A1 Ethniki
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - Cite This SourceThe A1 Ethniki is the highest professional basketball competition among pro clubs in Greece. The first Greek Championship was held in 1928 by the Greek Basketball Federation which organized all the championships until 1992.
There are three different Championship periods. The first one lasted from 1928 to 1963, when there wasn't a national championship and the champions of every district played at a later stage to define the Greek Champion. The second era started in the 1963-64 season when the Greek First Division (A Ethniki) was founded. Since the 1986-87 season, the A1 division (with regular season and playoffs) and the A2 division (A2 Ethniki) have been found.
The Greek League has been one of the most competitive in Europe, with several great powers which belong to the most traditional European basketball clubs, especially Panathinaikos and Olympiacos. Other teams that have made significant success throughout the long history of Greek basketball are Aris Thessaloniki and AEK Athens. These teams along with PAOK, are considered the most successful Greek teams.
Despite the championship being contested 67 times, only nine teams have won so far. The dominating team of the league has been Panathinaikos, having earned the championship 28 times. Only three teams have participated in every championship since the foundation of the first division in 1964: Panathinaikos, AEK Athens and Aris Thessaloniki
A1 Ethniki, in its current form, has been organized since the 1992-93 season by the Greek Basketball Clubs Association (HEBA, in English, "Hellenic Basketball Clubs Association"). 30 pro Greek basketball teams are split into two different divisions. The first division championship, which is called the "A1", in which 14 teams compete for the Greek National Championship and the second level championship, which is called the "A2", in which 16 teams compete for the second division crown. The bottom two place finishing teams each year in the A1 division standings are relegated to the A2 division due to poor performance, while the top 2 teams each year from the A2 division are promoted to the A1 division due to good performance.
Teams
The teams for the 2007-08 season are:
|
Champions
- 1928-1963 Panhellenic Championship
- 1964-1986 A Ethniki
- 1987-present A1 Ethniki
Performance by club
| Team | Winners | Years Won |
|---|---|---|
| Panathinaikos | | 1946, 1947, 1950, 1951, 1954, 1961, 1962, 1967, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 |
| Aris | | 1930, 1979, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991 |
| Olympiacos Piraeus | | 1949, 1960, 1976, 1978, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997 |
| AEK Athens | | 1958, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1970, 2002 |
| Panellinios | | 1929, 1939, 1940, 1953, 1955, 1957 |
| Iraklis | | 1928, 1935 |
| PAOK | | 1959, 1992 |
| Near East | | 1936 |
| Athens University | | 1937 |
A1 Finals
| Season | Home advantage | Home disadvantage | Result | 1st of Regular Season | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992-93 | Panathinaikos | Olympiacos Piraeus | | PAOK | |
| 1993-94 | Olympiacos Piraeus | PAOK | | Olympiacos Piraeus | |
| 1994-95 | Olympiacos Piraeus | Panathinaikos | | Olympiacos Piraeus | |
| 1995-96 | Olympiacos Piraeus | Panathinaikos | | Olympiacos Piraeus | |
| 1996-97 | Olympiacos Piraeus | AEK Athens | | Olympiacos Piraeus | |
| 1997-98 | Panathinaikos | PAOK | | Panathinaikos | |
| 1998-99 | Olympiacos Piraeus | Panathinaikos | | Olympiacos Piraeus | |
| 1999-00 | Panathinaikos | PAOK | | Olympiacos Piraeus | |
| 2000-01 | Panathinaikos | Olympiacos Piraeus | | Panathinaikos | |
| 2001-02 | AEK Athens | Olympiacos Piraeus | | AEK Athens | |
| 2002-03 | Panathinaikos | AEK Athens | | Panathinaikos | |
| 2003-04 | Panathinaikos | Maroussi | | Panathinaikos | |
| 2004-05 | Panathinaikos | AEK Athens | | Panathinaikos | |
| 2005-06 | Panathinaikos | Olympiacos Piraeus | | Panathinaikos | |
| 2006-07 | Panathinaikos | Olympiacos Piraeus | | Panathinaikos | |
Greek League MVP Awards
| Season | Regular Season MVP (Team) | Playoff MVP (Team) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986-87 | Panagiotis Giannakis (Aris Thessaloniki) | Nikos Galis (Aris Thessaloniki) | |
| 1987-88 | Nikos Galis (Aris Thessaloniki) | Nikos Galis (Aris Thessaloniki) | |
| 1988-89 | Nikos Galis (Aris Thessaloniki) | Nikos Galis (Aris Thessaloniki) | |
| 1989-90 | Nikos Galis (Aris Thessaloniki) | Nikos Galis (Aris Thessaloniki) | |
| 1990-91 | Nikos Galis (Aris Thessaloniki) | Nikos Galis (Aris Thessaloniki) | |
| 1991-92 | Žarko Paspalj (Olympiacos Piraeus) | Panagiotis Fasoulas (PAOK) | |
| 1992-93 | Walter Berry (Olympiacos Piraeus) | Žarko Paspalj (Olympiacos Piraeus) | |
| 1993-94 | Walter Berry (PAOK) | Žarko Paspalj (Olympiacos Piraeus) | |
| 1994-95 | Walter Berry (Iraklis) | Eddie Johnson (Olympiacos Piraeus) | |
| 1995-96 | Giorgos Sigalas (Olympiacos Piraeus) | Giorgos Sigalas (Olympiacos Piraeus) | |
| 1996-97 | David Rivers (Olympiacos Piraeus) | David Rivers (Olympiacos Piraeus) | |
| 1997-98 | Predrag Stojaković (PAOK) | Byron Scott (Panathinaikos) | |
| 1998-99 | Dejan Bodiroga (Panathinaikos) | Dino Rađa (Panathinaikos) | |
| 1999-00 | Dejan Bodiroga (Panathinaikos) | Željko Rebrača (Panathinaikos) | |
| 2000-01 | Alphonso Ford (Peristeri) | Željko Rebrača (Panathinaikos) | |
| 2001-02 | Dimosthenis Dikoudis (AEK Athens) | Dimosthenis Dikoudis (AEK Athens) | |
| 2002-03 | Jaka Lakovic (Panathinaikos) | Fragiskos Alvertis (Panathinaikos) | |
| 2003-04 | Dimitris Diamantidis (Iraklis) | Nikos Hatzivrettas (Panathinaikos) | |
| 2004-05 | Jaka Lakovic (Panathinaikos) | Fragiskos Alvertis (Panathinaikos) | |
| 2005-06 | Dimitris Diamantidis (Panathinaikos) | Dimitris Diamantidis (Panathinaikos) | |
| 2006-07 | Dimitris Diamantidis (Panathinaikos) | Dimitris Diamantidis (Panathinaikos) | |
Other Competitions
External links
- Official HEBA Site
- Official Hellenic Basketball Federation Site
- A1 League at Sportime magazine (Greek)
- Galanis Sports Data
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Last updated on Wednesday March 12, 2008 at 14:31:12 PDT (GMT -0700)
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