National Basketball Union
| National Basketball Union (NBU) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Founded | June 23, 1997 |
| Inaugural Season | 1997 |
| Commissioner | Arseni Volkov |
| No. of teams | 20 |
| Country | Slavic Union |
| Most Recent Champion(s) | Zhukovgrad Cavalry (1) |
| Most titles | Adrikagorod Monarchs (7) |
| Current Season | 2021-22 NBU Season |
The National Basketball Union is a professional basketball league in the Slavic Union. The league is composed of 18 teams in two conferences.
The league was founded in Osipovgrad (Renamed Adrikagorod in 2021) in 1997 after the merging of the Basketball Association of the Slavic Union (BASU) and the Slavic Basketball League (SBL). The NBU's regular season runs from November to April, with each team playing 66 games. The league's playoff tournament extends into June.
The Zhukovgrad Cavalry are the defending league champions, as they defeated the Kalyov Behemoths 4-1 in the 2021 Union Super Series.
History
Basketball only game to the Slavic Union in the 1920s, and early on it struggled to gain traction, with multiple pro leagues competing for supremacy while most high level players were poached by foreign leagues. The golden age of Slavic basketball began in the 1980s, when the pro leagues whittled themselves down to the BASU and SBL, which competed for viewership.
In 1997, with both leagues on the verge of bankruptcy they merged into the NBU In the leagues first year the 35 year old Volkov won MVP, with the Monarchs and Charms matching up in the first ever Union Super Series Volkov dominated, winning Series MVP, and had a 42 point 13 rebound performance in game 6 of the finals He would win two more championships with Adrikagorod before retiring in 2003, the NBU logo being changed to honor him soon after The league has grown in popularity since, on pace to become the most popular league in the SU.
Teams
| Division | Team | Location |
|---|---|---|
| National League | ||
| Southern | Adrikagorod Monarchs | Adrikagorod |
| Roksa Fire | Roksa | |
| Korogarsk Steel | Korogarsk | |
| Oceanic | Noyalensk Noise | Noyalensk |
| Lodrov Midniters | Lodrov | |
| Zhukovgrad Cavalry | Zhukovgrad | |
| Western | Tuvodsk Wheels | Tuvodsk |
| Kydrov Bears | Kydrov | |
| Chetsk Swashbucklers | Chetsk | |
| Slavic League | ||
| Central | Adrikagorod Warlocks | Adrikagorod |
| Kalyov Behemoths | Kalyov | |
| Ivavo Baskets | Ivavo | |
| Northwestern | Ivanovgrad Oxen | Ivanovgrad |
| Noyalensk Cosmonauts | Noyalensk | |
| Wodrov Champions | Wodrov | |
| Southwestern | Khizny Charms | Khizny |
| Sosovrov Warships | Sosovrov | |
| Kololya Destroyers | Kololya | |
Regular Season
During the regular season, each team plays 66 games, 33 each home and away. A team faces opponents in it's own divisions six times a year (12 games), they play the other 6 teams from their conference six times a year as well (36 games), and every team from the other conference twice (18 games).
In February, the regular season pauses to celebrate the annual NBU All-Star Game. Fans vote online and the top vote-getters in each conference are named captains. Fan votes determine the rest of the all-star starters. Coaches vote to choose the remaining 14 All-Stars.
Around the middle of April, the regular season ends. It is during this time that voting begins for individual awards, as well as the selection of the honorary, league-wide, post-season teams. The Rookie of the Year Award is awarded to the most outstanding first-year player. The Defensive Player of the Year Award is awarded to the league's best defender. The Coach of the Year Award is awarded to the coach that has made the most positive difference to a team. The Most Valuable Player Award is given to the player deemed the most valuable for (his team) that season.
Also voted on is the All-NBU team and the All-Defense team, there are two All-NBU teams consisting of the best players at every season.
Playoffs
The NBU playoffs begin in April after the conclusion of the regular season with the top four teams in each conference, the division winners getting the top three seeds with the best non division winner making the playoffs as a wildcard. Seeds are awarded in strict order of regular season record (with a tiebreaker system used as needed).
The playoffs follow a tournament format. Each team plays an opponent in a best-of-seven series, with the first team to win four games advancing into the next round, while the other team is eliminated from the playoffs. In the next round, the successful team plays against another advancing team of the same conference. All but one team in each conference are eliminated from the playoffs. In every round, the best-of-7 series follows a 2–2–1–1–1 home-court pattern, meaning that one team will have home court in games 1, 2, 5, and 7, while the other plays at home in games 3, 4, and 6.
The final playoff round, a best-of-seven series between the victors of both conferences, is known as the Union Super Series and is held anually in May.
Championships
While player stats carried over from the merger team success did not, with each teams championships resetting. Since the 1997 season the Adrikagorod Monarchs have the most championships with 7.
| Team | Win | Loss | Total | Year(s) Won | Year(s) runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adrikagorod Monarchs | 7 | 2 | 9 | 1998, 1999, 2001, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2016 | 2012, 2018 |
| Ivanovgrad Oxen | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2011, 2014 | 1999, 2003 |
| Kalyov Behemoths | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2012, 2015 | 2021 |
| Zhukovgrad Cavalry | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2021 | 2000, 2008, 2017 |
| Adrikagorod Warlocks | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2008 | 2002, 2005 |
| Khizny Charms | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2018 | 1998, 2010 |
| Ivavo Baskets | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2000 | 2009 |
| Sosovrov Warships | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2006 | 2001, 2004 |
| Chetsk Swashbucklers | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2003 | |
| Lodrov Midniters | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2004 | 2019 |
| Noyalensk Noise | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2005 | 2011, 2014 |
| Korogarsk Steel | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2006 | |
| Kololya Destroyers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2017 | 2007, 2015, 2020 |
| Noyalensk Cosmonauts | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2013, 2019 | |
| Kydrov Bears | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2013 | |
| Roksa Fire | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2020 |
See Also
NBU Draft
Slavic Basketball Hall of Fame
List of National Basketball Union awards