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Baloncesto Superior Nacional

Founded	1929; 95 years ago (1929)
First season	1930 (as LPB)
Country	Puerto Rico
Federation	Puerto Rican Basketball Federation
Confederation	FIBA Americas
Number of teams	12
Level on pyramid	1
International cup(s)	Champions League Americas
Current champions	Criollos de Caguas (2 titles; 2006, 2024)
Most championships	Vaqueros de Bayamón (16 titles)
All-time top scorer	Georgie Torres (15,863)
TV partners	Telemundo Puerto Rico DirecTV Puerto Rico
Website	www.bsnpr.com
2024 BSN season

The Baloncesto Superior Nacional, abbreviated as BSN, is the first-tier-level professional men's basketball league in Puerto Rico. It was founded in 1929 and is organized by the Puerto Rican Basketball Federation.

The Baloncesto Superior Nacional, which is played under FIBA rules, currently consists of 12 teams, of which the most successful has been the Vaqueros de Bayamón with 16 titles as of 2022.

The league has produced players that have distinguished themselves in the NBA, EuroLeague, Spain's ACB, and other tournaments throughout the world. Among them, Georgie Torres was the first Puerto Rican to sign an NBA contract & Butch Lee was the first BSN player to win an NBA title. Later on players including José Ortiz, Ramón Rivas, Daniel Santiago, Carlos Arroyo and J. J. Barea, started their careers playing for BSN teams and later played in the NBA.

Competition format

BSN games are played under the regular FIBA basketball rules. The twelve teams each play a total of four games amongst themselves, two at home and two away, for a total of 44 games during the regular season. Of the 12 participating teams, the top 8 move on to the postseason. The final two teams left will play in the La Final Brava, or the Brava Final, a basketball tournament sponsored by Brava Lubricants.

History

The league began in 1930, and is noted for having had several head coaches who went on to achieve international recognition later in their careers. Among those are Basketball Hall of Fame members Dr. Jack Ramsay, Tex Winter and Red Holzman, who coached the Leones de Ponce in the 1950s and 1960s, and Phil Jackson, who coached the Piratas de Quebradillas and Gallitos de Isabela in the late 1980s. Others notable coaches who have worked for BSN teams include Gene Bartow, Lou Rossini, Del Harris, P. J. Carlesimo, Bernie Bickerstaff, Herb Brown and Sergio Hernández.

During the 1980s, notable players followed in the footsteps of players such as Juan "Pachin" Vicens (1959 Santiago Chile FIBA World Championship's All-Tournament Team) and Butch Lee, the first Puerto Rican and BSN player to enter the NBA. Among those are: Mario 'Quijote' Morales, Raymond Dalmau, Jose 'Piculin' Ortiz, Ramón Rivas, Jerome Mincy, Georgie Torres, Angelo Cruz, Angel Santiago, the late Federico 'Fico' Lopez, Rolando Frazer, Mario Butler, and Rubén Rodríguez, who showcased their talents to all of Puerto Rico's TV viewers and game goers.

New Era and Renewed Interest (2019-present)

On September 19, 2019, the BSN team owners selected Ricardo Dalmau Santana to succeed Fernando Quiñones Bodea as president of the league.

In October 2020, there was a change in ownership of the Vaqueros de Bayamón, when retired professional baseball player Yadier Molina acquired his hometown team. In April 2021, the league approved the return of the Cangrejeros under the ownership of Noah Assad and Jonathan Miranda. Later that month, Bad Bunny joined the ownership group. In October 2022, the Osos de Manatí returned from a short hiatus, when Puerto Rican singer Ozuna purchased the Brujos de Guayama and relocated the team to Manatí.

In game 1 of the 2023 BSN finals, LeBron James made a surprise appearance as the Gigantes defeated the Vaqueros, 89-85, in overtime to take a 1-0 series lead. On July 27 2023, the Gigantes De Carolina defeated the Vaqueros 80-60 in Game 5 of the BSN Finals, leading the Gigantes to become the 2023 BSN Champions.

In October of 2024, Molina sold ownership of his team.

Current teams

Defunct teams

• Atenienses de Manatí (2014–2017); played their home games at the Juan Cruz Abreu Coliseum
• Avancinos de Villalba (1996–1998); played their home games at the José Ibem Marrero Coliseum
• Conquistadores de Aguada (1994–1998)
• Gallitos de Isabela; played their home games at the Jose Abreu Coliseum
• Grises de Humacao (2005–2023); Marcelo Trujillo Panisse Coliseum
• Indios de Canóvanas; played their home games at Coliseo Carlos Miguel Mangual
• Maratonistas de Coamo (1985–1996, 1999–2015); played their home games at Edwin "Puruco" Nolasco Coliseum
• Polluelos de Aibonito (1977–2001); played their home games at Cancha Marron Aponte
• Taínos de Cabo Rojo (1989–1993); played their home games at Rebekah Colberg Cabrera Coliseum
• Tiburones de Aguadilla (1990s–1998); played their home games at the Luis T. Diaz Coliseum
• Titanes de Morovis (1977–2006); played their home games in the José Pepe Huyke Coliseum
• Toritos de Cayey (2002–2004); played their home games at the Cayey Municipal Coliseum

Championships

Number of championships won by teams

• *These titles are from Farmacia Martin, a team that later merged with the Atléticos de San Germán

