Prior to 2018, the men's Liga Națională had 12 teams who played the season in three rounds. The regular season, which began in October, was considered the first round and was played in a normal round-robin, home-and-away format. At the end of the regular season, the top six clubs played a play-off round, while the bottom six clubs played a play-out round. The six teams in the play-off round and the top two in the play-out round qualified for the play-offs, which were played using a knockout format. Since 2014, the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and finals have been best of five. The bottom two teams in the play-out round are relegated to Liga I.
In May 2018, the Romanian Basketball Federation's board of directors decided to entirely reform the system. Liga I was dissolved and the Liga Națională was split into three groups; A, B, and C. Group designation depeneds on performance, financial, and infrastructural criteria.[1] The regular season remains a round-robin in each group. In the second round, the first six teams from Group A are assigned to the Red Group. Teams in 7th and 8th place in Group A, the top three teams from Group B, and the winner of Group C are named the Yellow Group. Teams rank between 4th and 8th place in Group B and the second place team in Group C are assigned to the Blue Group. Those who rank between 3rd and 8th place in Group C are designated as the Green Group.[2]
In the second round of the restructured season, teams in the Red Group keep their points while the Yellow, Blue, and Green Groups all begin with zero points.[2] In the third round of the championship, the first two teams from the Yellow Group join the Red Group teams for the play-offs, which use a knockout format. The quarter-finals, semi-finals, and finals continue to be best of five. To determine the teams ranked between 5th and 8th place, the best of three system is used. Remaining teams form two eight-team groups to determine their final rankings.[2]
