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The International Basketball League (IBL) was a semi-professional men's basketball league featuring teams from the West Coast of the United States. In 2010 the Albany Legends became the first team in the Northeastern United States to join. The IBL also sometimes featured teams from China and Japan which temporarily relocated to the United States for the IBL season. The IBL season typically ran from the end of March through July.
 International Basketball League logo | |
| Sport | Basketball |
|---|---|
| Founded | August 2004 |
| First season | 2005 |
| Ceased | 2014 |
| No. of teams | 13 |
| Countries |  United States |
| Continent | FIBA Americas (Americas) |
| Last champion(s) | Bellingham Slam (2014) |
| Most titles | Bellingham Slam (4) |
| Official website | www |
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Founded by Portland area sports promoter Mikal Duilio,[1] the league featured rules designed to create a fast-paced, high-scoring brand of basketball. Duilio first began planning for the league with a series of test games in Portland and Seattle in November 2003. These games featured a mixture of traditional college and NBA rules, plus two rules created specifically for the league:
- The "Immediate Inbound" Rule: After a made basket, the referee threw the ball to a nearby player from the team which had been scored on, instead of a player throwing in the ball from under the basket, to eliminate wasted time.
- A 22-second shot clock was used instead of the NBA's 24-seconds. A defensive non-shooting foul or kicked ball reset it to 12.
The test games proved popular and resulted in the founding of the IBL in August 2004. Founded with eight teams, the league expanded to 17 by the start of the season in April 2005. Each team played approximately 20 regular season games, most of them centered on their home region, with the teams with the two best records playing in a championship game at the end of the season. The Battle Creek Knights won the inaugural title by going undefeated in the regular season and beating the Dayton Jets in the finals.
In the league's first year, the up-tempo rules resulted in the average team scoring 126.9 points per game, nearly 30 points more than the NBA team average in 2004–05, and slightly higher than the NBA record for points per game by a team in a single season, set by the Denver Nuggets in 1981–82.
In 2010, the league launched a winter season which saw nine different teams compete. Four teams played an entire schedule and thus made them eligible for the playoffs.[2]
In July 2011, Duilio sold the league to Vancouver, Washington, businessman Bryan Hunter.[3] Sharleen Graf was appointed as the league's new commissioner.[4]
In March 2014 the IBL ceased operation as an independent entity and combined with the West Coast Basketball League (WCBL).[5] Teams were split into an 'International Conference' and 'Continental Conference' based on geography. The owner of the NBA over the past decade has actively been internationalizing the game by recruiting potential international players and expanding overseas markets.[6]
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| International Conference Team | City, State | Arena | Founded | Joined |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bellingham Slam | Bellingham, WA | Whatcom Pavilion | 2005 | 2007 |
| Lone Star Strikers | Conroe, TX | Oak Ridge High School | 2013 | |
| Olympia Reign | Olympia, WA | Little Creek Casino | 2008 | |
| Portland Chinooks | Beaverton, OR | Eastmoreland Courts | 2009 | |
| Salem Sabres | Salem, OR | Chemeketa Community College | 2013 | |
| Seattle Flight | Seattle, WA | North Seattle Community College Wellness Center | 2013 | |
| Vancouver Volcanoes | Vancouver, WA | O'Connell Sports Center | 2005 | |
| Continental Conference Team | City, State | Arena | Founded | Joined |
| Hollywood Shooting Stars | Hollywood, California | 2012 | 2014 | |
| Los Angeles Team Macleem | Los Angeles, California | Mt. Carmel Recreation Center | 2014 | 2014 |
| Malibu Beachdogs | Mailibu, California | 2014 | 2014 | |
| Santa Barbara Breakers | Santa Barbara, California | Santa Barbara City College | 2006 | 2014 |
| Santa Monica Jump | Santa Monica, California | 2012 | 2014 | |
| Venice Beach Warriors | Venice Beach, California | 2013 | 2014 | |
Joined other leagues
- Akron Cougars (joined the Universal Basketball League. The league folded before the first season.)
- Battle Creek Knights (joined the Independent Basketball Association)
- Dayton Air Strikers (rejoined the Premier Basketball League)
- Gary Splash (joined the Independent Basketball Association[7]
- Holland Blast (joined the Independent Basketball Association)
- Lake County All-Stars (joined the Independent Basketball Association)
- Lansing Capitals (joined the Independent Basketball Association)
- Kankakee County Soldiers (left to form the Independent Basketball Association[8])
- Salem Stampede (joined the National Athletic Basketball League)
- Santa Barbara Breakers (joined the West Coast Pro Basketball League)
- Snohomish County Explosion (joined the National Athletic Basketball League)
- Washington Raptors (joined the American Basketball Association)
- West Virginia Wild (joined the National Professional Basketball League, then the American Basketball Association)
Teams history
|
|
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| Year | Champion | Score | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Battle Creek Knights | 124-121 | Dayton Jets |
| 2006 | Elkhart Express | 119-108 (OT) | Columbus Cyclones |
| 2007 | Elkhart Express | 113-109 | Portland Chinooks |
| 2008 | Bellingham Slam | 118-111 | Elkhart Express |
| 2009 | Los Angeles Lightning | 2-1 (best-of 3) | Oregon Waves |
| 2010 Summer | Albany Legends | 126-111 | Bellingham Slam |
| 2010 Winter | Kankakee County Soldiers | 88-87 | Gary Splash |
| 2011 | Vancouver Volcanoes | 124-116 | Edmonton Energy |
| 2012 | Bellingham Slam | 142-109 | Portland Chinooks |
| 2013 | Bellingham Slam | 117-114 | Vancouver Volcanoes |
| 2014 | Bellingham Slam | 143-126 | Vancouver Volcanoes |
Wins by club
| Team | Championships | Summer Seasons | Winter Seasons |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bellingham Slam | 4 | 2008, 2012, 2013, 2014 | |
| Elkhart Express | 2 | 2006, 2007 | |
| Battle Creek Knights | 1 | 2005 | |
| Los Angeles Lightning | 1 | 2009 | |
| Albany Legends | 1 | 2010 | |
| Kankakee County Soldiers | 1 | 2010 | |
| Vancouver Volcanoes | 1 | 2011 |
Commissioners
- Mikal Duilio (2004–July 2011)
- Sharleen Graf (July 2011 – 2014)
Players
- Toby Bailey, former UCLA player and NCAA Champion; NBA player
- Tim Hardaway, former Golden State Warriors star
- David Jackson, former NBA and Euroleague player; former Oregon Duck
- Shawn Kemp, former Seattle SuperSonics star
- Lamond Murray, 13-year NBA veteran
- Dennis Rodman, former Chicago Bulls player and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame member
- Bryon Russell, former Utah Jazz star
- Fred Vinson, former Seattle SuperSonics player and current NBA Assistant Coach
- Grayson Boucher American street ball player
Coaches
- Rob Ridnour, head coach of the Bellingham Slam and father of Seattle SuperSonics guard Luke Ridnour
- Logan Vander Velden, head coach of the Battle Creek Knights and former Los Angeles Clippers player[13]
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