Teams
Fuerza Regia
Soles Mexicali
Abejas
Panteras Aguascalientes
Correcaminos
Libertadores de Queretaro
Mineros de Zacatecas
Santos San Luis
Aguacateros de Morelia
Astros de Jalisco
Capitanes
Dorados de Chihuahua
Plateros de Fresnillo
Lenadores
Huracanes de Tampico
Toros Nuevo Laredo
Halcones de Xalapa
Laguneros
Angeles de Puebla
Indios de Ciudad Juarez
Barreteros
Garzas
Halcones Rojos
Freseros Irapuato
Wikipedia - Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional
The National Professional Basketball League (Spanish: Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional 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, Dennis Rodman, Sun Mingming, Horacio Llamas and many others.
History
Foundation
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. 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:
- Algodoneros de la Comarca (Torreón, Coahuila)
- Correcaminos Matamoros de la UAT (Matamoros, Tamaulipas)
- Correcaminos Reynosa de la UAT (Reynosa, Tamaulipas)
- Correcaminos Tampico de la UAT (Tampico, Tamaulipas)
- Correcaminos Victoria de la UAT (Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas)
- Dorados de Chiuhuahua (Chihuahua, Chihuahua)
- Garzas de Plata de la UAEH (Pachuca, Hidalgo)
- Indios de la UACJ (Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua)
- La Ola Roja del Distrito Federal (Mexico City, Distrito Federal)
- Osos de Saltillo (Saltillo, Coahuila)
- Vaqueros de Agua Prieta (Agua Prieta, Sonora)
The first president was Modesto Robledo. The LNBP set out to support and develop professional basketball in Mexico. The first edition of the league started on August 7, 2000 and finished in December, with the regular season finishing on November 11 and the playoffs starting on November 14. The first game was played in Torreón between Algodoneros de Torreón and Dorados de Chihuahua at the Auditorio Municipal: Dorados won, 80–78. The league coexisted in its first seasons with CIMEBA.