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Úrvalsdeild karla (basketball)

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Úrvalsdeild karla (English: Men's Premier League), also known as Bónus deild karla for sponsorship reasons, is the highest men's professional basketball competition among clubs in Iceland, where play determines the national champion. It is organized by the Icelandic Basketball Federation (Icelandic: Körfuknattleikssamband Íslands - KKÍ). The season consists of a home-and-away schedule of 22 games, followed by an eight-team playoff round. Quarterfinals, semifinals and finals series are best-of-five. The bottom clubs are relegated, and replaced by the top team from the regular-season phase and the four-team playoff round winner of the second-level First Division (Icelandic: 1. deild karla).

Úrvalsdeild karla
Founded1951; 73 years ago (1951)
First season1952
CountryIceland
ConfederationFIBA Europe
Number of teams12
Level on pyramid1
Relegation to1. deild
Domestic cup(s)Bikarkeppni KKÍ
SupercupMeistarakeppni karla
Current championsValur (4th title)
Most championshipsKR (18 titles)
All-time top scorerValur Ingimundarson
CEOHannes S. Jónsson
TV partnersStöð 2 Sport
Websitewww.kki.is
2024–25 Úrvalsdeild karla

History

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Creation and first years 1951-1959

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The league was founded in 1951 as 1. deild karla (English: Men's 1st division) and its first season was played in April 1952 with five teams, Íþróttafélag Keflavíkurflugvallar (ÍKF), Íþróttafélag Reykjavíkur (ÍR), Íþróttafélag Stúdenta (ÍS), Gosi and Glímufélagið Ármann, participating. The team of ÍKF had the advantage of its close proximity with the US Naval Air Station at Keflavík International Airport and therefore could play competitive games with American players who had high school and college experience. They were furthermore coached by two American naval personnel, Gene Crowley and John Wahl. During the tournament, ÍKF won all four of its games with an average of 10.8 points.[1]

For the first years decade the league was dominated by ÍKF (with 4 wins) and ÍR (with 3 wins); with ÍS finally breaking their dominance in 1959.

ÍR's dominance and the arrival of the Americans 1960-1980

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From 1960 to 1964, ÍR, under the leadership of Helgi Jóhannsson, won five straight championships followed by KR winning four straight. From 1969 to 1977, ÍR added seven championships in 9 years. Its last victory in 1977 marked an end of an era and the rise of the Suðurnes rivals Keflavík and Njarðvík.

In September 1975, Jimmy Rogers became the first foreign born professional basketball player in Iceland[2] when he signed a three-month contract with Ármann in preparations for their games against Honka Playboys in the FIBA European Cup Winners' Cup.[3] Shortly later, KR signed fellow American Curtis Carter who immediately caught the attention of the fans and media with his powerful play and dunks.[4] Together, they were credited for revolutionizing the Icelandic basketball scene.[5][6] More Americans followed, including Rick Hockenos, Tim Dwyer and Danny Shouse.

Njarðvík's leadership

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The next two decades, exactly from 1980–81 season to the 1997–98 season, Njarðvík (known as ÍKF until 1969)[7][8] lead the league with 10 wins. In the same period, Keflavík won 4 titles and the KR won their eighth title.

Modern era

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From the 2000–01 season, many teams have divided the lead of the league. In the 2005–06 season, the Njarðvík won their thirteenth title. In the following season, the 2006–07 season, the KR won their tenth title and one more year later, in the 2007–08 season, the Keflavík won their ninth title.

