Sport Lisboa e Benfica (Portuguese pronunciation: [sɨˈpɔɾ liʒˈβoɐ i βɐ̃jˈfikɐ] ), commonly known as Benfica, is a professional basketball team based in Lisbon, Portugal, that plays in the Liga Portuguesa de Basquetebol (LPB), where they are the current champions. Founded in 1927, it is the senior representative side of the basketball section of multi-sports club S.L. Benfica.
In June 2007, the club decided to leave the professional top league, then known as LCB, and join the Proliga, a league organized by the Portuguese Basketball Federation. From 2008 onwards, they returned to the LPB after the federation took control of the competition.
Benfica is the most successful Portuguese club, having the record for most championships (31), cups (23), league cups (13), super cups (16), and other national competitions plus the Supertaça da Lusofonia, totalling 95 trophies. It is also the Portuguese team that advanced the furthest in the European top club championship, now known as EuroLeague.
Some of their most memorable moments were European victories against clubs that have won the Euroleague, such as Virtus Bologna, Real Madrid, Cantù, Cibona, Joventut Badalona, Panathinaikos, Partizan, CSKA Moscow, and Varese.
Along with its several youth teams, which play in their respective top division championships, Benfica also has a developmental basketball team, Benfica B, that plays in the Proliga, the second highest tier in Portugal.
Contents
History
Early years
Created on 20 March 1927, the basketball team followed the steps of many other sports that were supported by the club, achieving great success almost immediately. The team established itself as a main contender by the 1940s and during the whole 1960s gained the status of championship favourite and was already the club with the most titles won. By this time the club had won eight national championships and eight cups. This dominating spell decreased the following decade until the early 1980s. During this time span, Benfica would win only two championships, in the 1969–70 and the 1974–75 season, but won four national cups, the second most prestigious Portuguese tournament, in 1969–70, 1971–72, 1972–73 and 1973–74. After these years, Benfica again dominated the national scene.
Golden years
The most successful period of the club was between 1985 and 1995. In eleven seasons, the team won ten national titles, seven of which in a row, five national cups, five league cups and six super cups, achieving the best season ever by a Portuguese basketball team in 1994–95 winning the Portuguese League, Portuguese League Cup, Portuguese Super Cup, Portuguese Basketball Cup and finishing the European Champions' Cup in the Top 16. One of the highlight from that European Champions' Cup season was a 22-point victory (102–80) against CSKA Moscow in Lisbon on 12 January 1995. Benfica also made successful international campaigns in the other seasons considering the budget the team had compared with other European big teams. Some of the most successful of those campaigns include the 1993–94, when Benfica was close to reach the Top 8, and for a third season in a row Benfica managed to reach the Top 16 again in the European Champions' Cup, in 1995–96, grabbing a win against Panathinaikos, the eventual champions.
Decline in the late 1990s
This period was followed by a dark era in which Benfica was internally overshadowed by Ovarense, Portugal Telecom and FC Porto. Even though this period is considered to be a dark one, Benfica did manage to reach the LPB final once as well as winning Super Cups and finishing runners-up in the national cup and in the league cup. Also noteworthy is an away win against Real Madrid, in the 1996–97 EuroCup, the same season the Spaniards won the competition. The team finally decided to withdraw from the top tier and applied for the second league, the Proliga, which was the highest division run by the Federação Portuguesa de Basquetebol. However the first division was folded and the LPB (league) was again being overviewed by the national federation. This allowed the team to make a comeback to the main league.
Revival in the late 2000s
After more than a decade without any titles and in the same season Benfica had made a return to the first league, the 2008–09 season, the team won the Portuguese League, with a perfect score of 100% wins during the regular season, becoming the second team in the world to do so, after Maccabi Tel Aviv in the 1970s, and thrashing Ovarense 4–0 in the best-of-four game final. Benfica won the championship again the following season with a 91% winning record in the regular stage and a 4–1 final against Porto. The recent success brought the team to participate in the EuroChallenge, thus marking the end of a mid-term long hiatus from Portuguese clubs in European basketball competitions.
2010s
In 2010–11, Benfica won the Taça da Liga and the Supertaça, but did not retain the championship, losing 4–3 in the final to Porto.
