Bayer Giants Leverkusen
Bayer Giants Leverkusen logo
LeaguesProB
Founded1961 (1961)
HistoryTuS Bayer 04 Leverkusen 1961–1983
TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen 1983–2000
Bayer Giants Leverkusen
2000–present
ArenaOstermann-Arena
Capacity3,500
LocationLeverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia
Championships14 German Championships
10 German Cup
1 ProB
Websitewww.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.

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

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
Season Tier League Pos. German Cup European competitions
1989–90 1 Bundesliga 1st Champion 2 Cup Winners' CupR16
1990–91 1 Bundesliga 1st Champion 1 Champions CupQF
1991–92 1 Bundesliga 1st 1 EuroleagueGS
1992–93 1 Bundesliga 1st Champion 1 EuroleagueGS
1993–94 1 Bundesliga 1st Semifinalist 1 EuroleagueGS
1994–95 1 Bundesliga 1st Champion 1 EuroleagueGS
1995–96 1 Bundesliga 1st Runner-up 1 EuroleagueGS
1996–97 1 Bundesliga 4th 1 EuroleagueGS
1997–98 1 Bundesliga 8th 2 EuroCupR32
1998–99 1 Bundesliga 4th 3 Korać CupGS
1999–00 1 Bundesliga 2nd 3 Korać CupGS
2000–01 1 Bundesliga 3rd Third position 1 SuproLeagueRS
2001–02 1 Bundesliga 5th 3 Korać CupR16
2002–03 1 Bundesliga 8th 4 Regional Challenge Cup NorthRU
2003–04 1 Bundesliga 8th
2004–05 1 Bundesliga 13th
2005–06 1 Bundesliga 10th
2006–07 1 Bundesliga 8th
2007–08 1 Bundesliga 6th[lower-alpha 1]
2008–09 4 1st Regionalliga 1st
2009–10 3 ProB 7th
2010–11 3 ProB 8th
2011–12 3 ProB 11th
2012–13 3 ProB 5th
2013–14 2 ProA 13th
2014–15 2 ProA 14th
2015–16 2 ProA 15th
2016–17 3 ProB 4th
2017–18 3 ProB 8th
2018–19 3 ProB 1st
2019–20 2 ProA 5th
2020–21 2 ProA 5th
2021–22 2 ProA 5th
2022–23 2 ProA 17th
  1. ↑ Sold its place to Giants Düsseldorf.

Honours

  • German Champions
    • Winners (14-record): 1970, 1971, 1972, 1976, 1979, 1985, 1986, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996
    • Runners-up (6): 1977, 1980, 1987, 1988, 1989, 2000
  • German Cup:
    • Winners (10): 1970, 1971, 1974, 1976, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995
    • Runners-up (2): 1977, 1989
  • ProB
    • Winners (2): 2013, 2019
  • 1. Regionalliga
    • Winners (1): 2009

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 United States 109 - West Germany Bayer 04 Leverkusen 86

Roster 2022/23

#[7] Name Birth Date Nationality Height Body Weight Position Former Club
0 Abdul Mohamed 03.12.1996  Canada 2,01 m 93 kg SF/PF Montreal Alliance (CAN-CEBL)
2 Aimé Olma 16.05.2004  Germany 1,93 m 83 kg SG Giants Düsseldorf (GER-ProB)
3 Gabriel de Oliveira 03.03.1998  Germany /  Brazil 2,06 m 102 kg PF Rostock Seawolves (BBL)
4 Lennart Litera 15.04.2004  Germany 1,91 m 70 kg SG BBV Köln-Nordwest
5 Kadre Gray 02.07.1997  Canada 1,85 m 86 kg PG/SG Ottawa BlackJacks (CAN-CEBL)
7 Matthew Meredith 07.07.2000  Germany /  United States 1,98 m 93 kg SG/SF Skyliners Frankfurt (BBL)
8 Dejan Kovacevic 27.12.1996  Germany 2,08 m 99 kg PF Crailsheim Merlins (BBL)
9 Marius Stoll 09.07.1999  Germany 1,97 m 94 kg PG OrangeAcademy (GER-ProB)
10 Haris Hujic 30.04.1997  Germany 1,92 m 93 kg PG/SG BG Göttingen (BBL)
18 Justin Gnad 24.06.1997  Germany 1,94 m 105 kg SF Own Youth
21 Robert Drijencic 20.04.1996  Germany 1,93 m 93 kg PG/SG/SF Wiha Panthers Schwenningen (GER-ProA)
22 Dennis Heinzmann 22.01.1991  Germany 2,16 m 120 kg C RheinStars Köln (GER-ProB)
24 Thomas Fankhauser 26.08.2001  Germany 2,01 m 96 kg SF/PF RheinStars Köln (GER-ProB)
30 TreVion Crews 03.03.1996  United States 1,83 m 82 kg PG BBC Résidence (LUX)
33 Nick Hornsby 21.06.1995  United States 2,01 m 107 kg SF/PF Capital City Go-Go (NBA G-League)
34 Stef Van Bussel 18.06.2004  Netherlands 2,01 m 100 kg PF/C BAL (basketball club) (NL)
55 Joel Lungelu 20.08.2003  Germany 2,05 m 114 kg PF/C Own Youth
HC Hansi Gnad 04.06.1963  Germany Headcoach
AC Jacques Schneider 16.08.1992  Germany Assistant Coach
AC Philipp Stachula 14.10.1987  Germany Assistant Coach
AC Philip Jacobs 20.10.1993  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

Coach Start End
Germany Günter Hagedorn19691973
Germany Bernd Röder19751978
United States Chris Lee19801984
United States Jim Kelly19841989
Germany Dirk Bauermann19891998
United States Calvin Oldham 19982002
Germany Heimo Förster 20022005
Germany Achim Kuczmann 20052008
Germany Achim Kuczmann20112018
Germany Hans-Jürgen Gnad2018present

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Leverkusen, Bayer04: Bayer-Giants".
  2. ↑ Koch returns, 20 October 2023
  3. ↑ "Leverkusen, Bayer04: Bayer-Giants".
  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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