Most recently (in 2023/24), the League featured 10 member franchises from England and Scotland who jointly own the organisation[1] and a chairman was elected by the teams to oversee operations.

[5] As fully amateur championships, the competitions were largely dominated by victorious teams from universities, YMCAs and Royal Air Force stations.

Over the next 15 years, basketball's popularity in Great Britain grew steadily and annual revenues for the ABBA – renamed as the English Basket Ball Association (EBBA) in 1975 – increased from £23,440 in 1972 to £303,500 in 1981.

[10] The NBL's upward commercial trajectory continued with the EBBA signing sponsorship agreements with major national companies such as Prudential Insurance, Bell's whisky and the Carlsberg Group, generating an estimated income of £1,196,000.

[11] A joint venture company, Basketball Marketing Limited, was established in 1982[12] by the EBBA and team owners to market the league collectively to potential sponsors and share revenue from TV contracts; with the agreement that 40% of revenue was held by the EBBA and the remaining 60% shared between all member teams.

Kevin Routledge, a director at Leicester Riders, claimed at the time that "there was a feeling about men's clubs that insufficient emphasis was being given to them, particularly recognising that in terms of spectator, sponsorship and media appeal they were very much top of the heap.

[16] By April 1986, still unsatisfied by the relationship with the EBBA, a contingent of team owners set forth to organise a breakaway competition, dubbed the British Basketball League.

Not all teams were initially onboard with the new proposals however, as established names like Birmingham Bullets first rejected the move and opted to stay within the existing EBBA structure.

The agreement was signed at Old Trafford football stadium, home of Manchester United, whose basketball team would feature in the newly formed league.

[23] London-based Brunel Crystal Palace also faced similar financial challenges during the off-season, searching for additional sponsors to cover their £100,000 outgoings.

The collapse of ITV Digital cost the league financially, with many franchises struggling to recover from the lost revenue that the £21 million contract was providing.

The membership crisis brought about the addition of new franchises such as Guildford Heat (formed by supporters of the defunct Thames Valley Tigers), and elected teams from the lower-tier English Basketball League, including the Plymouth Raiders.

The intervening years saw the perennial success of the Newcastle Eagles, the reemergence of the Leicester Riders as a dominant force in the domestic game, and the rise and fall of teams based in London, Birmingham, Liverpool, Essex, Durham and Worthing.

Long term franchise Milton Keynes relocated to London, to become a 2012 Olympics legacy tenant at the Copper Box Arena, and a new incarnation of the famous Manchester Giants name re-entered the league in the same year.

[30] As of the 2016–17 BBL season Italian sportswear manufacturer Kappa have been the exclusive kit supplier for all teams, replacing a previous deal with Spalding.

The 2018–19 season saw, for the first time in 11 years, British participation in European competition when Leicester competed in the Basketball Champions League and FIBA Europe Cup.

[35] As of 2023, the League does not have any confirmed plans to introduce more teams in new cities or locations, however there are interested parties from Belfast, Birmingham, Cardiff, Dublin, Leeds and Liverpool looking at establishing a potential expansion franchise.

[38][39] Of these interested cities, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Leeds and Liverpool have all, at some point in time, previously hosted a BBL team since 1987.

[42] Following the completion of the Championship regular season, the top eight ranked teams advance into the post-season Playoffs which usually take place during April.

The post-season Playoffs usually takes place in April, featuring the top eight ranked teams from the Championship regular season compete in a knockout tournament.

The culmination of the post-season is the grand Final, held at The O2 Arena in London, which sees the two Semi-final winners play a one-game event to determine the Playoff Champions.

[49] They became the first British team to compete in European competition since the Guildford Heat featured in the ULEB Cup during the 2007–08 season.

[50][51] To be eligible for entry into the Basketball Champions League or the FIBA Europe Cup, teams must play in arenas with a capacity of at least 2,000 people.

[55] According to BBL rules, teams must field no more than six import (non-EU) players in any one season, though only three are allowed to be registered to a roster at any one time.

Basketball receives little national press coverage in the United Kingdom, although coverage is more extensive from the local newspapers in cities where BBL clubs are based, with publications such as The Plymouth Herald, Manchester Evening News, Leicester Mercury and the Newcastle Chronicle all having dedicated basketball reporters who cover the respective local team.

Some national newspapers list results and occasionally provide short summaries of the League's news, but more extensive coverage remains minimal.

[57] Television coverage was then infrequent until the 2007–08 season, when international broadcaster Setanta Sports signed a deal to screen one live game a week.

[64] FreeSports signed a deal with the league in January 2018 to broadcast games for the remainder of the season, starting with the BBL Cup Final between Worcester Wolves and Cheshire Phoenix.