Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional
Sports league
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The National Professional Basketball League (Spanish: Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional or LNBP), officially known as the Liga Caliente LNBP for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball league in Mexico. The league was founded in 2000 with 10 teams.
(Believe in your game)
Current season, competition or edition: 2026 LNBP season | |
| |
| Sport | Basketball |
|---|---|
| Founded | March 11, 2000 |
| Commissioner | Alonso Izaguirre |
| Motto | Cree en tu juego (Believe in your game) |
| No. of teams | 14 |
| Country | Mexico |
| Headquarters | Mexico City, Mexico |
| Continent | FIBA Americas |
| Most recent champions | Fuerza Regia de Monterrey (6th title) |
| Most titles | Fuerza Regia de Monterrey (6 titles) |
| Broadcasters | AYM Sports Canal 26 Canal 66 Capital 21 Hi Sports Multimedios[1] TV4 TVC Deportes[2] |
| Official website | LNBP.mx |
Notable basketball players who have played in the league include Jamario Moon,[3] Dennis Rodman[4] and Sun Mingming,[5] among many others.
History
Foundation
In January 2000, some teams of CIMEBA (Circuito Mexicano de Básquetbol), the national basketball league in Mexico at the time, exited the league, citing CIMEBA's financial difficulties, and decided to form a new league.[6] On March 11, 2000 the league was founded in the city of Durango with 11 teams participating. These were the founding teams, with the respective city and state:[7]
- Algodoneros de la Comarca (Torreon, Coahuila)
- Correcaminos Matamoros de la UAT (Matamoros, Tamaulipas)
- Correcaminos Reynosa de la UAT (Reynosa, Tamaulipas)
- Correcaminos Tampico de la UAT (Tampico, Tamaulipas)
- Correcaminos Victoria de la UAT (Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas)
- Dorados de Chiuhuahua (Chihuahua, Chihuahua)
- Garzas de Plata de la UAEH (Pachuca, Hidalgo)
- Indios de la UACJ (Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua)
- La Ola Roja del Distrito Federal (Mexico City, Distrito Federal)
- Osos de Saltillo (Saltillo, Coahuila)
- Vaqueros de Agua Prieta (Agua Prieta, Sonora)
The first president was Modesto Robledo.[8] The LNBP set out to support and develop professional basketball in Mexico. The first edition of the league started on August 7, 2000[9] and finished in December, with the regular season finishing on November 11 and the playoffs starting on November 14.[10] The first game was played in Torreón between Algodoneros de Torreón and Dorados de Chihuahua at the Auditorio Municipal: Dorados won, 80–78.[11] The league coexisted in its first seasons with CIMEBA.[12][13]
Format
Regular season
The regular season is played in round-robin format in which the 8 best-placed teams qualify to the postseason. For every game won 2 points are added and for every game lost one point is added. For example: If team one played 10 games and won 7, losing the remaining 3, it would have 17 points; 14 points for the 7 games won and 3 points for the games lost.
Playoffs
The eight top-seeded teams play each other. The 1st-placed team plays the 8th-place team while the 2nd plays the 7th and the 3rd plays the 6th and so on. The semi-finals are played like the quarterfinals while the Serie Final is played by the two teams remaining with the best-placed team having home field advantage.
