| City of Birmingham Rockets | |
|---|---|
| League | NBL D1 |
| Established | 2003 |
| History | City of Birmingham 2003–2017 City of Birmingham Rockets 2017–present |
| Arena | Nechells Centre |
| Capacity | 400 |
| Location | Birmingham, England |
| Website | Official website |
The City of Birmingham Rockets are an English basketball club, based in the city of Birmingham, West Midlands.
The club was formed in 2003 as the City of Birmingham Basketball Club.[ citation needed ]
The founders of the club were looking to provide regular opportunities and a clear pathway for young people from Birmingham and the surrounding areas to play basketball. The club runs representative teams at various age levels from Under-11s through to seniors, based in one of the most deprived wards in the country, with participants drawn from all parts of the city.[ citation needed ]
The senior men's team entered the English Basketball League in 2014. The volunteer-led organisation's name was then changed to the City of Birmingham Rockets in August 2017 to recognise a partnership set up with Houston Rockets and NBA legend Hakeem Olajuwon. [1]
Despite spending most of their existence with a focus on youth development and competing in the lower divisions of the English Basketball League, with new backing it has been mooted that the Rockets could join the British Basketball League [2] [3] in the near future; however, these plans appear to be hold at least for the 2019–20 season. [4] [5]
The Rockets' home venue was refurbished in 2021 with funding from 2K, the American video game company behind the NBA 2K game series. [6]
| City Of Birmingham Rockets 23-24 roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Notable former players
Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed.
| Criteria |
|---|
To appear in this section a player must have either:
|
| Season | Division | Tier | Regular Season | Post-Season | National Cup | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finish | Played | Wins | Losses | Points | Win % | |||||||
| City of Birmingham | ||||||||||||
| 2014–15 | D4 Mid | 5 | 3rd | 16 | 9 | 7 | 18 | 0.563 | 1st round | Did not compete | ||
| 2015–16 | Dev SW | 5 | 3rd | 20 | 12 | 8 | 24 | 0.600 | 1st round | 1st round | ||
| 2016–17 | D4 Mid | 5 | 5th | 18 | 10 | 8 | 20 | 0.556 | Did not qualify | 1st round | ||
| City of Birmingham Rockets | ||||||||||||
| 2017–18 | D4 Mid | 5 | 4th | 22 | 16 | 6 | 32 | 0.727 | Did not qualify | 1st round | ||
| 2018–19 | D4 Mid | 5 | 5th | 16 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 0.500 | Did not qualify | 3rd round | ||
| 2019–20 | D3 Mid | 4 | 2nd | 21 | 17 | 4 | 35 | 0.810 | No playoffs | 1st round | ||
| 2020-21 | D2 Nor | 3 | Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic | |||||||||
| 2021-22 | D2 Nor | 3 | 7th | 22 | 9 | 13 | 19 | 0.409 | Did not qualify | 2nd round | ||
| 2022-23 | D2 Nor | 3 | 1st | 22 | 21 | 1 | 42 | 0.955 | Winners | 2nd round | ||
| 2023-24 | D1 | 2 | 9th | 24 | 9 | 15 | 18 | 0.375 | Did Not Qualify | |||
The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference. The team plays its home games at the Toyota Center, located in Downtown Houston. Throughout its history, Houston has won two NBA championships and four Western Conference titles. It was established in 1967 as the San Diego Rockets, an expansion team originally based in San Diego. In 1971, the Rockets relocated to Houston.
Hakeem Abdul Olajuwon, nicknamed "the Dream", is a Nigerian-American former professional basketball player. From 1984 to 2002, he played center in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Houston Rockets, and in his last season, the Toronto Raptors. He led the Rockets to back-to-back NBA championships in 1994 and 1995. Olajuwon was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008 and the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2016. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest centers, as well as one of the greatest basketball players of all time.
The Sheffield Sharks, currently known as "B.Braun Sheffield Sharks" for sponsorship reasons, are a professional basketball team from the city of Sheffield, England. The Sharks compete in the British Basketball League and play their home matches at Park Community Arena, which opened in 2023. They are one of the most successful teams in the history of British basketball and dominated domestic competitions throughout the 1990s and early 2000s.
The British Basketball League (BBL) is a former men's professional basketball league in Great Britain. Since its establishment in 1987 the BBL represented the highest level of basketball competition within the United Kingdom. The organisation that operated the competition, Basketball League Limited, folded in July 2024 after the British Basketball Federation terminated its operating license. It was succeeded as the top-level men's basketball competition with Super League Basketball.
Worthing Thunder are a British professional basketball team based in Worthing, West Sussex, England, and compete in the National Basketball League (NBL). The team was originally founded in 1999 as the Worthing Rebels. They switched to their current name in 2000. The team has played their home games at the Worthing Leisure Center since their inaugural season.
The National Basketball League, or NBL for short, is a league competition representing semi-professional and amateur basketball clubs from England and Wales. It forms levels 2 to 4 on the British basketball pyramid, in line with the Scottish Basketball Championship, sitting directly below the top tier Super League Basketball.
