All statistics correct as of 14 March 2019.1 Sponsored league name, referring to Úrvalsdeild karla.
The 2018–19 Úrvalsdeild karla was the 68th season of the Úrvalsdeild karla, the top tier men's basketball league in Iceland. The season started on 4 October 2018 and ended on 4 May 2019. KR won its sixth title in a row by defeating ÍR 3–2 in the Finals.[1]
Competition format
The participating teams first played a conventional round-robin schedule with every team playing each opponent once home and once away for a total of 22 games. The top eight teams qualified for the championship playoffs whilst the two last qualified were relegated to Division 1.[2]
On April 20, Dagur Kár Jónsson exercised an escape clause in his contract and left Grindavík to sign back with his hometown club of Stjarnan,[12] much to the dismay of Grindavík's board as they claimed that he had stated to them that he would stay at the club for next season.[13]
On July 3, it was reported that Sigtryggur Arnar Björnsson wanted to leave Tindastóll and join Grindavík, and that he considered his contract with the club not valid as the club did not send it to the Icelandic Basketball Federation within 30 days from its signing as the federations rules stipulated. The chairman of Tindastól in turn said that they viewed the contract as valid and that they expected Sigtryggur to report to the team for training camp before the season.[20] The next day the clubs reported that they had reached an agreement and Sigtryggur signed with Grindavík later that day.[21]
On August 23, it was reported that Stjarnan had signed Paul Jones who played the previous season with Haukar, helping them to the best record in the league.[30]
On October 13, Grindavík signed Lewis Clinch instead of Terrell Vinston who tore his left ACL two days earlier.[37] Vinston would later heavily criticize Grindavík for how it handled his injury.[38]
On October 25, KR's chairman Böðvar Guðjónsson confirmed that Pavel Ermolinskij had resumed training with the team after sitting out the first three games of the season.[39]
On November 19, it was reported that Valur starting guard, Oddur Rúnar Kristjánsson, had failed a drug test and was likely facing a 4-year suspension.[43]
On December 9, Tindastóll's guard Brynjar Þór Björnsson set the Úrvalsdeild record for most three-pointers made in a game when he made 16 of 31 three-point shots, on his way to 48 points, in a victory against Breiðablik, breaking Frank Booker's 27-year-old record.[44]
On December 18, it was reported that Haukar had released starting center Marquese Oliver who had been averaging 19.9 points and 11.6 rebounds per game.[45]
On December 19, it was reported that Stjarnan had released Paul Jones after a disappointing start for the club,[46] who were predicted as the favorites to win the national championship prior to the season.[47] In 10 games for Stjarnan, he was the team's leading scorer with 20.2 points per game while also averaging 7.1 rebounds and shooting 40.0% from the three-point range.[48]
On January 6, Valur announced that BCM Gravelines-Dunkerque of the French LNB Pro A had bought up the contract of Kendall Anthony.[53] At the time of his departure, Anthony was averaging 31.5 points, 8.8 assists in 8 games, while shooting 64.1% from three-point range and 94.0% from the free throw line, leading the league in each category.[54][55] In his place, Valur signed Dominique Rambo.[56]
On January 10, Breiðablik coach Pétur Ingvarsson revealed that starting center Snorri Hrafnkelsson would miss the rest of the season due to a concussion, his third in his career.[57]
On January 19, it was reported that Ingvi Þór Guðmundsson was returning to Grindavík after spending the first half of the season with Saint Louis University.[59]
On 23 March, ÍR's Kevin Capers was suspended for game 2 of ÍR's first round series against Njarðvík in the Úrvalsdeild playoffs for striking Jón Arnór Sverrisson in the head in game one.[64]
On 1 April, following Njarðvík's first round loss to ÍR, Jeb Ivey announced his retirement from professional basketball.[65]