Korisliiga

Korisliiga
Country	Finland
Founded	1939
Formerly	Koripallon SM-sarja 1939–1999 SM-koris 1999–2004 Sparliiga 2004–2005
Fed	Basketball Finland
Confed	FIBA Europe
Teams	12
Relegation	I-division A
Levels	1
Confed cup	Champions League FIBA Europe Cup
Champions	Salon Vilpas
Season	2025–26
Most champs	Pantterit (14 titles)
Tv	Ruutu+ Yle TV2 VeikkausTV
Website	korisliiga.fi
Current	2025–26 Korisliiga season

Korisliiga is the top-tier professional basketball league in Finland, comprising the top-twelve teams of the country. Pantterit hold the record for the most league titles won, with fourteen. Salon Vilpas are the reigning Finnish Champions (SM) after winning the playoff finals versus Joensuun Kataja in 2026.

The league was founded by Basketball Finland in 1939 as Koripallon SM-sarja (lit. 'Basketball Finnish Championship' or 'Basketball Finnish Championship series').^[a] It was renamed SM-koris ('Finnish Champion[ship] Basket') in 1999 and was known as Sparliiga during the 2004–05 season due to a sponsorship agreement with Spar. The current league name, Korisliiga ('Basket League'), has been used since 2005.

Season format

In its current format, each team plays all other teams two times in the regular season, once at home and once away, for a total of 22 regular season games. The top six teams advances continues to upper stage and the bottom six teams plays lower stage after 22 games, 5 games at home and 5 games at away versus all other teams in stage. The best two teams from lower group joins to playoffs with upper group teams.

Playoffs are played best of seven format, except the quarter-finals which are played best of 5 format.

Teams

Current teams

Team	City	Home arena	Founded	Head coach
Helsinki Seagulls	Helsinki	Töölön kisahalli	2013	Timo Saukkola
Joensuun Kataja	Joensuu	Motonet Areena	1949	Petri Virtanen
Kauhajoen Karhu	Kauhajoki	IKH Areena	1910	Janne Koskimies
Kobrat	Lapua	Kobra-Areena	1989	Ville Turja
Korihait	Uusikaupunki	Uusikaupunki Areena	1974	Ivan Ivanovic
Kouvot	Kouvola	MLL Areena	1964	Kari Kurronen
KTP-Basket	Kotka	Steveco Areena	1927	Darko Mihajlovic
BC Nokia	Nokia	Harjuniityn palloiluhalli	1997	Greg Gibson
Salon Vilpas	Salo	Salohalli	1908	Jussi Savolainen
Tampereen Pyrintö	Tampere	Pyynikin palloiluhalli	1896	Tero Vasell
Bisons Loimaa	Loimaa	Loimaan liikuntahalli	1964	Konsta Mastomäki
Tapiolan Honka	Espoo	Tapiolan Urheiluhalli	1957	Aapo Heinonen

From 2000s, Korisliiga in timeline

2000– 2001	2001– 2002	2002– 2003	2003– 2004	2004– 2005	2005– 2006	2006– 2007	2007– 2008	2008– 2009	2009– 2010	2010– 2011	2011– 2012	2012– 2013	2013– 2014	2014– 2015	2015– 2016
Pyrbasket					Pyrintö
KTP
Kouvot
	Kataja
Namika Lahti
Vilpas
Korihait
							Karhu
LrNMKY													N. Lpr
Espoon Honka
													Tapiolan Honka
		Tarmo
											LoKoKo
					ToPo
														Seagulls
												Kobrat
	FoKoPo
T. Comp.
Pussihukat
				Aura Basket
Huima
	BC Jyväskylä
BC Nokia
SäyRi
Pantterit

