Spain
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SPAIN 🇪🇸

Country: Spain
Location: Europe
Demography: 47M (2020)
Spoken language: Spanish
Largest cities: Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Zaragoza

What are the main professional basketball leagues in Spain?

In Spain, there are three major basketball divisions. The biggest professional basketball league in Spain is none other than the Liga ACB, or Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, which is also one of the biggest professional basketball leagues in Europe ! The background of the current Liga ACB dates back to the Spanish Basketball League, the name given to the current competition, which, since 1957, was organized by the Spanish Basketball Federation until 1983, At that time, the clubs, organized in the recently created Basketball Clubs Association, decided to organize the ACB League, which is considered the successor of the First Division of the Spanish Basketball League.
 
Like most European leagues, Spain operates a system of promotion and relegation between the different divisions. The last two teams in Liga ACB move down to LEB Gold. The LEB Gold (LEB being the diminutive of Spanish Basketball League, in Spanish Liga Española de Baloncesto) is organized by the Spanish Basketball Federation. It is the second level of basketball competition in Spain. And finally, the LEB Silver is the third basketball division in Spain. It is also under the control of the Spanish Basketball Federation.

What about the Spanish national teams?

The Spanish national men’s basketball team is led by the Spanish Basketball Federation (FEB). From its creation and its first participation in a major competition, at the European Championship in Geneva in 1935, it won the silver medal. Since then, Spain is considered one of the great powers of world basketball.

Among its countless successes and dozens of medals won throughout its history, Spain is a three-time European champion (in 2009, 2011 and 2015), two-time world champion (in 2006 and 2019) and three-time Olympic runner-up (in 1984 in Los Angeles, in 2008 in Beijing and in 2012 in London).

Is women's basketball developed in Spain?

For women's basketball, the Liga Femenina (also known as Liga Femenina Endesa for sponsorship reasons) is the main competition in Spain and has been since 1964.
 
Like its male counterpart, the Spanish women's national basketball team is recognized as one of the leading powers in women's basketball. Notably, it has won four European championships (in 1993, 2013, 2017 and 2019), in addition to being a silver medalist at the 2016 Rio Olympics and runner-up at the 2014 World Championships.

Who are the most famous Spanish players?

Many Spanish players are known worldwide for their ability to shine on the floors of international, European and North American competitions. Starting with the Gasol brothers and especially Pau who, in addition to having played 18 seasons at the highest level in the NBA, has won everything with his national team. He holds the record for the number of points scored with Spain. 

Juan Carlos Navarro, who is none other than the Spanish player with the most caps, Felipe Reyes, Rudy Fernandez, Jose Calderon, Ricky Rubio, Sergio Rodriguez or Sergio Llull are all extremely well known Spanish players. And the list is long...