1. deild karla or D1 is the second-tier basketball competition among clubs in Iceland. It is organized by the Icelandic Basketball Federation. The season consists of a home-and-away schedule of 18 games, followed by a four-team playoff round. Both semifinals and finals series are best-of-three. The top team from the regular-season phase and the four-team playoff round winner are promoted to the Úrvalsdeild karla. The bottom club is relegated, and replaced by the four-team playoff round winner of the third-tier 2. deild karla.
History
Creation
The First Division was founded in 1964. Up until 1978 it was known as Second Division.
For the first years, from its foundation in 1964 until the 1970–71 season, the First Division was led by the ÍS and ÍKF.
Fram Reykjavík's leadership
Some years later, from the 1974–75 season, the Fram Reykjavík started their leadership on the First Division and their series of wins, that ended in the 1985–86 season when they won their fourth title.
In 1979, Danny Shouse joined Ármann and took the league by storm. On December 1, 1979, Shouse scored 100 points against Skallagrímur, setting the Icelandic single game scoring record. In January 1980 he scored 76 points in an overtime loss against Grindavík and in February he broke the 70 point barrier again, scoring 72 points against Þór Akureyri. His scoring prowess helped Ármann win Division I and achieve promotion to the Úrvalsdeild karla. Even though Shouse played in the nations tier 2 league during his first season, he was widely regarded as one of the best players in the country.
After their golden years, in which they won 15 Úrvalsdeild karla titles in less than 25 years, the ÍR was relegated to the First Division. In the 1986–87 season they won for their first time the First Division and came back to the Úrvalsdeild karla. Afterwards, the ÍR was relegated again to the First Division. In the 1999–00 season they won their second First Division title and came back to the Úrvalsdeild karla.
Modern era
In the 2006–07 season, Þór Akureyri won their fifth title. In the following season, the 2007–08 season, also the Breiðablik won their fifth title, becoming the most successful franchise together with the Þór Akureyri. In the 2011–12 season, the KFÍ won their fourth title. On 13 March 2020, the rest of the 2019–20 season was postponed due the coronavirus outbreak in Iceland.
Teams
The First Division originated in 1964 and, currently, consists of 9 teams. Þór Akureyri have won the most championships with 6 First Division wins. The current First Division teams for the 2019–20 season are:
ÍKF merged into Ungmennafélag Njarðvíkur in 1969 and became its basketball subdivision. It is today known as Njarðvík. The club won 2 titles under the ÍKF name and has added 1 more after the merger
Hrafn Kristjánsson
Chris Caird
Benjamin Young Kil