The London Lions have announced their 2026-27 Super League Basketball (SLB) schedule, with the new campaign set to tip off on Friday, September 18.
Following a historic 2025-26 season, which saw the Lions claim all four domestic trophies, London will begin their Championship title defence on the road against Bristol Flyers before welcoming the league’s newest franchise, Liverpool Basketball, on Sunday, September 27.
The 2026-27 campaign marks a new era for the competition, with Liverpool’s arrival taking the SLB to 10 teams for the first time.
All sides will face each other four times, twice at home and twice away, across a 27-week regular season in which each club plays 36 games.
The Lions will renew their growing rivalry with Cheshire Phoenix, with the sides meeting four times during the regular season. London travel to Manchester Basketball on Sunday, November 22, as the story between two of the UK’s biggest markets continues to develop.
They will also face their closest rivals, Surrey 89ers, four times in what has become a consistently competitive fixture.
With the SLB Trophy no longer part of the domestic calendar, three pieces of silverware remain up for grabs this season: the Championship, the SLB Cup and the Play-Offs.
Having become one of the few teams in SLB history to complete a domestic quadruple last season, the Lions cannot repeat that feat, with a treble now the highest possible achievement.
The SLB Cup returns in a refreshed knockout format.
As one of the top six sides from last season’s Championship, the Lions receive an automatic bye to the quarter-finals on Sunday, January 10, where they will host either Newcastle Eagles or Caledonia Gladiators.
The semi-finals will be played over two legs on Friday, January 15 and Sunday, January 17, before the Cup Final returns to the AO Arena in Manchester on Sunday, March 21, 2027.
The Championship regular season runs through to Friday, April 23, with the Lions closing the campaign at home to Caledonia Gladiators.
The Play-Offs carry greater jeopardy this season. Although the league has expanded to 10 teams, only the top six will qualify for the postseason, down from eight previously, making qualification tougher than ever.
The top two seeds from the Championship advance directly to the semi-finals, while teams seeded third to sixth will contest two-legged quarter-finals before the season concludes with the Play-Off Final at The O2 in London on Sunday, May 16, 2027.
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