Bayer Giants Leverkusen

Last updated
Bayer Giants Leverkusen
Bayer Giants Leverkusen logo.png
Leagues ProB
Founded1961;63 years ago (1961)
HistoryTuS Bayer 04 Leverkusen 1961–1983
TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen 1983–2000
Bayer Giants Leverkusen
2000–present
Arena Ostermann-Arena
Capacity3,500
Location Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia
Championships14 German Championships
10 German Cup
1 ProB
Website www.bayer-basketball.de

Bayer Giants Leverkusen is a professional basketball club, part of the TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen sports club based in Leverkusen, Germany. It currently plays in ProB, the third division of German basketball.

Contents

Based on the number of titles, Leverkusen is the most successful team in the history of German Basketball with a record-14 championships and 10 Cups. [1] In 2009, the Bayer company cut down sponsorship and the club went down to Germany's ProB (third division) to restructure. The license for the Basketball Bundesliga was transferred to the newly formed Giants Düsseldorf.

The team is currently coached by two of its legends: Hansi Gnad and Michael Koch as his assistant. [2]

History

Founded as TuS Bayer 04 Leverkusen in 1961, the club moved up to first division Basketball Bundesliga in 1968. The club won 5 national championships and 4 German Cups as TuS 04 Leverkusen before it changed its name and continued its dominance as TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Until today, the club has won more national titles than any other German basketball team. [3]

The first success came in 1970 when TuS 04 won the double under coach Günter Hagedorn with more Trophies and participations in European competitions following during the 1970s. From 1970 until 1977 the club played in 5 Cup Finals winning four titles. In 1985 and 1986 Bayer won the German Championship again before establishing itself as a powerhouse in the 1990s with constant presence in the FIBA Euroleague after winning 7 championships in a row (1990-96) with coach Dirk Bauermann.

After the team lost three of its key players on a free transfer in the summer of 1996 (Michael Koch, Chris Welp and Henning Harnisch) Alba Berlin was the team that broke Bayer's dominance with the last success being the 2nd place in the league in 2000. The last participation in Europe's top competition was in the 2000-01 season when the club as German's runners-up played in the Suproleague.

Dirk Bauermann guided Bayer to 7 straight titles Dirk Bauermann press conference 4.jpg
Dirk Bauermann guided Bayer to 7 straight titles

To the disdain of all of its supporters, in 2008 the Bayer company decided to make dramatic cuts in its sponsorship for the team and simply focus on its football operations and amateur athletics. This move forced the club's basketball team to cede its Basketball Bundesliga license to the newly formed Giants Düsseldorf and move down to Germany's 4th Division Regionalliga to restructure. Thousands of club supporters gathered in the streets of Leverkusen to protest the company's move. [4] [5] Giants won the Regionalliga and promotion to the ProB in their first season.

In 2013, the club promoted to the ProA League, but it was relegated to the ProB two years later. In 2019 Bayer returned to the ProA, German basketball's second tier, but relegated in 2023.

Season by season

Nick Hornsby Nick Hornsby.jpg
Nick Hornsby
Season Tier LeaguePos. German Cup European competitions
1989–901 Bundesliga 1stChampion2 Cup Winners' Cup R16
1990–911 Bundesliga 1stChampion1 Champions Cup QF
1991–921 Bundesliga 1st1 Euroleague GS
1992–931 Bundesliga 1stChampion1 Euroleague GS
1993–941 Bundesliga 1stSemifinalist1 Euroleague GS
1994–951 Bundesliga 1stChampion1 Euroleague GS
1995–961 Bundesliga 1stRunner-up1 Euroleague GS
1996–971 Bundesliga 4th1 Euroleague GS
1997–981 Bundesliga 8th2 EuroCup R32
1998–991 Bundesliga 4th3 Korać Cup GS
1999–001 Bundesliga 2nd3 Korać Cup GS
2000–011 Bundesliga 3rdThird position1 SuproLeague RS
2001–021 Bundesliga 5th3 Korać Cup R16
2002–031 Bundesliga 8th4 Regional Challenge Cup North RU
2003–041 Bundesliga 8th
2004–051 Bundesliga 13th
2005–061 Bundesliga 10th
2006–071 Bundesliga 8th
2007–081 Bundesliga 6th [lower-alpha 1]
2008–0941st Regionalliga1st
2009–103 ProB 7th
2010–113 ProB 8th
2011–123 ProB 11th
2012–133 ProB 5th
2013–14 2 ProA 13th
2014–15 2 ProA 14th
2015–162 ProA 15th
2016–173 ProB 4th
2017–183 ProB 8th
2018–193 ProB 1st
2019–202 ProA 5th
2020–212 ProA 5th
2021–222 ProA 5th
2022–232 ProA 17th
  1. ↑ Sold its place to Giants Düsseldorf.

