The Basketball Bundesliga is run by the Basketball Bundesliga GmbH. The gold winning team is the German Basketball Cup winner. The final four remaining teams determine the rankings for bronze, silver, and gold medals, in knock-out matches that are termed the BBL-TOP4.
If more teams from the leagues below the BBL level apply for participation, then available places, and additional qualification rounds are added for them. There are always 3 knock-out rounds that are played for the BBL-Cup. Teams playing in the second league ( ProA or ProB), or in a lower level Regionalliga, are also eligible to participate in the BBL-Cup. In addition to the league competition, all BBL teams compete for the German Basketball Cup.
The winning team of the final round are crowned the German Champions of that season. The playoffs are played in a ' Best of five' format. At the end of the league stage, the top eight teams qualify for the playoff stage, and the teams positioned in the 17th and 18th places are relegated to a lower-tier league. A BBL season is split into a league stage and a playoff stage.
The Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) ( English language: Federal Basketball League), for sponsorship reasons named eas圜redit BBL, is the highest level league of professional club basketball in Germany.