In the following season, Benfica regained the national title after defeating Porto on their home court, the Dragão Caixa, by 56–53 in the decisive game of the best-of-five playoff series (3–2). Benfica retained the title in 2012–13, losing only two games in the season, one in the regular phase and one in the playoff final, both in overtime, and won every domestic trophy except the Taça de Portugal, where they were defeated by Vitória de Guimarães in the final.
On 23 May 2014, Benfica defeated Vitória de Guimarães 3–0 in the playoff final and secured its 25th national title (third consecutive), completing the domestic treble of League, Taça de Portugal, and Taça Hugo dos Santos. They won four trophies in total that season, including the 2013 Supertaça.
In the 2014–15 season, Benfica returned to European competition, competing in the 2014–15 EuroChallenge, where they finished third in Group E. Domestically, Benfica won all five competitions of the season.
At the start of the 2015–16 season, Benfica won their fifth consecutive Taça de Portugal and fourth consecutive António Pratas Trophy, setting a club record of ten consecutive domestic trophies.
In 2016–17, Benfica achieved the domestic treble of Taça Hugo dos Santos, Taça de Portugal, and the league title.
2020s
In the 2021–22 season, after a four-year trophy drought, Benfica won the league title (3–1) defeating Porto on its home court, Dragão Caixa.
In September 2022, Benfica qualified for the regular season of the 2022–23 Basketball Champions League, becoming the first Portuguese team to do so. Benfica reached the second round and won both the league and the Taça de Portugal, securing the championship inside Pavilhão João Rocha.
In 2023–24, the club again qualified for the Basketball Champions League regular season and won its third consecutive league title, along with the Taça Hugo dos Santos and the Supertaça.
In 2024–25, Benfica qualified for its third consecutive Basketball Champions League regular season and won its fourth consecutive league title, clinching the title at the Dragão Caixa.
Seasons
Key
Before 1983-84 most league editions were played in league format, after that season started being played in the current format with a regular season and then play-offs.
Seasons
As of 14 June 2026
Results in international competition
Note: Benfica score is always listed first.
Home arenas
Benfica played its home basketball games at the Pavilhão dos Desportos, from 1946 to 1965. The club then played its home games at the Pavilhão da Luz, from 1965 to 2003. Since 2003, Benfica has hosted its home games at the Pavilhão Fidelidade, which has a seating capacity of 2,400 people.
Honours
s shared record
Doubles
Liga Portuguesa de Basquetebol and Taça de Portugal
13: 1945-46, 1946-47, 1960-61, 1963-64, 1964-65, 1969-70, 1991-92, 1992-93, 1993-94, 1994-95, 2013-14, 2014-15, 2022-23
Liga Portuguesa de Basquetebol and Taça da Liga
9: 1989-90, 1990-91, 1991-92, 1992-93, 1993-94, 1994-95, 2013-14, 2014-15, 2023-24
Taça de Portugal and Taça da Liga
6: 1992-93, 1993-94, 1994-95, 1995-96, 2013-14, 2014-15
Liga Portuguesa de Basquetebol and Supertaça
8: 1985-86, 1989-90, 1991-92, 1994-95, 2009-10, 2013-14, 2014-15, 2023-24
Trebles
Liga Portuguesa de Basquetebol, Taça de Portugal and Taça da Liga
5: 1992-93, 1993-94, 1994-95, 2013-14, 2014-15
Liga Portuguesa de Basquetebol, Taça de Portugal and Supertaça
4: 1991-92, 1994-95, 2013-14, 2014-15
Liga Portuguesa de Basquetebol, Taça da Liga and Supertaça
6: 1989-90, 1994-95, 2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15, 2023-24
Taça de Portugal, Taça da Liga and Supertaça
4: 1994-95, 1995-96, 2013-14, 2014-15
Quadruple
Liga Portuguesa de Basquetebol, Taça de Portugal, Taça da Liga, Supertaça
3: 1994-95, 2013-14, 2014-15
Players
Former players
Players who won a league title with Benfica or who were picked in the NBA draft.
Women's honours
Portuguese League
Winners (5): 2020–21, 2021–22, 2023–24, 2024–25, 2025-26
Portuguese Cup
Winners (4): 2020–21, 2021–22, 2023–24, 2025-26
Federation Cup
Winners (3): 2021–22, 2022–23, 2025-26
Vítor Hugo Cup
Winners (4): 2019–20, 2022–23, 2023–24, 2024–25
Portuguese Super Cup
Winners (3): 2021, 2022, 2024