Clutch City is a nickname given to the city of Houston, Texas after the city's National Basketball Association (NBA) club, the Houston Rockets.
Team Birmingham Elite are an English basketball club, based in the Longbridge area of the city of Birmingham.
The Cheshire Phoenix are a professional basketball team based in Ellesmere Port, United Kingdom. Founded in 1984, they are members of the British Basketball League and play their home games at the Cheshire Oaks Arena. From 1993 until 2015 the team was based in Chester, where they enjoyed their most success. Under previous ownership, the team was known as Cheshire Jets, but due to financial difficulties the franchise was withdrawn from the League in November 2012 and reformed as the Phoenix. The team's head coach is Ben Thomas.
The 1984–85 Chicago Bulls season was the 19th season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA). In the summer of 1984, the team's fortunes changed when it received the third pick of the NBA draft, after Houston and Portland. The Rockets selected Hakeem Olajuwon, the Blazers selected Sam Bowie, and the Bulls picked shooting guard Michael Jordan out of the University of North Carolina. The team, with new management in owner Jerry Reinsdorf and Jerry Krause in the front office, decided to rebuild around Jordan. Jordan set franchise records during his rookie campaign for scoring and steals, and led the Bulls back to the playoffs, for which he was rewarded with a berth on the All-NBA second team and NBA Rookie of the Year Award.
The 1993–94 NBA season was the Houston Rockets' 27th season in the National Basketball Association, and their 23rd season in Houston. The Rockets had the 24th overall pick in the 1993 NBA draft, and selected Sam Cassell out of Florida State University. During the off-season, the team acquired Mario Elie from the Portland Trail Blazers. The Rockets went off to a great start, winning their first fifteen games of the season to tie the 1948–49 Washington Capitols for the best unbeaten record to open a season, while also posting a 14–0 record in November, before the Golden State Warriors surpassed it in 2015. After losing to the Atlanta Hawks, 133–111 on the road on December 3, the Rockets won their next seven games as well, falling just one victory shy of tying the 1969–70 Knicks (23–1) for the best record with one defeat in NBA history. However, the Rockets would cool off as the season progressed, at one point losing four games in a row in January. Still, they held a 34–12 record at the All-Star break, and finished first place in the Midwest Division with a 58–24 record, a franchise record that stood until the 2017-18 team recorded their 59th win.
The 1994–95 NBA season was the Rockets' 28th season in the National Basketball Association, and 24th season in Houston. After winning their first championship, the Rockets went on to win their first nine games of the season. However, with increased competition in the West, management felt a change was needed to win another title. On February 14, 1995, the Rockets traded Otis Thorpe to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for All-Star guard Clyde Drexler, and three-point specialist Tracy Murray; Drexler and Hakeem Olajuwon were both teammates at the University of Houston in the early 1980s. The team also signed free agent Chucky Brown midway through the season, and later on signed 38-year old veteran Charles Jones to a 10-day contract in April, where he played in the final three games of the regular season. However, after holding a 29–17 record at the All-Star break, the Rockets played .500 basketball in the second half of the season, posting an 18–18 record on their way to finishing third in the Midwest Division with a 47–35 record.
The 2010–11 BBL season was the 24th campaign of the British Basketball League since the league's establishment in 1987. This season saw the league reduced to 12 teams with the withdrawal of London Capital during the summer and was the first campaign ever to not feature a club from the capital city London.
The 1990–91 NBA season was the Rockets' 24th season in the National Basketball Association, and 20th season in the city of Houston. In the off-season, the Rockets acquired Kenny Smith from the Atlanta Hawks. The Rockets continued to play .500 basketball during the first half of the season, as Hakeem Olajuwon missed 25 games due to a bone fracture in his right eye. However, the Rockets showed improvement by holding a 27–21 record at the All-Star break, posting a 14–1 record in March, which included a 13-game winning streak. They finished third in the Midwest Division with a 52–30 record.
The 2013–14 BBL season was the 27th campaign of the British Basketball League since the league's establishment in 1987. The season featured 12 teams from across England and Scotland, including new entrant Birmingham Knights. East London Royals and Essex Leopards were both due to become the 13th and 14th League members respectively, but after deferring their original entries from the 2012–13 season for a season, both franchises withdrew their applications to join the BBL due to financial constraints.
The British Basketball League Championship, often shortened to the BBL Championship, is the top-level men's professional basketball league in the United Kingdom. Established in 1987, the competition is administered by the British Basketball League and comprises 10 teams from both England and Scotland. Each team plays a 36-game regular season, from September until April, with the team that finishes in first place being crowned as League champions.
The Solent Kestrels are an English professional basketball club based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. Founded in 1998, the Kestrels play their home games at the Solent Sports Complex at Solent University.
The 2022–23 NBL season was the 51st season of the National Basketball League. The season started on 25 September 2022 and ended on 23 April 2023.
The Caledonia Gladiators are a professional basketball club based in East Kilbride, Scotland. The Gladiators compete as the sole Scottish-based team in the British Basketball League, the top tier of domestic basketball in the United Kingdom.
St Helens Saints are an English professional basketball club based in the town of St Helens in northwest England.
