VTB United League
Basketball league
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The VTB United League (Russian: Единая Лига ВТБ) is an international professional men's club basketball league that was founded in 2009. As of the 2025–26 season, it consists exclusively of Russian clubs. Since 2013, it is the first tier of Russian professional club basketball. Therefore, the highest placed Russian team in the league can also be named the Russian national champions.[citation needed] The league is sponsored by Russian state-owned VTB Bank. In 2009 CSKA Moscow won VTB United League Promo-Cup, but this competition does not count as official VTB title. CSKA has dominated the league, having won majority of titles its existence. The VTB United League also holds a youth competition, the VTB United Youth League.
| |
| Founded | 2009 |
|---|---|
| First season | 2009–10 |
| Country | Russia |
| Confederation | FIBA Europe FIBA Asia |
| Number of teams | 11 |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| Domestic cup | Russian Cup |
| Supercup | VTB League Supercup |
| International cup | West Asia Super League |
| Current champions | CSKA Moscow (12th title) (2024–25) |
| Most championships | CSKA Moscow (12 titles) |
| Website | vtb-league |
 2024–25 | |
History
The first step in the creation of the league was a competition named the VTB United League Promo-Cup held in Moscow in December 2009.[1] The final of the Promo-Cup was played on December 22, 2009, and was won by CSKA Moscow, who defeated Khimki 70–66. Kyiv ended third.[2]
Unification with the Russian PBL
In May 2012, all the PBL clubs gathered to decide which format would be used for the next season, and some club's directors raised the possibility of uniting with the VTB United League, to produce greater competition between the Russian basketball clubs. They suggested that the new league be named the Eastern European Professional Basketball League.[3][4][5]
In July 2012, the Council of VTB United League decided that the PBL league would continue for one more year, with some games of the VTB United League that took place between two Russian clubs being counted as PBL games.[6] The first tier Russian clubs then replaced the PBL with the VTB United League as their new national domestic league, starting with the 2013-14 season.[citation needed]
The VTB United League was recognized by FIBA Europe in September 2013.[7][8] The league was then officially recognized by FIBA World in October 2014. The league needed to be recognized by both bodies, because it contains clubs that come from countries that are part of both the European and Asian FIBA zones.[citation needed]
The honorary head of the league is Sergei Ivanov and its official sponsor is Pavel Vrublevsky of ChronoPay.[9][10][11]
Formats
In its inaugural 2009–10 season, the VTB United League featured clubs from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia, and Ukraine. For the 2010–11 season, teams from Belarus, Finland, and Poland were added to the league. The 2011–12 season featured 18 teams, with new teams being added from the Czech Republic and Kazakhstan.[12] In the 2012–13 season, the number of teams increased to 20. The number of teams decreased to 16 for the 2014–15 season, and the teams from Lithuania and Ukraine dropped out of the league.
During the 2021–22 season, ten teams were left to compete after the Polish and Estonian clubs withdrew from the league in protest against the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[13]
As of the 2025–26 season, the VTB United League consisted of 11 teams:
Arena rules
In order for clubs to play in the VTB United League, they must have a home arena that has a seating capacity of at least 3,000 seats.[14]
Team appearances
| Participants | 2008 | 09–10 | 10–11 | 11–12 | 12–13 | 13–14 | 14–15 | 15–16 | 16–17 | 17–18 | 18–19 | 19–20 | 20–21 | 21–22 | 22–23 | 23–24 | 24–25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 8 | 12 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 16 | 16 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 12 | |