Honours

European participations

The club has competed for 21 seasons in European competitions organized by FIBA Europe from 1970 until 2003. [6]

Games against NBA teams

Seattle SuperSonics Flag of the United States.svg 109 – Flag of Germany.svg Bayer 04 Leverkusen 86

Roster 2022/23

# [7] NameBirth DateNationalityHeightBody WeightPositionFormer Club
0Abdul Mohamed03.12.1996Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 2,01 m93 kgSF/PF Montreal Alliance (CAN-CEBL)
2Aimé Olma16.05.2004Flag of Germany.svg  Germany 1,93 m83 kgSG Giants Düsseldorf (GER-ProB)
3Gabriel de Oliveira03.03.1998Flag of Germany.svg  Germany / Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil 2,06 m102 kgPF Rostock Seawolves (BBL)
4Lennart Litera15.04.2004Flag of Germany.svg  Germany 1,91 m70 kgSGBBV Köln-Nordwest
5Kadre Gray02.07.1997Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 1,85 m86 kgPG/SG Ottawa BlackJacks (CAN-CEBL)
7Matthew Meredith07.07.2000Flag of Germany.svg  Germany / Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 1,98 m93 kgSG/SF Skyliners Frankfurt (BBL)
8Dejan Kovacevic27.12.1996Flag of Germany.svg  Germany 2,08 m99 kgPF Crailsheim Merlins (BBL)
9Marius Stoll09.07.1999Flag of Germany.svg  Germany 1,97 m94 kgPG OrangeAcademy (GER-ProB)
10Haris Hujic30.04.1997Flag of Germany.svg  Germany 1,92 m93 kgPG/SG BG Göttingen (BBL)
18Justin Gnad24.06.1997Flag of Germany.svg  Germany 1,94 m105 kgSFOwn Youth
21Robert Drijencic20.04.1996Flag of Germany.svg  Germany 1,93 m93 kgPG/SG/SF Wiha Panthers Schwenningen (GER-ProA)
22Dennis Heinzmann22.01.1991Flag of Germany.svg  Germany 2,16 m120 kgC RheinStars Köln (GER-ProB)
24Thomas Fankhauser26.08.2001Flag of Germany.svg  Germany 2,01 m96 kgSF/PF RheinStars Köln (GER-ProB)
30TreVion Crews03.03.1996Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 1,83 m82 kgPG BBC Résidence (LUX)
33Nick Hornsby21.06.1995Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 2,01 m107 kgSF/PF Capital City Go-Go (NBA G-League)
34Stef Van Bussel18.06.2004Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands 2,01 m100 kgPF/C BAL (basketball club) (NL)
55Joel Lungelu20.08.2003Flag of Germany.svg  Germany 2,05 m114 kgPF/COwn Youth
HC Hansi Gnad 04.06.1963Flag of Germany.svg  Germany Headcoach
ACJacques Schneider16.08.1992Flag of Germany.svg  Germany Assistant Coach
ACPhilipp Stachula14.10.1987Flag of Germany.svg  Germany Assistant Coach
ACPhilip Jacobs20.10.1993Flag of Germany.svg  Germany Athletiktrainer

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationality not displayed.

Notable players

To appear in this section a player must have played at least two seasons for the club AND either:

– Set a club record or won an individual award as a professional player.
– Played at least one official international match for his senior national team at any time.

Head coaches

CoachStartEnd
Flag of Germany.svg Günter Hagedorn 19691973
Flag of Germany.svg Bernd Röder 19751978
Flag of the United States.svg Chris Lee 19801984
Flag of the United States.svg Jim Kelly 19841989
Flag of Germany.svg Dirk Bauermann 19891998
Flag of the United States.svg Calvin Oldham 19982002
Flag of Germany.svg Heimo Förster 20022005
Flag of Germany.svg Achim Kuczmann 20052008
Flag of Germany.svg Achim Kuczmann 20112018
Flag of Germany.svg Hans-Jürgen Gnad 2018present

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "Leverkusen, Bayer04: Bayer-Giants".[ permanent dead link ]
  2. ↑ Koch returns, 20 October 2023
  3. ↑ "Leverkusen, Bayer04: Bayer-Giants".[ permanent dead link ]
  4. ↑ "Leverkusen: Giants-Fants buhen Dezernenten aus". www.rp-online.de. Archived from the original on 9 September 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  5. ↑ "Rettet die Giants! - Fans wollen Giants behalten (RP, 13.02.08)". Archived from the original on 2014-12-30. Retrieved 2010-03-31.
  6. ↑ German clubs in Europe - sathanasias
  7. ↑ "Kader - Giants TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen". www.giants-leverkusen.de. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
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