| Prevseason: | 2017–18 |
| Nextseason: | 2019–20 |
| Season: | 2018–19 |
| ABA League First Division | |
| Champions: |  Crvena zvezda mts (4th title) |
| Runners Up: |  Budućnost VOLI |
| Semifinalists: | Cedevita Partizan NIS |
| Relegated: | Petrol Olimpija |
| Teams: | 12 |
| Games: | 143 |
| Duration: | – (Regular season) – (Playoffs) |
| Highest Scoring: | (16 November 2018) |
| Biggest Home Win: | (22 April 2019) |
| Biggest Away Win: | (9 February 2019) |
| Highest Attendance: | 8,000 (19 January 2019) |
| Lowest Attendance: | 500 (26 October 2018) (18 January 2019) (15 March 2019) (16 March 2019) |
| Attendance: | 384,820[1] |
| Average Attendance: | 2,691 |
| Top Seed: | Crvena zvezda mts |
| Tv: | Arena Sport, O2.TV |
| Mvp: |  Goga Bitadze [1] |
| Finals Mvp: |  Billy Baron [2] |
| Award4: | Top Prospect |
| Award4 Winner: | Goga Bitadze [3] |
| Pir: | 29.50 |
| Pir N: | SRB |
| Ppg: | 21.29 |
| Ppg N: | SRB |
| Rpg: | 7.23 |
| Rpg N: | CRO |
| Apg: | 5.84 |
| Apg N: | SLO |
| Winning Streak: | Crvena zvezda 16 games |
| Losing Streak: | Olimpija / Mornar 5 games |
The 2018–19 ABA League First Division is the 18th season of the ABA League with 12 teams from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Slovenia and Serbia participating in it. It is the first time since the 2011–12 season that there are no participants from North Macedonia.
On March 13, 2018, the Adriatic League Assembly decided to abolish the National standings and, as of the 2018–19 season, participants are determined only based on the results in the competitions under the umbrella of the Adriatic League (First Division and Second Division). Promotion and relegation will now be based on the First and Second Division. The last place team in the First Division is relegated to the Second Division, while the winner of the Second Division is promoted. Also, as of the 2018–19 season, the 11th placed team of the 2018–19 First Division season and the runners-up of the 2018–19 Second Division season will play in a Relegation Playoff for a spot in the 2019–20 First Division season. The format of the Qualifiers will be best of three, while the home court advantage will be given to the team that played in the First Division in the previous season.[2]
The maximum number of clubs from one country in the First Division is five. The last placed club in the First Division will have a guaranteed place in the Second Division in the following season. The confirmed competition system shall not be changed until the end of the 2024–25 season, if there are no significant changes in the European basketball by then.[2]
A total of 12 teams will contest the league, including 11 sides from the 2017–18 season and one promoted from the 2017–18 Second Division.