 Tsmoki-Minsk | GS | GS | GS | GS | 14th | 12th | 12th | 9th | 14th | (13th) | 13th | 9th | 12th | 14th | |||
 Nymburk | GS | GS | GS | 15th | QF | ||||||||||||
 Kalev/Cramo | GS | GS | GS | GS | 9th | 14th | 11th | 12th | QF | (8th) | 10th | Ret | |||||
 Bisons Loimaa | 13th | 13th | |||||||||||||||
| Espoon Honka | GS | ||||||||||||||||
| Torpan Pojat | QR | ||||||||||||||||
 VITA Tbilisi | 16th | ||||||||||||||||
 Astana | 1/8 | 1/8 | QF | 15th | QF | 10th | QF | (9th) | 12th | 10th | 11th | 13th | 12th | ||||
 ASK Rīga | 7th | ||||||||||||||||
| VEF Rīga | GS | GS | QF | GS | GS | 11th | QF | QF | 10th | ||||||||
 Lietuvos rytas | GS | 3rd | GS | SF | |||||||||||||
| Neptūnas | GS | GS | |||||||||||||||
| Šiauliai | QR | ||||||||||||||||
| Žalgiris | 5th | 3rd | 1/8 | 1/8 | 3rd | ||||||||||||
 Anwil | QR | ||||||||||||||||
| Prokom | 8th | GS | GS | ||||||||||||||
| Turów | GS | GS | |||||||||||||||
| Zielona Góra | 12th | (7th) | QF | Ret | |||||||||||||
 Avtodor | QF | QF | 10th | QF | 11th | (12th) | 9th | QF | QF | 9th | QF | ||||||
| CSKA | 1st | 1st | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | (2nd) | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 1st | 1st |
| Dynamo | 4th | ||||||||||||||||
| Enisey | GS | GS | 1/8 | 11th | 10th | QF | 13th | 9th | (11th) | 11th | QF | 9th | QF | 10th | |||
| Khimki | 2nd | 4th | 1st | QF | 4th | QF | 2nd | SF | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | (1st) | QF | ||||
| Krasny Oktyabr | 1/8 | 12th | 9th | ||||||||||||||
| Krasnye Krylia | GS | QF | QF | 16th | |||||||||||||
| Lokomotiv Kuban | 4th | 2nd | QF | SF | QF | SF | QF | QF | (3rd) | SF | 4th | 2nd | 4th | 4th | |||
| MBA Moscow | QF | 10th | 9th | ||||||||||||||
| Nizhny Novgorod | 1/8 | QF | 2nd | SF | QF | 9th | QF | QF | (10th) | QF | QF | QF | 12th | QF | |||
| Parma | 13th | 11th | 13th | (5th) | QF | QF | QF | QF | QF | ||||||||
| Samara | 10th | QF | 11th | ||||||||||||||
| Spartak | QF | 1/8 | 1/8 | ||||||||||||||
| Triumph | 1/8 | QF | |||||||||||||||
| UNICS | 2nd | 3rd | 2nd | QF | SF | QF | 2nd | QF | 4th | SF | (4th) | 2nd | 3rd | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | |
| Uralmash | QF | QF | |||||||||||||||
| Zenit | QF | SF | SF | 3rd | SF | (6th) | SF | 1st | 4th | 3rd | 2nd | ||||||
 Azovmash | 6th | GS | 4th | GS | GS | GS | |||||||||||
| Budivelnyk | GS | ||||||||||||||||
| Dnipro | GS | QR | |||||||||||||||
| Donetsk | GS | 1/8 | GS | ||||||||||||||
| Kyiv | 3rd | ||||||||||||||||
Results
| VTB United League Promo-Cup | |
2008 tournament does not count as official VTB title.
Titles by club
| Club | Champions | Runners-up | Winning years |
|---|---|---|---|
| CSKA Moscow | 12 | 2 | 2010, 2012-19, 2021, 2024, 2025 |
| Khimki | 1 | 4 | 2011 |
| UNICS | 1 | 5 | 2023 |
| Zenit Saint Petersburg | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Lokomotiv Kuban | 0 | 2 | |
| Nizhny Novgorod | 0 | 1 |
Abroad competitions
Major awards
Awards by nationality
Statistical awards
Records
Sponsorship
Andrey Kostin's VTB Bank has been a long-term league sponsor. However, it recorded losses of connected to other sponsorships (FC Dynamo Moscow and HC Dynamo Moscow) and contributions to charities. This led to the Bank of Moscow joining as main sponsor.[15]
Predecessor leagues
- USSR Premier League: (1923–1992)
- Russian Super League 1 (1st-tier): (1992–2010)
- Russian Professional League: (2010–2013)
See also
- VTB United League All-Star Game
- Russian Professional Championship: (1991–present)
- Russian Professional League: (2010–2013)
- Russian Super League 1: (1992–present)
- Russian Cup: (1999–present)
- USSR Cup: (1949–1987)
- Russian basketball league system
- Basketball in Russia
- Adriatic League
- Baltic League
- Belarusian Premier League
- Kazakhstan Championship