Korean Basketball League

Korean Basketball League (KBL)

Current season, competition or edition: 2015–16 KBL season
200x244px Logo KBL
Sport	Basketball
Founded	1997
Inaugural season	1997
No. of teams	10
Country	South Korea
Continent	FIBA Asia (Asia)
Most recent champion(s)	Ulsan Mobis Phoebus (6th title)
Most titles	Ulsan Mobis Phoebus (6 titles)
Level on pyramid	1
Official website	KBL

The Korean Basketball League, often abbreviated to the KBL, is the pre-eminent professional men's basketball league in South Korea. Its inaugural season was in 1997. The season starts in October and ends in April the following year. The KBL consists of 10 teams. Each team plays 54 games (27 home games, 27 road games). Each team is allowed to have 2 foreign players. Foreign players in the league are almost always either a forward or center. Formerly, foreign players were not allowed to exceed 2.03 m (6 feet, 8 inches) in height, although that rule has since been revoked.

Current clubs

There are currently ten clubs in the KBL:

Ulsan

Busan

Seoul SK
& Seoul Samsung

Anyang

Goyang

Incheon

Changwon

Jeonju

Wonju

• Ulsan Mobis Phoebus
  • Busan Kia Enterprise (1997 ~ 2000–2001)
  • Ulsan Mobis Automons (2001–2002 ~ 2003–2004)
  • Ulsan Mobis Phoebus (2004–2005 ~ )

• Seoul Samsung Thunders
  • Suwon Samsung Thunders (1997 ~ 2000–2001)
  • Seoul Samsung Thunders (2001–2002 ~ )

• Anyang KGC
  • Anyang SBS Stars (1997 ~ 2004–2005)
  • Anyang KT&G Kites (2005–2006 ~ 2009–2010)
  • Anyang KGC (2010–2011 ~ )

• Seoul SK Knights
  • Cheongju Jinro McCass (1997. 1 ~ 1997. 9)
  • Cheongju SK Knights (1997–1998 ~ 2000–2001)
  • Seoul SK Knights (2001–2002 ~ )

• Changwon LG Sakers
  • Gyeongnam LG Sakers (1997–1998)
  • Changwon LG Sakers (1998–1999 ~ )

• Goyang Orions
  • Daegu Tongyang Orions (1997 ~ 2002–2003)
  • Daegu Orions (2003–2004 ~ 2010–2011)
  • Goyang Orions (2011–2012 ~ )

• Incheon ET Land Elephants
  • Incheon Daewoo Securities Zeus (1997 ~ 1997–1998)
  • Incheon Daewoo Zeus (1998–1999)
  • Incheon Shinsegi Bigs (1999–2000 ~ 2000–2001)
  • Incheon SK Bigs (2001–2002 ~ 2002–2003)
  • Incheon ET Land Black Slamer (2003–2004 ~ 2008–2009)
  • Incheon ET Land Elephants (2009–2010 ~ )

• Jeonju KCC Egis
  • Daejeon Hyundai Dynat (1997 ~ 1998–1999)
  • Daejeon Hyundai Gullivers (1999–2000 ~ 2000–2001)
  • Jeonju KCC Egis (2001–2002 ~ )

• Busan KT Sonicboom
  • Gwangju Nasan Flamans (1997 ~ 1998–1999)
  • Gwangju Goldbank Clickers (1999–2000)
  • Yeosu Goldbank Clickers (2000–2001)
  • Yeosu Korea Tender Prumi (2001–2002 ~ 2002–2003)
  • Busan Korea Tender Maxten (2003–2004)
  • Busan KTF Magic Wings (2003–2004 ~ 2008–2009)
  • Busan KT Sonicboom (2009–2010 ~ )

• Wonju Dongbu Promy
  • Wonju Naray Blue Bird (1997 ~ 1998–1999)
  • Wonju Naray Hackers (1999. 8 ~ 1999. 10)
  • Wonju Sambo Xers (1999–2000 ~ 2001–2002)
  • Wonju TG Xers (2002–2003 ~ 2003–2004)
  • Wonju TG Sambo Xers (2003–2004 ~ 2004–2005)
  • Wonju Dongbu Promy (2005–2006 ~ )

