The Liga Nacional de Baloncesto (LNB) is the top men's professional basketball league in the Dominican Republic. Established in 2005, six teams compete annually between September and October.

History

The league was founded on September 6, 2004 at the Hotel Lina in Santo Domingo as the Liga Dominicana de Baloncesto (Dominican Basketball League), also known as LIDOBA; the founders were a group of investors and former basketball players, supported by the Dominican Basketball Federation. Before the creation of a national league, basketball was practiced at regional and local level.

The teams that participated in the first edition in 2005 were:

  • Cañeros de La Romana
  • Cocolos de San Pedro de Macorís
  • Constituyentes de San Cristóbal
  • Indios de San Francisco de Macorís
  • Marineros de Puerto Plata
  • Metros de Santiago
  • Panteras del Distrito Nacional
  • Reales de La Vega

The first game was played on July 1, 2005 at the Palacio de los Deportes Virgilio Travieso Soto between Panteras del Distrito Nacional and Indios de San Francisco de Macorís: Panteras won, 79–63. The first league champions were Reales de La Vega, that won the title after winning the best-of-7 championship series against Panteras, 4–2.

In 2009, the league was cancelled due to financial difficulties. On May 19, 2010 the league announced its return under a new branding and name, Liga Nacional de Baloncesto (National Basketball League).

From 2005 to 2017, the league had 8 teams participating every season. In 2018, Huracanes del Atlántico folded, and the league was played by 7 teams (3 in the North conference, and 4 in the Southeast conference). In 2019, Titanes del Distrito Nacional also folded, bringing the team number to 6.

Die Dominikanische Liga Nacional de Baloncesto (LNB) ist die höchste professionelle Basketballliga in der Dominikanischen Republik. Sie wurde 2005 gegründet und besteht aus 10 Mannschaften, die in zwei Gruppen aufgeteilt sind. Die reguläre Saison läuft von Februar bis Juni, wobei jede Mannschaft 30 Spiele bestreitet. Die besten vier Mannschaften jeder Gruppe qualifizieren sich für die Playoffs, die im Juli und August ausgetragen werden. Die LNB ist eine der stärksten Basketballligen in Lateinamerika und hat mehrere Spieler hervorgebracht, die in der NBA gespielt haben, darunter Al Horford, Karl-Anthony Towns und Chris Duarte.