport.nl. Retrieved 20 March 2026.