Baloncesto Superior Nacional

The Baloncesto Superior Nacional, abbreviated as BSN, is the first-tier-level professional men's basketball league in Puerto Rico. It was founded in 1929 and is organized by the Puerto Rican Basketball Federation.
The Baloncesto Superior Nacional, which is played under FIBA rules, currently consists of 8 teams, of which the most successful have been Leones de Ponce, Atléticos de San Germán and Vaqueros de Bayamón with 14 titles each. The league has produced players that have distinguished themselves in the NBA, EuroLeague, Spain's ACB, and other tournaments throughout the world. Among them, NBA players Butch Lee, José Ortiz, Ramón Rivas, Daniel Santiago, Carlos Arroyo and José Juan Barea started their careers playing for BSN teams.

History

The league began in 1930, and is noted for having had several head coaches who went on to achieve international recognition later in their careers. Among those are Basketball Hall of Fame members Tex Winter and Red Holzman, who coached the Leones de Ponce in the 1960s, and Phil Jackson, who coached the Piratas de Quebradillas and Gallitos de Isabela in the late 1980s. Others notable coaches who have worked for BSN teams include Gene Bartow, Lou Rossini, Del Harris, P. J. Carlesimo, Bernie Bickerstaff and Herb Brown.
During the 1980s, notable players followed in the footsteps of players such as Juan "Pachin" Vicens and Butch Lee, the first Puerto Rican and BSN player to enter the NBA. Among those are: Mario 'Quijote' Morales, Raymond Dalmau, Jose 'Piculin' Ortiz, Ramón Rivas, Jerome Mincy, Georgie Torres, Angelo Cruz, Angel Santiago, the late Federico 'Fico' Lopez, Rolando Frazer, Mario Butler, and Rubén Rodríguez, who showcased their talents to all of Puerto Rico's TV viewers and game goers.
On October 8, 2015, the BSN team owners selected Fernando Quiñones Bodea to succeed Carlos J. Beltrán as president of the league.

Competition format

Regular season

The BSN tournament is played under the regular FIBA basketball rules. The teams regularly play a total of four games amongst them. For the 2017, the regular season will extend to 36 games. Of the 10 participating teams, the top 8 move on to the postseason.

Postseason

Current teams

Team	Home city	Arena	Capacity
Cariduros de Fajardo	Fajardo, Puerto Rico	Tomas Dones Coliseum
Leones de Ponce	Ponce, Puerto Rico	Juan Pachín Vicéns Auditorium
Atléticos de San Germán	San Germán, Puerto Rico	Arquelio Torres Ramírez Coliseum
Vaqueros de Bayamón	Bayamón, Puerto Rico	Ruben Rodriguez Coliseum
Santeros de Aguada	Aguada, Puerto Rico	Ismael Delgado Coliseum
Piratas de Quebradillas	Quebradillas, Puerto Rico	Raymond Dalmau Coliseum
Capitanes de Arecibo	Arecibo, Puerto Rico	Manuel Iguina Coliseum
Indios de Mayagüez	Mayagüez, Puerto Rico	Palacio de Recreación y Deportes
Brujos de Guayama	Guayama, Puerto Rico	Dr. Roque Nido Stella Coliseum

Defunct teams

Polluelos de Aibonito
Played their home games at Cancha Marron Aponte

Aguada
Conquistadores de Aguada

Aguadilla
Tiburones de Aguadilla
Played their home games at the Luis T. Diaz Coliseum
Cabo Rojo
Taínos de Cabo Rojo
Played their home games at Rebekah Colberg Cabrera Coliseum
Caguas
Criollos de Caguas
Played their home games at Héctor Solá Besares Coliseum

Canóvanas
Indios de Canóvanas
Played their home games at Coliseo Carlos Miguel Mangual
Carolina
Gigantes de Carolina
Played their home games at the Guillermo Angulo Coliseum
Cayey
Toritos de Cayey
Played their home games at the Cayey Municipal Coliseum
Isabela
Gallitos de Isabela
Played their home games at the Jose Abreu Coliseum
Santurce
Cangrejeros de Santurce
Played their home games at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum
Humacao
Caciques de Humacao
Played their home games at the Humacao Arena
Morovis
Titanes de Morovis
Played their home games in the José Pepe Huyke Coliseum
Villalba
Avancinos de Villalba
Played their home games at the José Ibem Marrero Coliseum
Manati
Atenienses de Manatí
Played their home games at the Juan Cruz Abreu Coliseum

