Alba Berlin is a German professional
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
club that is based in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. The club was founded in 1991, and is today the largest German national basketball club by membership figures. Alba Berlin hosts its home games at the
Mercedes-Benz Arena Berlin and competes in the
German League and the
EuroLeague or the
EuroCup.
After winning ten
German Championships, ten
German Cups, three
German Supercups, and the
FIBA Korać Cup
The FIBA Korać Cup was an annual basketball club competition held by FIBA between the 1971–72 and 2001–02 seasons. It was the third-tier level club competition in European basketball, after the FIBA European Champions' Cup (later renamed th ...
in 1995, Alba Berlin is considered to be the most successful German basketball team, both domestically and internationally. With an average attendance of more than 10,000 fans per game in a season, it is also one of the most popular basketball clubs in Europe. In 2013, Alba was portrayed in the
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
documentary series ''Basketball Capitals''. In 2014, the club was the first German basketball team to beat a reigning
NBA champion
The National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals is the championship series for the NBA held at the conclusion of its postseason. All Finals have been played in a best-of-seven format, and are contested between the winners of the Eastern Con ...
, the
San Antonio Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Division ( ...
.
History
1991–2000: Foundation and first championships
Alba Berlin traces its history back to the ''BG Charlottenburg'', a basketball club in western Berlin which was founded in 1989. In 1991, when the global recycling company Alba AG agreed to a significant basketball sponsorship, BG Charlottenburg changed its name to Alba Berlin.
Shortly thereafter, under the direction of head coach Faruk Kulenović, Alba Berlin became runner-up at the
German Championship. In 1993, the Serbian
Svetislav Pešić
Svetislav "Kari" Pešić ( sr-cyrl, Светислав "Кари" Пешић; born August 28, 1949) is a Serbian professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the Serbia men's national team.
Playing career
During his ...
took over as coach, and the club gained successes that no other German basketball team had previously accomplished. Winning the
Korać Cup Korać is a surname. Notable persons with that name include:
* Dušan Korać (disambiguation), multiple people
* Milorad Korać (born 1969), Serbian football player and manager
* Radivoj Korać (1938–1969), Serbian basketball player
* Vitomir ...
in 1995 marked the first international title of a German club team in basketball.
In 1996, shortly after moving the club from the Sömmeringhalle to the
Max-Schmeling-Halle
Max-Schmeling-Halle is a multi-purpose arena, in Berlin, Germany, named after the famous German boxer Max Schmeling. Apart from Mercedes-Benz Arena and the Velodrom, it's one of Berlin's biggest indoor sports arenas and holds from 8,861 people, up ...
, Alba Berlin finally beat series champion
Bayer Leverkusen
Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH, also known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen (), Bayer Leverkusen, or simply Leverkusen, is a professional football club based in Leverkusen in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The club competes in the Bundesliga, t ...
and won its long-awaited first
German Championship. In addition to winning the
Korać Cup Korać is a surname. Notable persons with that name include:
* Dušan Korać (disambiguation), multiple people
* Milorad Korać (born 1969), Serbian football player and manager
* Radivoj Korać (1938–1969), Serbian basketball player
* Vitomir ...
and other successes at the European level, in his seven-year career as head coach, Pešić won four German championships and one
German Cup
The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considere ...
.
2000–2008: Professionalization and national success
![Außenansicht vom Falkplatz aus](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/34/Au%C3%9Fenansicht_vom_Falkplatz_aus.jpg)
Under head coach
Emir Mutapčić
Emir Mutapčić (born 27 May 1960) is a Bosnian professional basketball coach and former player. He currently works as the head coach for Zalaegerszeg of the Hungarian league. Mutapčić competed for Yugoslavia in the 1984 Summer Olympics
The 1 ...
, the team recorded three German championships and two German Cup victories, but particularly at the European level no significant progress could be made. As a reaction to the time without titles, the team was largely rebuilt for each new season. In 2004 and 2005, Berlin eventually was kicked out of the national playoffs semi-final series. Organizationally, the club created the new position of team manager, which was occupied by
Henning Harnisch
Henning Harnisch (born April 15, 1968) is a retired German professional basketball player. At a height of 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) tall, he played at the small forward and power forward positions. He currently serves as Vice president for the Germa ...
. Further, the professional section of the club was transformed into a
GmbH on 1 September 2005.
In the season 2005–06, under new coach
Henrik Rödl, Alba Berlin won another German Cup. As winner of the regular season, the team advanced to the finals series of the championship, in which they lost to
RheinEnergie Köln RheinEnergie can refer to:
* RheinEnergie AG, energy company based in Cologne
* RheinEnergieStadion, sports stadium in Cologne
*Köln 99ers
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rh ...
