Lega Basket Serie A
The Lega Basket Serie A is a professional basketball league that has been organised in Italy since 1920.
It constitutes the first and highest-tier of the Italian league pyramid, above the second division Serie A2, with which there is a promotion/relegation system.
It is run by the Lega Basket, itself regulated by the FIP, the Italian federation.
2015–16 teams
Source:
History
A national basketball league was first established in Italy in 1920, with the first title won by SEF Costanza Milano.
Since then, twenty different teams have won the championship, with Olimpia Milano's twenty six titles the most and Mens Sana Siena's seven consecutive titles from 2007 to 2013 also a record.
After 2007–08 season, the league was reduced from eighteen to sixteen after two clubs, Basket Napoli and Orlandina Basket, were relegated for financial irregularities and not replaced.
Format
The season consists of a home-and-away schedule of 30 games, followed by an eight-team playoff round. The Quarterfinals are best-of-five, while the semifinals and finals series are best-of-seven (in the 2012-13 season, all series were best-of-seven). The last placed club is relegated, and is replaced by the winner of the playoffs of the second-level Serie A2 Basket.