Title holders

1938–39 Ylioppilaskoripalloilijat
1939–40 Eiran Kisa-Veikot
1940–41 Kadettikoulu
1941–43 Not held due to WWII
1943–44 Kiri-Veikot
1944–45 Kiri-Veikot
1945–46 NMKY Helsinki
1946–47 NMKY Helsinki
1947–48 Kiri-Veikot
1948–49 HOK-Veikot
1949–50 HOK-Veikot
1950–51 HOK-Veikot
1951–52 HOK-Veikot
1952–53 Pantterit
1953–54 Pantterit
1954–55 Pantterit
1955–56 Pantterit
1956–57 Pantterit
1957–58 KTP
1958–59 Pantterit
1959–60 Torpan Pojat
1960–61 Helsingin Kisa-Toverit
1961–62 Helsingin Kisa-Toverit
1962–63 Helsingin Kisa-Toverit
1963–64 Helsingin Kisa-Toverit
1964–65 Helsingin Kisa-Toverit
1965–66 Torpan Pojat
1966–67 KTP
1967–68 Tapion Honka
1968–69 Tapion Honka
1969–70 Tapion Honka
1970–71 Tapion Honka
1971–72 Tapion Honka
1972–73 Turun NMKY
1973–74 Honka Playboys
1974–75 Turun NMKY
1975–76 Honka Playboys
1976–77 Turun NMKY
1977–78 Torpan Pojat
1978–79 Playhonka
1979–80 Pantterit
1980–81 Torpan Pojat
1981–82 Turun NMKY
1982–83 Torpan Pojat
1983–84 NMKY Helsinki
1984–85 NMKY Helsinki
1985–86 Torpan Pojat
1986–87 NMKY Helsinki
1987–88 KTP
1988–89 NMKY Helsinki
1989–90 Uudenkaupungin Urheilijat
1990–91 KTP
1991–92 NMKY Helsinki
1992–93 KTP
1993–94 KTP
1994–95 Kouvot
1995–96 Torpan Pojat
1996–97 Torpan Pojat
1997–98 Torpan Pojat
1998–99 Kouvot
1999-00 Namika Lahti
2000–01 Espoon Honka
2001–02 Espoon Honka
2002–03 Espoon Honka
2003–04 Kouvot
2004–05 Lappeenrannan NMKY
2005–06 Lappeenrannan NMKY
2006–07 Espoon Honka
2007–08 Espoon Honka
2008–09 Namika Lahti
2009–10 Tampereen Pyrintö
2010–11 Tampereen Pyrintö
2011–12 Bisons Loimaa (Nilan)
2012–13 Bisons Loimaa (Nilan)
2013–14 Tampereen Pyrintö
2014–15 Kataja
2015–16 Kouvot
2016–17 Kataja
2017–18 Kauhajoki Karhu
2018–19 Kauhajoki Karhu
2019–20 None
2020–21 Salon Vilpas
2021–22 Kauhajoki Karhu
2022–23 Helsinki Seagulls
2023–24 BC Nokia
2024–25 Helsinki Seagulls
2025–26 Salon Vilpas

