The Great Britain Men’s long list for the most recent FIBA World Cup qualifiers included 20 names. Five were from London Lions. Two were from Manchester Basketball. Only one other Super League Basketball player made the squad — Bristol Flyers guard Jonathan Brown.
London and Manchester have both spent the season competing in Europe with British talent.
Different Builds, Shared Ambition
London and Manchester are the top two teams in the SLB this season for percentage of minutes played by British players.
| Team | % Minutes Played by British Players |
|---|---|
| London Lions | 58.0% |
| Manchester Basketball | 33.8% |
| Sheffield Sharks | 26.6% |
| Caledonia Gladiators | 26.3% |
| Leicester Riders | 26.2% |
| Surrey 89ers | 25.4% |
| Newcastle Eagles | 24.8% |
| Bristol Flyers | 16.3% |
| Cheshire Phoenix | 13.2% |
* British is defined here as any player listed by Eurobasket as having British nationality.
For London, that was shaped largely by the SLB’s new import rules. A team built to meet the demands of EuroCup had to use fewer imports domestically.
Their EuroCup campaign started badly, but London became more competitive as it went on. They were no longer being blown away, but injuries hurt the squad, close games slipped away, and they fell short of the playoffs.
Manchester’s roster was shaped by their planned Basketball Champions League entry. BCL rules require clubs to carry a set number of homegrown players, and Manchester recruited with that in mind.
When the BCL option fell away, the European ambition remained, and Manchester took this squad into the ENBL. They have now reached the quarter-finals, leaving them as the only SLB team still in European competition at this stage of the season.
London’s roster was driven by SLB rules. Manchester’s came from BCL demands. But both clubs have built teams that lean heavily on British talent while competing in Europe.
Both Teams Can Win
London have been the best team in the SLB this season. Before their EuroCup campaign ended on 21 January, they went 17-2 domestically. Since then, they have looked more beatable, going 8-4.
By net rating since 21 January, hardly anything separates London and Manchester in the SLB.
| Team | Net Rating | Change Since Before 21 Jan |
|---|---|---|
| Manchester Basketball | +11.32 | +12.4 |
| London Lions | +11.31 | -3.3 |
| Cheshire Phoenix | +7.5 | +3.0 |
| Newcastle Eagles | +1.2 | +3.6 |
| Sheffield Sharks | -1.0 | -3.0 |
| Surrey 89ers | -6.6 | -3.4 |
| Bristol Flyers | -7.0 | -7.5 |
| Leicester Riders | -10.1 | -6.9 |
| Caledonia Gladiators | -22.8 | -10.2 |
Manchester match up well against the Lions. They are one of the few teams in the league with enough depth to live with London, and enough perimeter shot creation to score against them consistently. They are 2-1 against London this season, the only team in the league with a winning record against them.
London are still the team to beat. The full-season case is clearly theirs. They have already won the Trophy and look almost certain to finish top of the Championship. But recent form points to something close, and the head-to-head record goes to Manchester, as does home-court advantage.
More Than a Cup Final
The game is at the AO Arena in Manchester, with Manchester’s women’s team also on the finals day card. For a club that has spent the last season and a half establishing itself, the day feels like a coming-of-age moment.
This is a matchup with real weight. The league leaders against one of the few teams to trouble them. The two clubs most closely tied to elite British talent.
It’s a final that offers a glimpse of what the SLB wants to become.
