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 system, 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 wouldn't 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 will 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. ClubLocationVenueCapacityNetherlandsDonarGroningenMartiniPlazaHeroes Den Bosch's-HertogenboschMaaspoortLandstede HammersZwolleLandstede SportcentrumRotterdam City BasketballRotterdamTopsportcentrum RotterdamZZ LeidenLeidenVijf MeihalBelgiumAntwerp GiantsAntwerpLotto ArenaBrussels BasketballBrusselsSports Complex Neder-Over-HeembeekCB LiègeWaremme Province Ballons ArenaKangoeroes MechelenMechelenWinketkaaiKortrijk SpursKortrijkSportcampus Lange MunteLeuven BearsLeuvenSportoaseLimburg UnitedHasseltAlverberg SporthalCityX MonsMonsMons ArenaOkapi AalstAalstOkapi ForumOostendeOstendCoretec DômeSpirouCharleroiSpiroudome
Former teams Club Location Venue Capacity Founded Seasons Last season Reason Apollo AmsterdamAmsterdamApollohal201122022–23 Failed to meet the financial requirements BALWeertSporthal Boshoven201352025–26 Voluntarily relegated due to financial reasons Den Helder SunsDen HelderSporthal Quelderduijn201652025–26 Voluntarily relegated due to financial reasons Liège Basket Liège Country Hall 1967 3 2023–24 Dissolution of the club due to financial reasons LWD BasketLeeuwardenKalverdijkje200452025–26 Voluntarily relegated due to financial reasons QSTA United Bemmel De Kooi 2020 4 2024–25 Relegation The Hague Royals The Hague Sportcampus Zuiderpark 2020 12021–22 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-upFinals MVP 2021–22 ZZ Leiden 146–142 DonarWorthy de Jong2022–23ZZ Leiden (2)Filou OostendeDavid Collins2023–24Filou Oostende 164–124ZZ LeidenDamien Jefferson2024–25 House of Talents Spurs 2025–26 Filou Oostende
National champions
Netherlands
Season Champions Score Runners-upFinals MVP 2021–22 Heroes Den Bosch 3–2 ZZ LeidenThomas van der Mars2022–23ZZ Leiden 3–2DonarThomas Rutherford2023–24ZZ Leiden 3–1Heroes Den BoschBrock Gardner2024–25Heroes Den Bosch 3–0ZZ LeidenLe'Tre Darthard2025–26Landstede Hammers 3–1ZZ LeidenJalen Thomas
Belgium
Season Champions Score Runners-upFinals MVP 2021–22 Oostende 3–1 Kangoeroes MechelenKeye van der Vuurst de Vries2022–23Oostende 3–1Antwerp GiantsVrenz Bleijenbergh2023–24Oostende 3–1Antwerp GiantsDamien Jefferson2024–25 Oostende 3–1 Kangoeroes Mechelen Timmy Allen2025–26Antwerp Giants 3–2OostendeRasheed Bello
Awards
Most Valuable Player (MVP) Finals MVP (BNXT) Finals MVP (Belgium) Finals MVP (Netherlands) Dream Team Player of the Year (Netherlands) Player of the Year (Belgium) Rising Star of the Year (Netherlands) Rising Star of the Year (Belgium) Sixth Man of the Year Defensive Player of the Year Coach of the Year (Netherlands) Coach of the Year (Belgium)
Broadcasting partners BNXT.tv (online) NPO 1 Proximus Sporza Ziggo Sport
Notes
References
External links