. Köln was coached by
Saša Obradović
Saša Obradović (Anglicized: Sasha Obradovic; sr-Cyrl, Саша Обрадовић, ; born 29 January 1969) is a Serbian professional basketball coach and former player. He is currently the head coach for AS Monaco of the French LNB Pro A
Stan ...
, who had helped Berlin win the
FIBA Korać Cup
The FIBA Korać Cup was an annual basketball club competition held by FIBA between the 1971–72 and 2001–02 seasons. It was the third-tier level club competition in European basketball, after the FIBA European Champions' Cup (later renamed th ...
in 1995. The following season, 2006–07, however, Berlin was once again winner of the regular season but was eliminated in the quarter finals by the
Artland Dragons. This event triggered the dismissal of Rödl and the signing of a new head coach
Luka Pavićević
Luka Pavićević ( sr-cyr, Лука Павићевић; born 17 June 1968) is a Montenegrin professional basketball coach and former player. Most lately, he served as the head coach for Alvark Tokyo of the B.League.
Professional career
A poin ...
, followed by another major remodeling of the team. After injury problems in the preparation and the course of the 2007–08 season, including the loss of
Goran Jeretin for the entire season and
Aleksandar Rašić for the play-offs, Berlin took advantage of the insolvency of the
Cologne 99ers and signed their major players
Immanuel McElroy
Immanuel Jarod McElroy (born March 25, 1980) is an American former professional basketball player. He played as a point guard- shooting guard and small forward.
College career
McElroy played college basketball at Tyler Junior College from 1998- ...
and
Aleksandar Nađfeji
Aleksandar Nađfeji ( sr, Александар Нађфеји; born October 27, 1976) is a German basketball coach and former player of Serbian descent. Standing at , Nađfeji mainly played as power forward in his career.
Personal life
Aleksandar ...
in January 2008. Led by the
league MVP Julius Jenkins
Julius Jenkins (born February 10, 1981) is an American professional basketball player, who lastly played for Science City Jena of the Basketball Bundesliga.
College career
Jenkins played collegiately at Georgia Southern University.
Professiona ...
, the team was superior to all other competitors in the play-offs and won the championship again after a five-year hiatus.
In the 2003–04 season, Berlin achieved its last master qualification to participate in
the highest European League, the
EuroLeague. Between the 2004–05 and 2007–08 seasons, the team was only able to qualify for the
ULEB Cup, the second-highest European league. There, the team only made it beyond the first round in the 2006–07 season, when they were eliminated in the second round.
2008–present: Current era
With the move into the new 14,500-seat
O2 World Berlin
'' This article is about the German stadium. You may be looking for the American stadium.''
The Mercedes-Benz Arena () , the then-reigning champion Alba Berlin opened a new chapter in the club's history. Berlin was the first team in German history to ever average more than 7,000 fans in attendance per game. Thus, Alba's manager Marco Baldi and Supervisory Board chairman, Axel Schweitzer, decided to take the next step towards a permanent presence in international competition and appropriate presentation options. The Anschutz Group, owner of the O2 World Berlin, and Alba Berlin agreed to a 15-year contract until 2023, with an option for another ten years.
As the reigning German champion, Alba participated in the
2008–09 Euroleague
The 2008–09 Euroleague was the 9th season of the professional basketball competition for elite clubs throughout Europe, organised by Euroleague Basketball Company, and it was the 52nd season of the premier competition for European men's clubs o ...
. There, the team reached the Top 16, where it could not hold its ground against European elite clubs like
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football.
Founded ...
,
Real Madrid
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid.
Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...
, and
Maccabi Tel Aviv
Maccabi Tel Aviv ( he, מכבי תל אביב) is one of the largest sports clubs in Israel, and a part of the Maccabi association. Many sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv are in association with Maccabi and compete in a variety of sports, such ...
. Yet, Alba had Europe's highest attendance at 11,264 spectators in the
O2 World Berlin
'' This article is about the German stadium. You may be looking for the American stadium.''
The Mercedes-Benz Arena () . In addition, the club gathered 14,800 spectators in the main round home game against
Union Olimpija
Košarkarski klub Olimpija ( en, Olimpija Basketball Club) was a men's professional basketball club based in Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Olimpija has won 23 National League championships, including eight consecutive titles between 1992 and 1999. They ...
, a record crowd at a European Cup game in Germany. While at the national level in the cup final, Alba defeated
Baskets Bonn. Later, Alba was beaten by the same team in the play-off semi-final series in five games.
In 2009 and 2015, the manager of Alba Berlin, Marco Baldi, was honored by
Euroleague Basketball Company
Euroleague Basketball is the private company that runs and operates the top continental-wide basketball men's professional sports club competitions in Europe, the first-tier level EuroLeague, and the second-tier level EuroCup. It has been or ...
executives with the
EuroLeague Executive of the Year Award.
