The Liga Sudamericana de Baloncesto (LSB), or FIBA Liga Sudamericana de Baloncesto (Portuguese: Liga Sul-Americana de Basquete, English: South American Basketball League), also commonly known as FIBA South American League, is the second-tier level South American professional basketball competition at the club level, with the first-tier level now considered the panamerican competition of the Champions League. The competition is organized by the South American Basketball Association (ABASU), which operates as a regional sub-zone of FIBA Americas. The winner of each year's competition gets a place at the upcoming edition of the Basketball Champions League Americas.
The league usually includes some national domestic champions, and some runners-up, from the best national leagues and basketball countries on the South American continent. Depending on the country, places may be awarded on the basis of performance in the previous season's national domestic league, or over the previous two or three national domestic seasons. The tournament has been played since 1996, aside from 2003, 2020 and 2021.
The South American Championship of Champions Clubs, which was founded in 1946, was the first international club tournament played between basketball clubs from South America, and it was the first-tier and most important club competition in South America. In 1993, the Pan American Club Championship was launched including also Central American teams and was held annually until 2000. The FIBA South American League was founded in 1996 and became the top South American competition, with the historical South American Basketball Championship becoming now the second tier. The champions of the FIBA South American League would automatically earn a spot to the biennial World club competition of the McDonald's Championship which was supported by FIBA. Atenas in 1997 and Vasco da Gama in 1999 were the only two teams that represented South America in the competition which also included NBA champions. Atenas also represented South America as champions in the 1996 FIBA Intercontinental Cup.
With the emergence of the new panamerican competition called the FIBA Americas League, in December 2007, the FIBA South American League became the second-tier international club championship in South America, beginning with the 2008 edition of the competition. The winner was also allocated a spot in the following year's FIBA Americas League.
On 24 September 2019, FIBA launched the competition, which derives its name and branding from the European Basketball Champions League. The competition replaced the FIBA Americas League as premier league in the Americas. The competition will consist of twelve teams, which have to qualify through their domestic leagues. The inaugural season is expected to start in October 2019.
The 2020 and 2021 seasons were cancelled because of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.[1] In 2022, the league returned.
FIBA South American League levels on the South American pyramid