BSN awards and leaders

League records

Rubén Rodríguez established most of the early long-standing records in the BSN. He broke both the single-season points record with 810 in 1978 and the highest career points record with 11,549. The current holder of the career mark is Georgie Torres, who broke it before retiring in 2001 with 15,863 points in 679 games, playing his first 7 years before the establishment of the three-point line. Rodríguez also holds the mark for most rebounds in a career with 6,178. He also held the single-season rebound record with 380 in 1978, which stood until Lee Benson broke it in 2008. Currently, Neftalí Rivera holds the record for most points in a game in the Baloncesto Superior Nacional when he scored 79 points on May 22, 1974. In that game he achieved the record by making 34 field goals (all of them 2-pointers as 3-pointers were not adopted back then) and 11 free throws. In 1989, Pablo Alicea of the Gigantes de Carolina established a record for most assists in one game with 25. The record stood for over two decades until May 1, 2012, when Jonathan García of the Caciques de Humacao broke it recording 33 assists against the Brujos de Guayama. García's mark is an unofficial world record pending the approval of Guinness World Records, since there is no higher number recorded in any amateur or professional international league or in FIBA competition. During this game, the Caciques also established the team points record for a single game with 130 and for most scored during a single (10-minute) quarter with 46. The Vaqueros de Bayamón hosted the game with highest attendance in the league, with 17,621 fans attending a home game against Río Piedras on September 8, 1969. This bested the previous top of 16,564 in a game between Ponce and Santurce. The Vaqueros also hold the record for most consecutive championships, winning five from 1971 to 1975.

BSN statistical leaders

This section needs to be updated. The reason given is: These tables are five years old. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (May 2020)

BSN all-time scoring leaders

Rank	Player	Position(s)	Nationality	Years	Total points	Games played	Points per game average
1	Georgie Torres	SG	Puerto Rico	1975–2001	15,863	679	23.4
2	Mario Morales	SF	Puerto Rico	1975–1998	15,293	675	22.7
3	Mario Butler	C	Panama	1980–2008	12,252	779	15.7
4	Rolando Frazer	C	Panama	1980–2001	12,096	603	20.1
5	Raymond Dalmau	PG	Puerto Rico	1966–1985	11,592	537	21.6
6	Rubén Rodríguez	PF	Puerto Rico	1969–1991	11,549	631	18.3
7	Roberto Ríos	PG	Puerto Rico	1978–2000	11,312	681	16.6
8	Ángel Santiago	SF	Puerto Rico	1973–1996	11,287	617	18.3
9	José Quiñones	PF	Puerto Rico	1976–1995	11,012	579	19
10	Christian Dalmau	PG	Puerto Rico	1992–2003, 2009–2017	10,570	639	16.5

BSN all-time rebounding leaders

BSN all-time assists leaders

BSN all-time block leaders

Rank	Player	Position(s)	Nationality	Total blocks	Games played	Blocks per game average
1	Kleon Penn	C	Puerto Rico British Virgin Islands	755	300	—
2	Jeffrion Aubry	C	Puerto Rico	642	—	—
3	Peter John Ramos	C	Puerto Rico	527	—	—
4	Carmelo Lee	SF	Puerto Rico	414	—	—
5	Jorge Brian Diaz	C	Puerto Rico	314	—	—
6	JaJa Richards	C	United States Virgin Islands	314	—	—
7	Luis 'PelaCoco' Hernández	C/F	Puerto Rico	295	—	—
8	Ricardo Sanchéz	C/PF	Puerto Rico	278	—	—
9	Nathanael Davis	C	United States	268	—	—
10	Alphonse Dyer	C	United States	255	—	—

Last Updated July 26, 2023

See also

• Puerto Rico national basketball team

References

1. BSNPR (6 April 2021). "Los Atenienses de Manatí y Cangejeros de Santurce jugarán la temporada 2021". BSNPR.
2. "Ricardo Dalmau es electo nuevo presidente del BSN".
3. "Yadier Molina Buys Basketball Team – Latino Sports". 16 October 2020.
4. "Los Cangrejeros de Santurce regresan al BSN de la mano de Noah Assad, manejador de Bad Bunny" (in Spanish). El Nuevo Día. 6 April 2021. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
5. Jessica Ruiz (18 May 2021). "Bad Bunny Is Now the Co-Owner Of Puerto Rican Basketball Team Los Cangrejeros de Santurce". Billboard. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
6. "Ozuna Ventures into the World of Sports by Acquiring Ownership of Puerto Rican Basketball Team". Billboard.
7. Vega, Giovanny (8 April 2021). "Sobre la mesa la adición de un tercer refuerzo". El Vocero de Puerto Rico (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 May 2021.
8. "LeBron James makes young fan's day during Puerto Rican basketball game". CBS Sports. 19 July 2023. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
9. "¡El BSN es del "calentón"! Los Gigantes de Carolina se coronan campeones". 27 July 2023.
10. "Los Gigantes de Carolina celebran su primer campeonato en el BSN".
11. "Estadísticas : Campeonatos - Baloncesto Superior Nacional Puerto Rico". bsnpr.com.
12. "ADENDI". adendi.com.
13. "40 años de la increíble gesta de Neftalí Rivera". El Nuevo Día. 21 May 2014. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
14. "JONATHAN GARCIA ROMPE RECORD DE PABLITO ALICEA | Tiro al Blanco". Archived from the original on 25 June 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2012.
15. "Jonathan García: nuevo rey de asistencias". Primera Hora. 3 May 2012.

External links

• Official site (in Spanish)
• Puerto Rican league on Latinbasket.com (in English)

• Baloncesto Superior Nacional
• Basketball leagues in Puerto Rico
• 1929 establishments in Puerto Rico
• Sports leagues established in 1929
• Professional sports leagues in the United States
• Professional sports leagues in Puerto Rico