| 1987–88 BBL season | |
| League: | British Basketball League |
| Sport: | Basketball |
| No Of Teams: | 15 |
| Playoffs: | Roll of Honour |
| Conf1: | BBL |
| Conf1 Champ: | Portsmouth |
| Conf2: | Play-off's |
| Conf2 Champ: | Livingston |
| Conf3: | National Cup |
| Conf3 Champ: | Kingston |
| Conf4: | BBL Trophy |
| Conf4 Champ: | Livingston |
| Seasonslist: | List of British Basketball League seasons |
| Seasonslistnames: | British Basketball League |
| Prevseason Year: | 1986–87 |
| Nextseason Year: | 1988–89 |
The 1987–88 BBL season was the first season of the British Basketball League (known as the Carlsberg League for sponsorship reasons), a breakaway competition formed by teams from the English National League and the Scottish National League. The season featured a total of 15 teams, playing 28 games each.
Portsmouth, reigning champions of the English League claimed the regular season title with a dominating campaign led by the likes of Alan Cunningham and Colin Irish. They weren't able to repeat their success in the post-season play-off's as third-seed Livingston, the reigning Scottish champions, caused a huge upset with an 81–72 win over Portsmouth in the final.[1] Kingston won their fourth consecutive National Cup and Livingston claimed the inaugural BBL Trophy.
In the National League (the tier below the Carlsberg League) the Worthing Bears won the league with a 100% (18–0) record and in the play-off semi-final Billy Hungrecker scored a record 73 points in a 119–110 overtime win over Plymouth Raiders, before defeating Brixton TopCats in the final.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | % | PF | PA | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Portsmouth | 28 | 26 | 2 | 0.928 | 2677 | 2189 | 52 | |
| 2 | Kingston | 28 | 24 | 4 | 0.857 | 2931 | 2475 | 48 | |
| 3 | Livingston | 28 | 22 | 6 | 0.785 | 2762 | 2299 | 44 | |
| 4 | Manchester United | 28 | 21 | 7 | 0.750 | 2718 | 2345 | 42 | |
| 5 | Calderdale Explorers | 28 | 20 | 8 | 0.714 | 2694 | 2256 | 40 | |
| 6 | Bracknell Tigers | 28 | 17 | 11 | 0.607 | 2623 | 2435 | 34 | |
| 7 | Birmingham Bullets | 28 | 14 | 14 | 0.500 | 2638 | 2757 | 28 | |
| 8 | Solent Stars | 28 | 14 | 14 | 0.500 | 2638 | 2757 | 28 | |
| 9 | Leicester City Riders | 28 | 14 | 14 | 0.500 | 2780 | 2678 | 28 | |
| 10 | Bolton & Bury Giants | 28 | 12 | 16 | 0.428 | 2460 | 2485 | 24 | |
| 11 | Hemel & Watford Royals | 28 | 9 | 19 | 0.321 | 2647 | 2893 | 18 | |
| 12 | Sunderland 76ers | 28 | 8 | 20 | 0.285 | 2588 | 2905 | 16 | |
| 13 | Derby Rams | 28 | 4 | 24 | 0.142 | 2062 | 2640 | 8 | |
| 14 | Oldham Celtics | 28 | 3 | 25 | 0.107 | 2435 | 3040 | 6 | |
| 15 | Crystal Palace | 28 | 2 | 26 | 0.071 | 2281 | 2981 | 4 |
| = League winners | ||
| = Qualified for the play-offs |
(1) Portsmouth vs. (8) Solent Stars
(2) Kingston vs. (7) Birmingham Bullets
(3) Livingston vs. (6) Bracknell Tigers
(4) Manchester United vs. (5) Calderdale Explorers
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | % | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Worthing Bears | 18 | 18 | 0 | 1.000 | 36 | |
| 2 | Brixton Topcats | 18 | 14 | 4 | 0.778 | 28 | |
| 3 | Tower Hamlets | 18 | 12 | 6 | 0.667 | 24 | |
| 4 | Plymouth Raiders | 18 | 12 | 6 | 0.667 | 24 | |
| 5 | Gateshead | 18 | 11 | 7 | 0.611 | 22 | |
| 6 | Aberdare | 18 | 9 | 9 | 0.500 | 18 | |
| 7 | Ellesmere Port Jets | 18 | 7 | 11 | 0.389 | 14 | |
| 8 | Market Harborough | 18 | 3 | 15 | 0.167 | 6 | |
| 9 | Cardiff | 18 | 2 | 16 | 0.111 | 4 | |
| 10 | Stevenage | 18 | 2 | 16 | 0.111 | 4 |
| = League winners |
North Group 1
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | L | Percent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Calderdale Explorers | 10 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0.833 | |
| 2. Manchester United | 10 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0.833 | |
| 3. Bolton & Bury Giants | 4 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0.333 | |
| 4. Oldham Celtics | 0 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0.000 |
North Group 2
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | L | Percent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Livingston | 12 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 1.000 | |
| 2. Leicester City Riders | 6 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0.500 | |
| 3. Sunderland 76ers | 6 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0.500 | |
| 4. Derby Rams | 0 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0.000 |
South Group 1
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | L | Percent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Kingston | 12 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 1.000 | |
| 2. Hemel & Watford Royals | 4 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0.333 | |
| 3. Crystal Palace | 4 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0.333 | |
| 4. Birmingham Bullets | 4 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0.333 |
South Group 2
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | L | Percent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Portsmouth | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1.000 | |
| 2. Bracknell Tigers | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0.500 | |
| 3. Solent Stars | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0.000 |
Calderdale Explorers vs. Livingston
Kingston vs. Portsmouth