On 8 October 2014 Alba Berlin defeated the defending
NBA
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...
champion
A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, an ...
San Antonio Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Division ( ...
, 94–93, on a buzzer beater by
Jamel McLean
Jamel McLean (born 18 April 1988) is an American professional basketball player who last played for Skyliners Frankfurt of the Basketball Bundesliga. Standing at , he plays at the power forward and center positions.
Professional career
After fa ...
.
![Alba Berlin game](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/Alba_Berlin_game.jpg)
In the 2014–15 season, Alba returned to the EuroLeague and reached the Top 16. In the Bundesliga, the team had another disappointing season: the team finished in second place but was eliminated in the semifinals. In the 2015–16 season, Alba had one of its worst seasons in history as the team managed to finish only in 7th place in the regular season, though Alba managed to win the German Cup. In the playoffs, the team was eliminated in the quarterfinals. In the 2016–2017 season, the same thing repeated – a disappointing sixth-place finish in the Bundesliga.
The 2017–2018 season, though Alba returned to the finals, losing only to
Bayern Munich. Alba also had one of the better Eurocup campaigns of the past years, being closest to the playoffs in years. Alba had brought an awarded veteran for the 2017/18: The Spaniard
Aíto García Reneses
Alejandro 'Aíto' García Reneses (born 20 December 1946 in Madrid, Spain), usually known as just Aíto, is a Spanish former professional basketball coach and former player.
As a head coach, as well as leading Spain's national team to Olympic si ...
, 70 years old at the time of signing up his first contract abroad. He had won nine Spanish championship titles (
Spanish Basketball Liga) as well as Olympic silver as a coach (2008). With him a successful Spanish Army took over: The 2017 new coaching staff also included other Spaniards: such as co-coach
Israel Gonzalez, who had worked with Aito in the past, individual coach Carlos Frade and athletics coach Pepe Silva Moreno. As in the previous course of his coaching work, García Reneses has increasingly brought players from the younger teams into the professional team in Berlin, like
Franz Wagner,
Jonas Mattisseck
Jonas may refer to:
Geography
* Jonas, Netherlands, Netherlands
* Jonas, Pennsylvania, United States
* Jonas Ridge, North Carolina, United States
People with the name
* Jonas (name), people with the given name or surname Jonas
* Jonas, one of ...
and
Tim Schneider
Timothy O. Schneider is the former chairman of the Illinois Republican Party and a former member of the Cook County Board of Commissioners representing the 15th district, which includes all or parts of Arlington Heights, Barrington, Barrington ...
6.
In the 2018–2019 season, Alba had some of its greatest success in more than a decade, as they not only played in the Bundesliga finals for the second year in a row, but also managed to reach the
2019 EuroCup Finals, where they ultimately lost the series 1–2 to
Valencia Basket
Valencia Basket Club S.A.D., commonly known as Valencia Basket (), is a professional basketball team based in Valencia, Spain. The team plays in the Liga ACB and the EuroLeague, with home games played at the Fuente de San Luis. The club is spons ...
. Two of Alba's players,
Rokas Giedraitis
Rokas Giedraitis (born August 16, 1992) is a Lithuanian professional basketball player for Baskonia of the Liga ACB and the EuroLeague. He plays at the small forward position.
Professional career
In 2013, Giedraitis was named Finals MVP of the ...
, and
Luke Sikma
Lucas Clayton Sikma (born July 30, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for Alba Berlin of the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL). He is the son of former National Basketball Association (NBA) Hall-of-Famer Jack Sikma.
High school car ...
(who was also named the league's
MVP
In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...
), were selected to the
All-EuroCup First Team, while the team's coach, Aíto García Reneses, was named the
Eurocup Coach of the Year. The club also set the season's record for highest attendance, with 12,945 spectators in a finals game against Valencia Basket, which Alba won 95–92.
The 2019–20 season was altered due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. In a final tournament behind closed doors in
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
, Alba went on an undefeated 10–0 streak to win its 9th German title, its first in twelve years.
In the 2021–22 season, Alba won the BBL again.
Players
Retired numbers
Current roster
Depth chart
Squad changes for the 2022–2023 season
In
Out
Season by season
Honours
![Korać Cup](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3a/Kora%C4%87_Cup.jpg)
Total Titles: 26
Domestic competitions
*
German League (11)
: Winners: 1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–00, 2000–01, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2007–08,
2019–20,
2020–21
The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...
,
2021–22
*
German Cup
The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considere ...
