| National Professional Basketball League | |
| Current Season: | 2024 LNBP season |
| Sport: | Basketball |
| Director: | Sergio Velázquez |
| Motto: | Cree en tu juego (Believe in your game) |
| Teams: | 16 |
| Headquarters: | Mexico City, Mexico |
| Continent: | FIBA Americas |
| Most Champs: | Fuerza Regia de Monterrey (5 titles) |
| Champion: | Fuerza Regia de Monterrey (5th title) |
| Tv: | Caliente TV Canal 26 Canal 66 Capital 21 Hi Sports Multimedios[1] TV4 TVC Deportes[2] |
| Website: | LNBP.mx |
The National Professional Basketball League (or LNBP), officially known as the Liga Caliente LNBP for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball league in Mexico. The league was founded in 2000 with 10 teams.
Famous basketball players who have played in the league include Jamario Moon,[3] Dennis Rodman,[4] Sun Mingming,[5] Horacio Llamas[6] and many others.
In January 2000, some teams of CIMEBA (Circuito Mexicano de Básquetbol), the national basketball league in Mexico at the time, exited the league, citing CIMEBA's financial difficulties, and decided to form a new league.[7] On March 11, 2000 the league was founded in the city of Durango with 11 teams participating. These were the founding teams, with the respective city and state:[8]
The first president was Modesto Robledo.[9] The LNBP set out to support and develop professional basketball in Mexico. The first edition of the league started on August 7, 2000[10] and finished in December, with the regular season finishing on November 11 and the playoffs starting on November 14.[11] The first game was played in Torreón between Algodoneros de Torreón and Dorados de Chihuahua at the Auditorio Municipal: Dorados won, 80–78.[12] The league coexisted in its first seasons with CIMEBA.[13]
The regular season is played in round-robin format in which the 8 best-placed teams qualify to the postseason. For every game won 2 points are added and for every game lost one point is added. For example: If team one played 10 games and won 7, losing the remaining 3, it would have 17 points; 14 points for the 7 games won and 3 points for the games lost.
The eight top-seeded teams play each other. The 1st-placed team plays the 8th-place team while the 2nd plays the 7th and the 3rd plays the 6th and so on. The semi-finals are played like the quarterfinals while the Serie Final is played by the two teams remaining with the best-placed team having home field advantage.
| Season | Champion | Result | Runner-up | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 4–2 | Correcaminos UAT Victoria | ||
| 2001 | 4–1 | Lobos UAdeC | ||
| 2002 | 4–3 | Correcaminos UAT Matamoros | ||
| 2003 | 4–2 | La Ola Roja del Distrito Federal | ||
| 2004 | 4–2 | Halcones de Xalapa | ||
| 2005 | 4–1 | Lobos UAdeC | ||
| 2006 | 4–3 | Halcones de Xalapa | ||
| 2007–08 | 4–3 | Soles de Mexicali | ||
| 2008–09 | 4–2 | Soles de Mexicali | ||
| 2009–10 | 4–1 | Halcones Rojos Veracruz | ||
| 2010–11 | 4–2 | Pioneros de Quintana Roo | ||
| 2011–12 | 4–1 | Toros de Nuevo Laredo | ||
| 2012–13 | 4–2 | Halcones de Xalapa | ||
| 2013–14 | 4–3 | Pioneros de Quintana Roo | ||
| 2014–15 | 4–1 | Pioneros de Quintana Roo | ||
| 2015–16 | 4–3 | Soles de Mexicali | ||
| 2016–17 | 4–2 | Soles de Mexicali | ||
| 2017–18 | 4–1 | Capitanes de Ciudad de México | ||
| 2018–19 | 4–2 | Capitanes de Ciudad de México | ||
| 2019–20 | 4–3 | Fuerza Regia de Monterrey | ||
| 2020 | 3–1 | Aguacateros de Michoacán | ||
| 2021 | 4–0 | Astros de Jalisco | ||
| 2022 | 4–0 | Astros de Jalisco | ||
| 2023 | 4–1 | Astros de Jalisco |
| Team | Championship | Runner-up | Year(s) won | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fuerza Regia de Monterrey | 5 | 1 | 2016–17, 2018–19, 2020, 2021, 2023 | |
| Soles de Mexicali | 4 | 4 | 2006, 2014–15, 2017–18, 2019–20 | |
| Halcones de Xalapa | 4 | 3 | 2005, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10 | |
| Halcones Rojos Veracruz | 2 | 1 | 2011–12, 2013–14 | |
| Toros de Nuevo Laredo | 2 | 1 | 2010–11, 2012–13 | |
| Pioneros de Quintana Roo | 1 | 3 | 2015–16 | |
| Correcaminos UAT Victoria | 1 | 1 | 2002 | |
| Correcaminos UAT Tampico | 1 | 0 | 2000 | |
| Gallos de Pelea de Ciudad Juárez | 1 | 0 | 2001 | |
| Panteras de Aguascalientes | 1 | 0 | 2003 | |
| Santos de San Luis | 1 | 0 | 2004 | |
| Abejas de León | 1 | 0 | 2022 | |
| Astros de Jalisco | 0 | 3 | ||
| Capitanes de Ciudad de México | 0 | 2 | ||
| Lobos UAdeC | 0 | 2 | ||
| Aguacateros de Michoacán | 0 | 1 | ||
| Correcaminos UAT Matamoros | 0 | 1 | ||
| Ola Roja del Distrito Federal | 0 | 1 |
The Copa Independencia (Independence Cup) was a tournament created by the LNBP.
| Season | Champion | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|
| Lechugueros de León | ||
| Correcaminos UAT Victoria | ||
| Halcones de Xalapa | ||
| 2007–08 | Halcones Rojos Veracruz | |
Luis García
Guillermo Narvarte
José Martínez