Teams
List of champions
Championships
| Team | Championship | Runner-up | Year(s) won |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fuerza Regia de Monterrey | 6 | 1 | 2016–17, 2018–19, 2020, 2021, 2023, 2025 |
| Soles de Mexicali | 4 | 4 | 2006, 2014–15, 2017–18, 2019–20 |
| Halcones de Xalapa | 4 | 4 | 2005, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10 |
| Halcones Rojos Veracruz | 2 | 1 | 2011–12, 2013–14 |
| Toros de Nuevo Laredo | 2 | 1 | 2010–11, 2012–13 |
| Pioneros de Quintana Roo | 1 | 3 | 2015–16 |
| Diablos Rojos del México | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Correcaminos UAT Victoria | 1 | 1 | 2002 |
| Correcaminos UAT Tampico | 1 | 0 | 2000 |
| Gallos de Pelea de Ciudad Juárez | 1 | 0 | 2001 |
| Panteras de Aguascalientes | 1 | 0 | 2003 |
| Santos de San Luis | 1 | 0 | 2004 |
| Abejas de León | 1 | 0 | 2022 |
| Astros de Jalisco | 0 | 3 | |
| Capitanes de la Ciudad de México | 0 | 2 | |
| Lobos UAdeC | 0 | 2 | |
| Aguacateros de Michoacán | 0 | 1 | |
| Correcaminos UAT Matamoros | 0 | 1 | |
| Ola Roja del Distrito Federal | 0 | 1 |
Copa Independencia winners
The Copa Independencia (Independence Cup) was a tournament created by the LNBP.
| Season | Champion | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Lobos UAdeC | Lechugueros de León |
| 2005 | Lobos UAdeC | Correcaminos UAT Victoria |
| 2006 | Lobos Grises UAD | Halcones de Xalapa |
| 2007–08 | Lobos Grises UAD | Halcones Rojos Veracruz |
Top-scorers
Per game
| Season | Player | PPG | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | |||
| 2001 |  M.Johnson | 26.8 | Matamoros Piratas Bagdad |
| 2002 | |||
| 2003 | Devon Ford | 36.5 | Panteras de Aguascalientes |
| 2004 | Devon Ford | 36.5 | Panteras de Aguascalientes |
| 2005 | Ryan Moore | 24.8 | |
| 2006 | |||
| 2007–08 | Devon Ford | 27.9 | Panteras de Aguascalientes |
| 2008–09 | Devon Ford (4) | 26.0 | Panteras de Aguascalientes |
| 2009–10 | John Millsap | 25.4 | Bucaneros de Campeche |
| 2010–11 |  Ricardo Melendez | 24.9 | Panteras de Aguascalientes |
| 2011–12 | Majic Dorsey | 30.5 | Águilas Rojas de San Juan del Río |
| 2012–13 | Shannon Shorter | 27.7 | Gansos Salvajes |
| 2013–14 | Alejandro Carmona | 25.3 | |
| 2014–15 | Ollie Bailey | 25.4 | |
| 2015–16 | Brandon Davis | 25.7 | Bucaneros de Campeche |
| 2016–17 | Justin Keenan | 24.1 | Soles de Mexicali |
| 2017–18 | Jonathan Rodríguez | 27.0 | Libertadores de Querétaro |
| 2018–19 | Stedmon Lemon | 23.85 | Panteras de Aguascalientes |
| 2019–20 | John Taylor | 23.9 | Laguneros de La Comarca |
| 2020 | Stedmon Lemon (2) | 26.7 | Libertadores de Querétaro |
| 2021 | Vander Blue | 22.2 | Libertadores de Querétaro |
| 2022 | Donald Sims | 24.3 | Dorados de Chihuahua |
| 2023 | Myke Henry | 21.0 | Libertadores de Querétaro |
| 2024 | Deshawndre Washington | 23.7 | Halcones Rojos Veracruz |
| 2025 | Michael Bryson | 17.5 | Gambusinos de Fresnillo |
Source: latinbasket.com
By total points
| Season | Player | Points | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | |||
| 2001 | Samuel Bowie | 927 | |
| 2002 | |||
| 2003 | Devon Ford | 1502 | Panteras de Aguascalientes |