In July 2024, supermarket chain Bónus became the main sponsor of KKÍ, with the Úrvalsdeild taking the name Bónus deild karla.[9]

Teams

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The Úrvalsdeild karla originated in 1951 and, currently, consists of 12 teams. The current Úrvalsdeild karla teams for the 2021–22 season are:

Team City, Region Arena Founded Colours Head coach
Álftanes Álftanes Forsetahöllin 2007       Kjartan Atli Kjartansson
Grindavík Grindavík HS-Orku Höllin 1972         Jóhann Þór Ólafsson
Haukar Hafnarfjörður Ásvellir 1971       Máté Dalmay
Höttur Egilsstaðir MVA Höllin 1974         Viðar Örn Hafsteinsson
ÍR Reykjavík Hertz Hellirinn 1950       Borce Ilievski
Keflavík Keflavík Blue Höllin 1974       Pétur Ingvarsson
KR Reykjavík DHL Höllin 1956       Jakob Sigurðarson
Njarðvík Njarðvík Ljónagryfjan 1952 (as ÍKF)       Benedikt Guðmundsson
Stjarnan Garðabær Mathús Garðabæjar Höllin 1993       Arnar Guðjónsson
Tindastóll Sauðárkrókur Sauðárkrókur 1907         Pavel Ermolinskij
Valur Reykjavík Origo Höllin 1951 (as Gosi)         Finnur Freyr Stefánsson
Þór Þorlákshöfn Þorlákshöfn Icelandic Glacial Höllin 1991         Lárus Jónsson