Finals

Season	Champion	Runner-up	Finals score	Bronze medal
1980–81	Torpan Pojat	Tampereen Pyrintö	3–0	Hyvinkään Tahko
1981–82	Turun NMKY	Pantterit	3–2	KTP Basket
1982–83	Torpan Pojat	Pantterit	3–2	Turun NMKY
1983–84	Helsingin NMKY	Tapiolan Honka	3–0	KTP Basket
1984–85	Helsingin NMKY	KTP Basket	3–1	UU
1985–86	Torpan Pojat	KTP Basket	3–1	Helsingin NMKY
1986–87	Helsingin NMKY	KTP Basket	3–0	UU
1987–88	KTP Basket	Helsingin NMKY	3–2	Torpan Pojat
1988–89	Helsingin NMKY	HoNsU	3–2	Pantterit
1989–90	UU	KTP Basket	3–1	Helsingin NMKY
1990–91	KTP Basket	HoNsU	3–2	Torpan Pojat
1991–92	Helsingin NMKY	Pantterit	4–2	UU
1992–93	KTP Basket	Torpan Pojat	3–0	HoNsU
1993–94	KTP Basket	Torpan Pojat	3–2	Forssan Koripojat
1994–95	Kouvot	Korihait	3–1	Torpan Pojat
1995–96	Torpan Pojat	Namika Lahti		Espoon Honka
1996–97	Torpan Pojat	Kouvot		Espoon Honka
1997–98	Torpan Pojat	Kouvot		Espoon Honka
1998–99	Kouvot	Espoon Honka	3–1	Turun NMKY
1999–00	Namika Lahti	Torpan Pojat	3–2	Espoon Honka
2000–01	Espoon Honka	Tampereen Pyrintö	3–0	Namika Lahti
2001–02	Espoon Honka	Namika Lahti	3–2	Kataja
2002–03	Espoon Honka	Kataja	3–1	Pussihukat
2003–04	Kouvot	Namika Lahti	3–1	KTP Basket
2004–05	Lappeenrannan NMKY	Pussihukat	3–2	Kataja
2005–06	Lappeenrannan NMKY	Kataja	3–2	Espoon Honka
2006–07	Espoon Honka	Namika Lahti	3–0	Kataja
2007–08	Espoon Honka	Kouvot	3–1	Lappeenrannan NMKY
2008–09	Namika Lahti	Kataja	3–0	Tampereen Pyrintö
2009–10	Tampereen Pyrintö	Torpan Pojat	3–2	Kouvot
2010–11	Tampereen Pyrintö	Kataja	3–2	KTP Basket
2011–12	Bisons Loimaa	Kataja	3–1	Torpan Pojat
2012–13	Bisons Loimaa	KTP Basket	3–2	Kataja
2013–14	Tampereen Pyrintö	Kataja	3–1	Bisons Loimaa
2014–15	Kataja	Bisons Loimaa	3–2	KTP
2015–16	Kouvot	Tampereen Pyrintö	4–1	BC Nokia
2016–17	Kataja	Salon Vilpas	4–2	Helsinki Seagulls
2017–18	Kauhajoki Karhu	Salon Vilpas	4–2	Helsinki Seagulls
2018–19	Kauhajoki Karhu	Kouvot	4–1	KTP
2019–20	Not awarded due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2020–21	Salon Vilpas	Kauhajoki Karhu	4–2	Helsinki Seagulls
2021–22	Kauhajoki Karhu	Salon Vilpas	3–1	Helsinki Seagulls
2022–23	Helsinki Seagulls	Kauhajoki Karhu	4–2	Kataja Basket
2023–24	BC Nokia	Helsinki Seagulls	4–3	Kauhajoki Karhu
2024–25	Helsinki Seagulls	Kauhajoki Karhu	4–0	Salon Vilpas
2025–26	Salon Vilpas	Kataja BC	4–3	Helsinki Seagulls

Performance by club

Teams shown in italics are no longer in existence.

Korisliiga winners by club
Club	Wins	Seasons won
Pantterit	14	1944, 1945, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1959, 1980
Torpan Pojat	9	1960, 1966, 1978, 1981, 1983, 1986, 1996, 1997, 1998
Espoon Honka	8	1974, 1976, 1979, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2008
Helsingin NMKY	7	1946, 1947, 1984, 1985,1987, 1989, 1992
KTP	6	1958, 1967, 1988, 1991, 1993, 1994
HKT	5	1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965
Tapiolan Honka	5	1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972
Turun NMKY	4	1973, 1975, 1977, 1982
Kouvot	4	1995, 1999, 2004, 2016
Pyrintö	3	2010, 2011, 2014
Kauhajoki Karhu	3	2018, 2019, 2022
Namika Lahti	2	2000, 2009
Lappeenrannan NMKY	2	2005, 2006
Bisons Loimaa	2	2012, 2013
Kataja	2	2015, 2017
Salon Vilpas	2	2021, 2026
Helsinki Seagulls	2	2023, 2025
Ylioppilaskoripalloilijat	1	1939
Eiran Kisa-Veikot	1	1940
Kadettikoulu	1	1941
Korihait	1	1990
BC Nokia	1	2024

Records

All-time table of teams

Updated after the 2021–22 season.^[1]

Rank	Team	Seasons	GP	W	L	D	W%
1.	KTP-Basket	67	2283	1273	1009	1	55.8	6	7	12
2.	Torpan Pojat	51	1663	995	662	6	59.8	9	9	7
3.	Tampereen Pyrintö	57	1921	962	950	9	50.1	3	5	1
4.	Kouvot	31	1311	711	600	0	54.2	4	4	1
5.	Kataja Basket	29	1230	705	525	0	57.3	2	6	5
6.	Pantterit	54	1284	695	582	7	54.1	14	4	3
7.	Korihait	40	1542	664	878	0	43.1	1	1	3
8.	Helsingin NMKY	48	1191	645	543	3	54.2	7	3	8
9.	Namika Lahti	35	1249	639	610	0	51.2	2	4	1
10.	Tapiolan Honka 00ers	36	1089	600	489	0	55.1	6	5	5

All-time individual player records

Career leaders

The following table lists the all-time cumulative record holder in each category, inclusive of regular season and playoff games.^[2]