| 2004 | Devon Ford | Panteras de Aguascalientes | |
| 2005 | Ryan Moore | 993 | Galgos de Tijuana |
| 2006 | Devon Ford | 961 | Panteras de Aguascalientes |
| 2007–08 | Kenya Capers | 1034 | |
| 2008–09 | Devon Ford (4) | 1196 | Panteras de Aguascalientes |
| 2009–10 | John Millsap | 1000 | Bucaneros de Campeche |
| 2010–11 | Ricardo Melendez | 696 | Panteras de Aguascalientes |
| 2011–12 | Daryl Dorsey | 762 | Águilas Rojas de San Juan del Río |
| 2012–13 | Ricardo Melendez (2) | 1023 | Panteras de Aguascalientes |
| 2013–14 | Alejandro Carmona | 976 | Panteras de Aguascalientes |
| 2014–15 | Steffphon Pettigrew | 832 | Abejas de León |
Source: latinbasket.com
Players with most awards
| Player | Awards | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Devon Ford [14] | 4 | 2003, 2004, 2006, 2009 |
| Ricardo Melendez | 2 | 2011, 2013 |
| Stedmon Lemon | 2 | 2019, 2020 |
Awards
MVP
Source: latinbasket.com
Finals MVP
| Season | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 2014–15 |  Román Martínez | Soles de Mexicali |
| 2015–16 | Héctor Hernández | Pioneros de Quintana Roo |
| 2016–17 | Juan Toscano-Anderson | Fuerza Regia de Monterrey |
| 2017–18 | Orlando Méndez-Valdez | Soles de Mexicali |
| 2018–19 | David Huertas | Fuerza Regia de Monterrey |
| 2019–20 | Luke Martínez | Soles de Mexicali |
| 2020 | J. J. Avila | Fuerza Regia de Monterrey |
| 2021 | Cristian Cortés | Fuerza Regia de Monterrey |
| 2022 | Michael Smith | Abejas de León |
| 2023 | Daniel Bejarano | Fuerza Regia de Monterrey |
| 2024 | Avry Holmes | Diablos Rojos del México |
| 2025 | Scott Bamforth | Fuerza Regia de Monterrey |
Former teams
- Aguacateros de Michoacán
- Águilas Rojas de San Juan del Río
- Ángeles de Puebla
- Algodoneros de la Comarca
- Ángeles Guerreros de Acapulco
- Astros de Tecate
- Barreteros de Zacatecas
- Bravos de Piedras Negras
- Bucaneros de Campeche
- Caballeros de Culiacán
- Capitanes de la Ciudad de México
- Cimarrones de Ensenada
- Cometas de Querétaro
- Coras de Nayarit
- Correcaminos UAT Matamoros
- Correcaminos UAT Reynosa
- Correcaminos UAT Tampico
- Cosmos de Tijuana
- Estrellas Indebasquet del Distrito Federal
- Gallos de Pelea de Ciudad Juárez
- Gansos Salvajes UIC
- Garzas de Plata UAEH
- Garzas Guerreras UATX
- Gigantes del Estado de México
- Guerreros de Guerrero Cumple
- Guerreros de Morelia
- Guerreros del Norte
- Halcones de Xalapa
- Halcones Rojos Veracruz
- Halcones UV Córdoba
- Huracanes de Tampico
- Indios de Ciudad Juárez
- Indios UACJ
- Jaguares de la Bahía
- Jefes de Fuerza Lagunera
- Laguneros de La Comarca
- Lechugueros de León
- Leñadores de Durango
- Libertadores de Querétaro
- Lobos UAdeC
- Lobos Grises UAD
- Loros UdeC
- Mayas de Yucatán
- Navegantes de Ensenada
- Ola Roja del Distrito Federal
- Ola Verde de Poza Rica
- Osos de Guadalajara
- Petroleros de Ciudad del Carmen
- Pilares del Distrito Federal
- Pioneros de Quintana Roo
- Plateros de Fresnillo
- Potros ITSON de Obregón
- Tecolotes UAG
- Titanes Capital del Distrito Federal
- Titánicos de León
- Toros de Nuevo Laredo
- Tuberos de Colima
- Unión Zacatecas
- Vaqueros de Agua Prieta
- Volcanes del Estado de México
- Zorros UMSNH