Champions

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Season Champion Score Runner-up Champion's coach
1952 ÍKF League ÍR   Gene Croley and   Jom Wahl[10]
1953 ÍKF (2) ÍR
1954 ÍR ÍKF   Helgi Jóhannsson[11]
1955 ÍR (2) Gosi   Helgi Jóhannsson[11]
1956 ÍKF (3) ÍR
1957 ÍR (3)   Helgi Jóhannsson[11]
1958 ÍKF (4) ÍS
1959 ÍS[12] ÍR
1960 ÍR (4) KFR   Helgi Jóhannsson[13]
1961 ÍR (5) KFR   Helgi Jóhannsson[14]
1962 ÍR (6) Ármann   Helgi Jóhannsson[15][16]
1963 ÍR (7) Ármann   Helgi Jóhannsson[17][18] and   Einar Ólafsson
1964 ÍR (8) Ármann   Helgi Jóhannsson[19]
1965 KR 64–54[a] ÍR   Philip Bensing[b][20]
1966 KR (2) League ÍR   Philip Bensing or   Thomas Curren[c]
1967 KR (3) 72–43[d] ÍR   Einar Bollason
1968 KR (4) League ÍR   Gordon Godfrey
1969 ÍR (9) 68–41[e] KR   Einar Ólafsson[23]
1970 ÍR (10) 2–0[f] Ármann   Einar Ólafsson[24]
1971 ÍR (11) League KR   Einar Ólafsson[25]
1972 ÍR (12) 85–76[g] KR   Einar Ólafsson[26]
1972–73 ÍR (13) 91–73[h] KR   Einar Ólafsson[27]
1973–74 KR (5) 85–84[i] Ármann   Einar Bollason
1974–75 ÍR (14) League KR   Einar Ólafsson[28]
1975–76 Ármann ÍR   Ingvar Sigurbjörnsson
1976–77 ÍR (15) KR   Þorsteinn Hallgrímsson
1977–78 KR (6) 96–88[j] Njarðvík   Andrew Piazza
1978–79 KR (7) 77–75[k] Valur   Gunnar Gunnarsson
1979–80 Valur League Njarðvík   Tim Dwyer
1980–81 Njarðvík (5)* Valur   Danny Shouse
1981–82 Njarðvík (6) Fram   Hilmar Hafsteinsson
1982–83 Valur (2) Keflavík   Tim Dwyer (2)
1983–84 Njarðvík (7) 2–0 Valur   Gunnar Þorvarðarson
1984–85 Njarðvík (8) 2–1 Haukar   Gunnar Þorvarðarson (2)
1985–86 Njarðvík (9) 2–0 Haukar   Gunnar Þorvarðarson (3)
1986–87 Njarðvík (10) 2–0 Valur   Valur Ingimundarson
1987–88 Haukar 2–1 Njarðvík   Pálmar Sigurðsson
1988–89 Keflavík 2–1 KR   Jón Kr. Gíslason
1989–90 KR (8) 3–0 Keflavík   Dr. László Németh
1990–91 Njarðvík (11) 3–2 Keflavík   Friðrik Ingi Rúnarsson
1991–92 Keflavík (2) 3–2 Valur   Jón Kr. Gíslason (2)
1992–93 Keflavík (3) 3–0 Haukar   Jón Kr. Gíslason (3)
1993–94 Njarðvík (12) 3–2 Grindavík   Valur Ingimundarson (2)
1994–95 Njarðvík (13) 4–2 Grindavík   Valur Ingimundarson (3)
1995–96 Grindavík 4–2 Keflavík   Friðrik Ingi Rúnarsson (2)
1996–97 Keflavík (4) 3–0 Grindavík   Sigurður Ingimundarson
1997–98 Njarðvík (14) 3–0 KR   Friðrik Ingi Rúnarsson (3)
1998–99 Keflavík (5) 3–2 Njarðvík   Sigurður Ingimundarson (2)
1999–00 KR (9) 3–1 Grindavík   Ingi Þór Steinþórsson
2000–01 Njarðvík (15) 3–1 Tindastóll   Friðrik Ragnarsson and   Teitur Örlygsson
2001–02 Njarðvík (16) 3–0 Keflavík   Friðrik Ragnarsson (2)
2002–03 Keflavík (6) 3–0 Grindavík   Sigurður Ingimundarson (3)
2003–04 Keflavík (7) 3–1 Snæfell   Falur Harðarson and   Guðjón Skúlason
2004–05 Keflavík (8) 3–1 Snæfell   Sigurður Ingimundarson (4)
2005–06 Njarðvík (17) 3–1 Skallagrímur   Einar Árni Jóhannsson
2006–07 KR (10) 3–1 Njarðvík   Benedikt Guðmundsson
2007–08 Keflavík (9) 3–0 Snæfell   Sigurður Ingimundarson (5)
2008–09 KR (11) 3–2 Grindavík   Benedikt Guðmundsson (2)
2009–10 Snæfell 3–2 Keflavík   Ingi Þór Steinþórsson (2)
2010–11 KR (12) 3–1 Stjarnan   Hrafn Kristjánsson
2011–12 Grindavík (2) 3–1 Þór Þorlákshöfn   Helgi Jónas Guðfinnsson
2012–13 Grindavík (3) 3–2 Stjarnan   Sverrir Þór Sverrisson
2013–14 KR (13) 3–1 Grindavík   Finnur Freyr Stefánsson
2014–15 KR (14) 3–1 Tindastóll   Finnur Freyr Stefánsson (2)
2015–16 KR (15) 3–1 Haukar   Finnur Freyr Stefánsson (3)
2016–17 KR (16) 3–2 Grindavík   Finnur Freyr Stefánsson (4)
2017–18 KR (17) 3–1 Tindastóll   Finnur Freyr Stefánsson (5)
2018–19 KR (18) 3–2 ÍR   Ingi Þór Steinþórsson (3)
2019–20 Season discontinued due to the COVID-19 outbreak[29]
2020–21 Þór Þorlákshöfn (1) 3–1 Keflavík   Lárus Jónsson (1)
2021–22 Valur (3) 3–2 Tindastóll   Finnur Freyr Stefánsson (6)
2022–23 Tindastóll (1) 3–2 Valur   Pavel Ermolinskij (1)