(11)
: Winners: 1996–97, 1998–99, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2005–06, 2008–09,
2012–13,
2013–14,
2015–16,
2019–20,
2021–22
*
German Supercup
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
(3)
: Winners: 2008, 2013,
2014
European competitions
*
FIBA Korać Cup
The FIBA Korać Cup was an annual basketball club competition held by FIBA between the 1971–72 and 2001–02 seasons. It was the third-tier level club competition in European basketball, after the FIBA European Champions' Cup (later renamed th ...
(1)
: Winners:
1994–95
*
EuroCup
: ''Runners-up'':
2009–10,
2018–19
Other competitions
*
Zadar Basketball Tournament
: ''Runners-up'': 2019
* Berlin, Germany Invitational Game
: Winners: 2010
* Zielona Gora, Poland Invitational Game
: Winners: 2015
* Torneo EncestaRias
: Winners: 2018
* Trofeo Alava
: ''Runners-up'': 2018
* Clermont-Ferrand, France Invitational Game
: Winners: 2019
* Oranienburg, Germany Invitational Game
: Winners: 2019
Games against NBA teams
The road to 1995 FIBA Korać Cup victory
Hall of Fame
Notable players
Head coaches
*
Svetislav Pešić
Svetislav "Kari" Pešić ( sr-cyrl, Светислав "Кари" Пешић; born August 28, 1949) is a Serbian professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the Serbia men's national team.
Playing career
During his ...
:
(1993–2000)
*
Emir Mutapčić
Emir Mutapčić (born 27 May 1960) is a Bosnian professional basketball coach and former player. He currently works as the head coach for Zalaegerszeg of the Hungarian league. Mutapčić competed for Yugoslavia in the 1984 Summer Olympics
The 1 ...
:
(2000–2005)
*
Henrik Rödl:
(2005–2007)
*
Luka Pavićević
Luka Pavićević ( sr-cyr, Лука Павићевић; born 17 June 1968) is a Montenegrin professional basketball coach and former player. Most lately, he served as the head coach for Alvark Tokyo of the B.League.
Professional career
A poin ...
:
(2007–2011)
*
Muli Katzurin
Muli Katzurin (born November 30, 1954) is an Israeli basketball coach, who since early 2008 has been coach of the national basketball team of Poland.http://www.sport.pl/koszykowka/1,65095,5043555.html Katzurin for twenty years (late 1970s–late ...
:
(2011)
*
Gordon Herbert
Gordon Walter Herbert (born February 16, 1959) is a Canadian-Finnish professional basketball coach and a retired professional basketball player. He is the head coach of the Germany men's national basketball team, Germany national team.
Playing car ...
:
(2011–2012)
*
Saša Obradović
Saša Obradović (Anglicized: Sasha Obradovic; sr-Cyrl, Саша Обрадовић, ; born 29 January 1969) is a Serbian professional basketball coach and former player. He is currently the head coach for AS Monaco of the French LNB Pro A
Stan ...
:
(2012–2016)
*
Ahmet Çakı:
(2016–2017)
*
Aíto García Reneses
Alejandro 'Aíto' García Reneses (born 20 December 1946 in Madrid, Spain), usually known as just Aíto, is a Spanish former professional basketball coach and former player.
As a head coach, as well as leading Spain's national team to Olympic si ...
:
(2017–2021)
*
Israel González:
(2021–present)
Home arenas
![Albadancers](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9a/Albadancers.jpg)
*Sömmeringhalle: (1991–1996)
*
Deutschlandhalle
Deutschlandhalle was an arena located in the Westend neighbourhood of Berlin, Germany. It was inaugurated on 29 November 1935 by Adolf Hitler. The building was granted landmark status in 1995, but was demolished on 3 December 2011.
History
Buil ...
: (1995), used only once, for the
FIBA Korać Cup
The FIBA Korać Cup was an annual basketball club competition held by FIBA between the 1971–72 and 2001–02 seasons. It was the third-tier level club competition in European basketball, after the FIBA European Champions' Cup (later renamed th ...
Final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
*
Max-Schmeling-Halle
Max-Schmeling-Halle is a multi-purpose arena, in Berlin, Germany, named after the famous German boxer Max Schmeling. Apart from Mercedes-Benz Arena and the Velodrom, it's one of Berlin's biggest indoor sports arenas and holds from 8,861 people, up ...
: (1996–2008)
*
Mercedes-Benz Arena: (2008–present)
Sponsorships
See also
*
2012 NBA Europe Live Tour
References
External links
*
Euroleague.net Team ProfileEurobasket.com Team Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alba Berlin
Basketball teams established in 1991
Basketball clubs in Berlin
Sport in Berlin
EuroLeague clubs
1991 establishments in Germany