League records

Rubén Rodríguez established most of the early long-standing records in the BSN. He broke both the single-season points record with 810 in 1978 and the highest career points record with 11,549. The current holder of the career mark is Georgie Torres, who broke it before retiring in 2001 with 15,863 points in 679 games, playing his entire career after the establishment of the three-point line. Rodríguez also holds the mark for most rebounds in a career with 6,178. He also held the single-season rebound record with 380 in 1978, which stood until Lee Benson broke it in 2008. Currently, Neftalí Rivera holds the record for most points in a game in the Baloncesto Superior Nacional when he scored 79 points on May 22, 1974. In that game he achieve the record by making 34 field goals and 11 free throws. In 1989, Pablo Alicea of the Gigantes de Carolina established a record for most assists in one game with 25. The record stood for over two decades until May 1, 2012, when Jonathan García of the Caciques de Humacao broke it recording 33 assists against the Brujos de Guayama. García's mark is an unofficial world record pending the approval of Guinness World Records, since there is no higher number recorded in any amateur or professional international league or in FIBA competition. During this game, the Caciques also established the team points record for a single game with 130 and for most scored during a single quarter with 46. The Vaqueros de Bayamón hosted the game with highest attendance in the league, with 17,621 fans attending a home game against Río Piedras on September 8, 1969. This bested the previous top of 16,564 in a game between Ponce and Santurce. The Vaqueros also hold the record for most consecutive championships, winning five from 1971 to 1975.

Championships

Number of championships won by teams

*These titles are from Farmacia Martin, a team that later merged with the Atléticos de San Germán
BSN awards

BSN statistical leaders

^	Active player
*	Inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame

BSN all-time scoring leaders

Rank	Player	Position	Nationality	Years	Total points	Games played	Points per game average
1		SG		1975–2001	15,863	679	23.4
2		SF		1975–1998	15,293	675	22.7
3		C		1980–2008	12,252	779	15.7
4	Rolando Frazer	C		1980–2001	12,096	603	20.1
5		PG		1966–1985	11,592	537	21.6
6		PF		1969–1991	11,549	631	18.3
7	Roberto Ríos	PG		1978–2000	11,312	681	16.6
8	Ángel Santiago	SF		1973–1996	11,287	617	18.3
9	José Quiñonez	PF		??–??	11,012	579	19
10	Christian Dalmau	PG		1992–2003, 2009–2017	10,363	605	17.1

Note: Christian Dalmau has been updated to show that he retired in 2017 - but his stats are from 2015.

BSN all-time rebounding leaders

Rank	Player	Pos	Years	Reb	GP	RPG
1	Mario Butler	C	1980–2008	8,236	779	10.6
2	Rubén Rodríguez	F/C	1969–1991	6,178	631	9.8
3	Rolando Frazer	C	1980–2001	6,153	603	10.2
4	Raymond Dalmau	F/C	1966–1985	5,673	537	10.6
5	Mario Morales	G/F	1975–1998	5,665	675	8.4
6	José Ortíz	C	1980–2006	5,314	505	10.5
7	Carlos Bermúdez	F	1970–1984	4,884	422	11.6
8	Edgar de León	F/C	1981–2001	4,837	493	9.8
9	Teófilo Cruz*	C	1957–1982	4,672	584	8
10	Angel Santiago	F	1973–1996	4,447	617	7.2

BSN all-time assists leaders

Rank	Player	Position	Years	Total AST	GP	APG
1	James Carter	PG	1987–2006	3,025	543	5.6
2	Pablo Alicea	PG	1987–2006	2,762	503	5.5
3	Christian Dalmau	PG/SG	1992–2003, 2009–2017	2,752	577	4.8
4	Javier Antonio Colón	PG	1987–2008	2,748	555	5.0
5	Federico López	PG	1981–1997	2,440	446	5.5
6	Roberto Ríos	G/F	1978–2000	2,315	681	3.4
7	Raymond Dalmau	F/C	1966–1985	2,302	537	5.1
8	Wilfredo Pagan^	PG	1992–Present	2,291	619	3.7
9	Bobby Joe Hatton	PG	1994–2012	2,235	489	4.6
10	George Torres	G/F	1975–2001	2,203	679	3.2