A new era in Japan pro basketball begins this week.

Thirty-six teams, equally divided among the first and second divisions, will vie for popularity and notoriety in the inaugural B. League season.

It all starts on Thursday night at Yoyogi National Gymnasium, where the star-studded Alvark Tokyo (formerly known as the Toyota Alvark in the NBL and JBL) face the 2015-16 bj-league champion Ryukyu Golden Kings in the season opener. Tipoff is set for 6:55 p.m. in a game that will be broadcast on Fuji TV to a nationwide audience.