Category	Player	Total	Games played
Games	Timo Heinonen	1,023
Points	/ Gerald Lee Sr.	14,088	639
Rebounds	Damon Williams	5,674	580
Assists	Bojan Šarčević	3,379	772
Steals	/ Gerald Lee Sr.	1,267	639
Blocks	Pekka Markkanen	678	426

Single-season leaders

The following table lists the single-season record holder in each category, only regular season statistics are included.^[3]

Category	Player	Total	Season
Points	Joe Wright	1,367	1991–92
Rebounds	Raymond White	692	1981–82
Assists	Teemu Rannikko	336	2015–16
Steals	Obie Trotter	136	2009–10
Blocks	Faisal Abraham	149	1998–99

Single-game records

The following table lists the single-game record holder in each category, inclusive of regular season and playoff games.^[4]

Category	Player	Record	Date	Game
Points	Joe Wright	79	12 February 1992	Turun NMKY 117–145 Pantterit
Rebounds	/ Garcia Hopkins	42	16 February 1986	Tampereen Pyrintö 131–80 Säynätsalon Riento
Assists	Petri Niiranen	23	16 February 1992	Helsingin NMKY 129–112 Turun NMKY
Efficiency	/ Larry Pounds	70	24 November 1985	KTP-Basket 100–73 Säynätsalo Riento
Steals	/ Gerald Lee Sr.	12	15 February 1989	Uudenkaupungin Urheilijat 108–91 Pantterit
Blocks	Damon Vance	14	23 March 1988	Forssan Koripojat 102–111 Salon Palloilijat
2-point field goals	Cheyenne Jones	25	4 December 1982	Joensuun Kataja 92–96 Tampereen Pyrintö
3-point field goals	Adonis Jordan	14	17 October 1999	Espoon Honka 98–84 Pussihukat
Free throws	Joe Wright	21	15 January 1992	Turun NMKY 112–102 KTP-Basket

Awards

Finnish Basketball Hall of Fame

Seasonal awards

Attendance

Averages

Season	Avg
1985–1986	248
1986–1987	546
1987–1988	550
1988–1989	367
1989–1990	609
1990–1991	686
1991–1992	643
1992–1993	571
1993–1994	588
1994–1995	660
1995–1996	719
1996–1997	668
1997–1998	793
1998–1999	809
1999–2000	785
2000–2001	736
2001–2002	790
2002–2003	728
2003–2004	808
2004–2005	850
2005–2006	863
2006–2007	918
2007–2008	883
2008–2009	911
2009–2010	905
2010–2011	868
2011–2012	949
2012–2013	776
2013–2014	861
2014–2015	938
2015–2016	1,024
2016–2017	1,017
2017–2018	874
2018–2019	907
2019–2020	830
2020–2021	144
2021–2022	640
2022–2023	879

Records^[5]

Attendance	Game	Year
7,420	Torpan Pojat – Espoon Honka	2005
6,580	Torpan Pojat – Kouvot	1998
6,500	Turun NMKY – Forssan Koripojat	1990
5,450	Espoon Honka – Namika Lahti	2002
5,128	Espoon Honka – Piiloset	2000
4,630	Namika Lahti – Kouvot	2004
4,097	Torpan Pojat – Karkkilan Urheilijat	1998
3,900	Kataja Basket — Salon Vilpas	2017

References

^ "Historia" (in Finnish). www.basket.fi. Retrieved 2022-08-09.
^ "Player statistics > Totals > All seasons, All stages, All positions". Basketball Finland. Retrieved 24 May 2026.
^ "History > Statistics and records > Player totals > Regular season". Basketball Finland. Retrieved 24 May 2026.
^ "History > Statistics and records > Player highs > All stages". Basketball Finland. Retrieved 24 May 2026.
^ "Korisliigan yleisöennätys 7420 katsojaa" (in Finnish). basket.fi. Finnish Basketball Federation. 7 November 2005. Retrieved 17 November 2014.

Notes

^ Koripallo is the Finnish term for basketball, from kori meaning 'basket' and pallo meaning 'ball.' The abbreviation 'SM-sarja' is the shortened form of Suomen mestaruussarja, meaning 'Finnish championship' or 'Finnish championship series.' See Finnish Champion for more.

External links

Finnish Basketball Association / Korisliiga