KBL Reserve League

• Busan KT Sonicboom (2009–2010 ~ )
• Goyang Orions (2009–2010 ~ 2010–2011)
• Incheon ET Land Elephants (2009–2010 ~ )
• Sangmu Basketball Team (2009–2010 ~ )
• Seoul SK Knights (2009–2010 ~ )
• Jeonju KCC Egis (2010–2011 ~ )

Results

Finals

Year	Champions	Result	Runners-up	Playoffs MVP
1997	Busan Kia Enterprise	4–1	Wonju Naray Blue Bird	Kang Dong-hee (Kia)
1997–98	Daejeon Hyundai Dynat	4–3	Busan Kia Enterprise	Hur Jae (Kia)
1998–99	Daejeon Hyundai Dynat	4–1	Busan Kia Enterprise	Cho Sung-won (Hyundai)
1999–2000	Cheongju SK Knights	4–2	Daejeon Hyundai Gullivers	Seo Jang-hoon (SK)
2000–01	Suwon Samsung Thunders	4–1	Changwon LG Sakers	Joo Hee-jung (Samsung)
2001–02	Daegu Tongyang Orions	4–3	Seoul SK Knights	Marcus Hicks (Tongyang)
2002–03	Wonju TG Xers	4–2	Daegu Tongyang Orions	David Jackson (TG)
2003–04	Jeonju KCC Egis	4–3	Wonju TG Sambo Xers	Lee Sang-min (KCC)
2004–05	Wonju TG Sambo Xers	4–2	Jeonju KCC Egis	Kim Joo-sung (TG Sambo)
2005–06	Seoul Samsung Thunders	4–0	Ulsan Mobis Phoebus	Kang Hyuk (Samsung)
2006–07	Ulsan Mobis Phoebus	4–3	Busan KTF Magic Wings	Yang Dong-geun (Mobis)
2007–08	Wonju Dongbu Promy	4–1	Seoul Samsung Thunders	Kim Joo-sung (Dongbu)
2008–09	Jeonju KCC Egis	4–3	Seoul Samsung Thunders	Choo Seung-kyun (KCC)
2009–10	Ulsan Mobis Phoebus	4–2	Jeonju KCC Egis	Ham Ji-hoon (Mobis)
2010–11	Jeonju KCC Egis	4–2	Wonju Dongbu Promy	Ha Seung-jin (KCC)
2011–12	Anyang KGC	4–2	Wonju Dongbu Promy	Oh Se-keun (KGC)
2012–13	Ulsan Mobis Phoebus	4–0	Seoul SK Knights	Yang Dong-geun (Mobis)
2013–14	Ulsan Mobis Phoebus	4–2	Changwon LG Sakers	Moon Tae-young (Mobis)
2014–15	Ulsan Mobis Phoebus	4–0	Wonju Dongbu Promy	Yang Dong-geun (Mobis)

Titles by club

Rank	Club	Titles	Year
1	Ulsan Mobis Phoebus	6	1997, 2007, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015
2	Jeonju KCC Egis	5	1998, 1999, 2004, 2009, 2011
3	Wonju Dongbu Promy	3	2003, 2005, 2008
4	Seoul Samsung Thunders	2	2001, 2006
5	Seoul SK Knights	1	2000
	Goyang Orions	1	2002
	Anyang KGC	1	2012

Prize money

• Champions (Finals winners)
  • KRW 100,000,000 + Trophy (1997 ~ )

• Runners-up (Finals losers)
  • KRW 50,000,000 (1997 ~ )

• Regular Season 1st place
  • KRW 50,000,000 + Trophy (1997 ~ 2004–2005)
  • KRW 100,000,000 + Trophy (2005–2006 ~ )

• Regular Season 2nd place
  • KRW 30,000,000 (1997 ~ 2004–2005)
  • KRW 50,000,000 (2005–2006 ~ )

• Regular Season 3rd place
  • KRW 20,000,000 (1997 ~ 2004–2005)
  • KRW 30,000,000 (2005–2006 ~ )

See also

• Korean Basketball League Ethnic Draft
• List of Korea-related topics
• Women's Korean Basketball League (WKBL)

External links

• KBL official website (Korean) (English)
• KBL at www.Asia-Basket.com
• KBL on Facebook

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