Notes

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  1. ^ As KR and ÍR tied at the end of the season, an extra game was played for tiebreaking.
  2. ^ Last name sometimes spelled Benzing.
  3. ^ The Icelandic Basketball Association lists Bensing as the coach of the 1966 team[21] but other sources state that he left the job in December 1965 and that Curren started coaching at the club in January 1966. Curren was the head coach of the team during its games in the 1966–67 FIBA European Champions Cup in December 1966.[22]
  4. ^ As KR and ÍR tied at the end of the season, an extra game was played for tiebreaking.
  5. ^ As ÍR and KR tied at the end of the season, an extra game was played for tiebreaking.
  6. ^ ÍR won the championship after the leagues first playoffs.[24] A playoff format was not used again until the 1983–84 season.
  7. ^ As KR and ÍR tied at the end of the season, an extra game was played for tiebreaking.
  8. ^ As KR and ÍR tied at the end of the season, an extra game was played for tiebreaking.
  9. ^ As KR and Ármann tied at the end of the season, an extra game was played for tiebreaking.
  10. ^ As KR and Njarðvík tied at the end of the season, an extra game was played for tiebreaking.
  11. ^ As KR and Valur tied at the end of the season, an extra game was played for tiebreaking.

Titles per club

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Titles Club
18 KR
17 Njarðvík / ÍKF1
15 ÍR
9 Keflavík
4 Valur
3 Grindavík
1 Ármann, Haukar, ÍS, Snæfell, Tindastóll, Þór Þorlákshöfn
  1. ÍKF merged into Ungmennafélag Njarðvíkur in 1969 and became its basketball subdivision. It is today known as Njarðvík. The club won 4 titles under the ÍKF name and added 13 more after the merger

Statistical leaders

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The league has kept scoring stats since adopting the Úrvalsdeild karla name in 1978. During the 1988–1989 season, it added more categories, including rebounds, assists and steals and prior to the 1994–1995 season it added blocks.

Úrvalsdeild karla all-time scoring leaders

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Player nationality set by the player's national team affiliation. In bold, active players.

Stats through end of 2018–19 Úrvalsdeild karla season:

Rank Player Games Points Average
1.    Valur Ingimundarson  400  7,355  18.4
2.    Páll Axel Vilbergsson  407  6,949  17.1
3.    Guðjón Skúlason  409  6,649  16.3
4.    Teitur Örlygsson  405  6,579  16.2

Úrvalsdeild karla all-time rebounding leaders

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Player nationality set by the player's national team affiliation. In bold, active players.

Stats through the end of the 2020–21 Úrvalsdeild karla season:[30][31]

Rank Player Games Rebounds Average
1.    Hlynur Bæringsson  344  3,635  10.6
2.    Guðmundur Bragason1  332  3,260  9.8
3.    Friðrik Erlendur Stefánsson  357  3,212  9.0
4.    Ómar Örn Sævarsson  366  2,847  7.8
5.    John Rhodes  136  2,548  18.8
6.    Páll Axel Vilbergsson  407  2,471  6.1
7.    Rondey Robinson  167  2,476  14.8
8.    Jónatan James Bow  221  2,118  9.6

1 Statistics for rebounds where not kept during Guðmundur's first season. Overall, he played 348 games in the Úrvalsdeild.[32]

Úrvalsdeild karla all-time assists leaders

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Player nationality set by the player's national team affiliation. In bold, active players.

Stats through the end of the 2020–21 Úrvalsdeild karla season:

Rank Player Games Assists Average
1.    Justin Shouse  230  1,486  6.5
2.    Jón Arnar Ingvarsson  340  1,393  4.1
3.    Jón Kr. Gíslason1  214  1,359  4.1
4.    Hörður Axel Vilhjálmsson  225  1,337  5.9
5.    Eiríkur Önundarson  -  1,308  -
6.    Sverrir Þór Sverrisson  -  1,300  -

1 Assists where not counted during Jón Kr. Gíslason's first five seasons where he played 93 games.

Awards and honors

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Domestic All-First Team

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Main article: Úrvalsdeild Men's Domestic All-First Team

The Men's Domestic All-First Team is an annual Úrvalsdeild honor bestowed on the best players in the league following every season.

