According to official records, basketball was first played in Turkey in 1904 at Robert College. An American physical education teacher laid the foundations of the sport in the country. Seven years later, in 1911, Ahmet Robenson, a physical education teacher at Galatasaray High School, decided to introduce a new game to his students. Robenson, who also later became president of Galatasaray S.K., popularized the sport in Turkey.

Until late 1966, local basketball competitions were held in major cities like Istanbul (which hosted the Istanbul League), Ankara, and İzmir. There was also the former Turkish Championship which existed from 1946 to 1967.

The current Turkish top-tier level national league was founded in 1966, by the Turkish Basketball Federation, and began with the 1966–67 season, and it thus replaced those earlier competitions. The Turkish second-tier level league, the TBL (previously known as the TB2L), was also founded three years later in 1969, and since 2011, a third-tier level league TB2L, with the teams divided into two groups.

On 6 March 1988, Erman Kunter, of Fenerbahce Istanbul scored 153 pts against Hilalspor Izmir (92 in 2nd half), a record for a club competition worldwide.