TBF changes foreign player rule for the new season

Turkish Basketball Federation President Hidayet Türkoğlu, TBF Board Members, and representatives of the Türkiye Sigorta Basketball Super League clubs met to hold a 'League Board' meeting.

During the discussions, which included representatives from all 16 Super League clubs, planned regulation and rule changes for the 2024-2025 season were reviewed. To be enacted by the board's decision, the two major changes to be implemented in the new season, decided upon jointly with club representatives, are as follows:

AT LEAST ONE TURKISH PLAYER WILL BE ON THE COURT AT ALL TIMES DURING THE MATCH

As of the 2024-2025 season, at least one Turkish player will be on the court during Türkiye Sigorta Basketball Super League matches. Accordingly, the number of foreign players will be limited to a maximum of 4 on the court and a maximum of 3 on the bench.

PLAY-IN FORMAT

At the end of the regular season, teams finishing the league in 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th place will earn the right to play in the Play-in, with 7-8 and 9-10 matchups. Play-in matches will be played as a single game on the court of the team that finished higher in the league. The winner of the 7-8 matchup will qualify for the Play-offs as the 7th seed. The loser of the 7-8 matchup will face the winner of the 9-10 matchup to enter the Play-offs as the 8th seed.

Turkish Basketball Federation President Hidayet Türkoğlu commented on the decisions taken after the meeting as follows:

"As a result of the regular negotiations we have held with our clubs throughout the past year, we have carried out various studies to make joint decisions in order to raise more experienced, self-confident athletes who can take initiative for our national team. I would like to thank our clubs for the cooperation they have shown during this process. I hope this decision, taken for the development of Turkish basketball and the success of our national team, will be beneficial.

I believe that with the results of the new foreign player rule, our athletes will make the best use of the opportunities given to them and will make a great effort to maximize their performance. Furthermore, I think that player agents directing basketball players to teams where they can get more playing time and responsibility will play an important role.

I sincerely wish for success in this endeavor together with all our stakeholders. I believe that the play-in format, which we have been working on for a long time, is an important decision to increase the level of competition as we approach the play-offs at the end of the regular season next year. I hope this decision will provide basketball fans with a more colorful season."