Domestic Player of the Year

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Main article: Úrvalsdeild Men's Domestic Player of the Year

Foreign Player of the Year

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Main article: Úrvalsdeild Men's Foreign Player of the Year

Úrvalsdeild Men's Playoffs MVP

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Main article: Úrvalsdeild Men's Playoffs MVP

Úrvalsdeild Playoffs MVP award is awarded annually to the player judged most valuable to his team during the Úrvalsdeild playoffs.

Defensive Player of the Year

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Main article: Úrvalsdeild Men's Defensive Player of the Year

Newcomer of the Year

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Main article: Úrvalsdeild Men's Young Player of the Year

Coach of the Year

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Main article: Úrvalsdeild Men's Coach of the Year

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Skapti Hallgrímsson (2001). Leikni framar líkamsburðum (in Icelandic). pp. 34–35. ISBN 9979-60-630-4.
  2. ^ "Ármenningar fá bandarískan risa". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 10 September 1975. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  3. ^ "Ármenningar sömdu við einn svartan í nótt!". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). 10 September 1975. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
  4. ^ ""Trukkurinn" vakti mikla hrifningu". Tíminn (in Icelandic). 14 October 1975. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  5. ^ "Vallarstarfsmenn fyrstu meistararnir". Fréttablaðið (in Icelandic). 7 November 2008. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
  6. ^ Stefán Kristjánsson (27 February 1988). "Bylting í körfunni". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). Retrieved 28 July 2018.
  7. ^ Ytri aðstæður og innri efling starfsins
  8. ^ Fram stofnar körfuknattleiksdeild
  9. ^ "KKÍ og Bónus gera með sér samstarfssamning". Icelandic Basketball Association (in Icelandic). 10 July 2024. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
  10. ^ Íþróttafél. Keflavíkurstarfsmanna vann Íslandsmótið
  11. ^ a b c Ágúst Ásgeirsson (11 March 2007). Heil öld til heilla - Saga ÍR í 100 ár. Íþróttafélag Reykjavíkur. p. 569.
  12. ^ "Íþróttafélag stúdenta Íslandsmeistari í körfuknattleik 1959". Þjóðviljinn (in Icelandic). 17 April 1959. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
  13. ^ Í.R. vann verðskuldaðan sigur
  14. ^ ÍR Íslandsmeistari í körfuknattleik
  15. ^ "Tímarit.is".
  16. ^ ÍR Íslandsmeistari 1962
  17. ^ ÍR átti mótið
  18. ^ Takmarkið með þátttöku er aðöðlast reynslu í harðri keppni
  19. ^ ÍR í evrópukeppnina í haust
  20. ^ "KR Íslandsmeistari". Þjóðviljinn (in Icelandic). 4 May 1965. p. 5.
  21. ^ "Meistaratitlar karla". kki.is (in Icelandic). Icelandic Basketball Association. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  22. ^ "Evrópumeistararnir Simmenthal leika við KR 18. þ.m." Þjóðviljinn (in Icelandic). 2 November 1966. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  23. ^ ÍR-ingar endurheimta Íslandsmeistaratitilinn í körfuknattleik
  24. ^ a b "ÍR hlaut titilinn". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 24 March 1970. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  25. ^ Íslandsmeistarar 1971
  26. ^ Sigurinn blasti við HSK
  27. ^ Átök, en síðan yfirburðasigur
  28. ^ ÍR-ingar urðu íslandsmeistarar í körfubolta
  29. ^ Ingvi Þór Sæmundsson (18 March 2020). "Körfuboltatímabilið blásið af - Engir Íslandsmeistarar". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  30. ^ "Körfuboltakvöld: Umræða um Sigga Þorsteins". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). 14 November 2021. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
  31. ^ "Heildartölfræði einstaklinga á úrvalsdeildarferlinum". kki.is (in Icelandic). Icelandic Basketball Association. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
  32. ^ "Guðmundur L Bragason: Ferillinn í úrvalsdeild". kki.is (in Icelandic). Icelandic Basketball Association. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
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