| Team | Home city | Arena | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Budućnost VOLI | Podgorica | Morača Sports Center | |
| Cedevita | Zagreb | Dom sportova | |
| Cibona | Zagreb | ||
| Crvena zvezda mts | Belgrade | Aleksandar Nikolić Hall | |
 Igokea | Aleksandrovac | Laktaši Sports Hall | |
| Krka | Leon Štukelj Hall | ||
| Pinki Sports Hall | |||
| Mornar | Bar | Topolica Sport Hall | |
| Partizan NIS | Belgrade | Aleksandar Nikolić Hall | |
| Ljubljana | Arena Stožice | ||
| Zadar | Zadar | Krešimir Ćosić Hall | |
| Team | Head coach | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Budućnost VOLI | Jasmin Repeša | Suad Šehović | Spalding | VOLI / Tea Medica | |
| Cedevita | Andrija Stipanović | Adidas | Cedevita / INA | ||
| Cibona | Ivan Velić | Marin Rozić | Visual | Erste Bank | |
| Crvena zvezda mts | Milan Tomić | Branko Lazić | Nike | mts | |
| FMP | Vladimir Jovanović | Radoš Šešlija | Champion | FMP | |
| Igokea | Dragan Nikolić | Vuk Radivojević | GBT | m:tel | |
| Krka | Simon Petrov | Domen Bratož | Žolna šport | Krka | |
| Mega Bemax | Dejan Milojević | Ognjen Čarapić | Adidas | Bemax / Tehnomanija | |
| Mornar | Mihailo Pavićević | Marko Mijović | Armani | epcg | |
| Partizan NIS |  Andrea Trinchieri | Novica Veličković | Under Armour | NIS / mts | |
| Petrol Olimpija | Jure Zdovc | Gregor Hrovat | Peak | Petrol | |
| Zadar | Ante Nazor | Šime Špralja | Visual | OTP Bank / Crodux |
| Team | Outgoing manager | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Replaced with | Date of appointment | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 April 2018 | Off-season | 2 April 2018 | [3] | ||||
| 8 May 2018 | 8 May 2018 | [4] | |||||
| 6 June 2018 | 8 June 2018 | [5] [6] | |||||
| 6 June 2018 | 8 June 2018 | [7] [8] | |||||
| 21 June 2018 | 28 June 2018 | [9] [10] | |||||
| Crvena zvezda mts | July 2018 | 13 July 2018 | [11] [12] | ||||
| Igokea | July 2018 | 14 July 2018 | [13] [14] | ||||
| Zadar | 23 October 2018 | 12th (0–4) | 23 October 2018 | [15] [16] | |||
| Cedevita | 25 October 2018 | 9th (1–3) | 25 October 2018 | [17] | |||
| 26 October 2018 | 7th (2–3) | 1 November 2018 | [18] [19] | ||||
| Igokea | 5 November 2018 | 9th (2–4) | 5 November 2018 | [20] | |||
| 19 November 2018 | 11th (2–6) | 19 November 2018 | [21] | ||||
| Igokea | 24 December 2018 | 10th (4–8) | 24 December 2018 | [22] | |||
| 29 December 2018 | 3rd (8–4) | 30 December 2018 | [23] [24] | ||||
| Petrol Olimpija | 19 February 2019 | 10th (6–13) | 19 February 2019 | [25] |
The season began on September 28, 2018. The regular season ended on March 17, 2019.[26]
See main article: 2019 ABA League First Division Playoffs. The semi-finals will be played in a best-of-three format, while the Finals were played in a best-of-five format. Playoffs will begin on 23 March 2019 and planned to end by 22 April 2019.[26]
As of the 2018–19 season, the 11th placed team of the 2018–19 First Division season and the runners-up of the 2018–19 Second Division season will play in the Qualifiers for a spot in the 2019–20 First Division season.
As the team coming from the ABA League, Zadar had the home court advantage in the first and third game of the series, while MZT was the host of the second game of the Qualifiers series.[27] Zadar won the series 2−1 and kept its First League status.[28]
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|}Source: ABA League
| Player | Team | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| [29] | |||
| [30] | |||
| [31] | |||
| Ideal Starting Five | |||
| [32] | |||
| Month | Player | Team | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | ||||
| October | Goga Bitadze | Mega Bemax | [33] | |
| November | Dragan Apić | FMP | [34] | |
| December | Dragan Apić (2) | FMP | [35] | |
| 2019 | ||||
| January | Marcus Paige | Partizan | [36] | |
| February | FMP | [37] | ||
Attendances include playoff games:
| Competition | Team | Progress | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15th (6–24) | ||||
| (1) | 4th (2–4) | |||
| (1) | 3rd (2–4) | |||
| (1) | 4th (0–6) | |||
| 5th (2–8) | ||||
| Regular season Group D | 8th (1–13) | |||
2018–19 Basketball League of Serbia 2018–19 Prva A liga 2018–19 Basketball Championship of Bosnia and Herzegovina