Vietnam Basketball Association
The Vietnam Basketball Association, abbreviated as VBA, is a Vietnamese national professional basketball league founded in 2016. It runs an annual tournament, the Vietnam Pro Basketball League.
History
The formation of the VBA was announced by charter team Saigon Heat following their completion of the 2015–16 ASEAN Basketball League season. Leading up to the inaugural season, the VBA expected that six teams would compete in the new league. However, only five teams were officially unveiled. To oversee league operations, the VBA looked to the Philippines for personnel with extensive basketball experience. Tonichi Pujante was named the inaugural league commissioner.Teams
The VBA started its inaugural season with five teams. The Thang Long Warriors was added as the sixth team in the 2017 season, followed by the Nha Trang Dolphins as the seventh in the 2020 season.
Regular season and playoffs
Following the summer break, the preseason typically begins in May. During this period, the teams build their 13–16-man rosters, with each team allowed to carry one foreign, two overseas Vietnamese, and 10 to 13 local players. The VBA regular season begins at the start of June and runs until the end of September. Each team plays 12 games, divided between six home and six away matches. At the end of the regular season, the league's overall leader is awarded the Fans' Shield.At the conclusion of the regular season, the playoffs begin. In the inaugural season, all teams are eligible for the tournament style playoffs. However, the teams that finish in the #4 and #5 seeds must meet each other in a wildcard game to proceed to the playoffs. The winner of the game meets the #1 seeded team. From the 2017 season onwards, there are six teams, and the wildcard game is scrapped. #1 will play #4 and the #2 seeded team meets the #3 seeded team in a best-of-three series. The winners then progress to the VBA finals.