Amsterdam Basketball was a Dutch 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 from the city of
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
, established in 1995 and dissolved in 2011. The club won the
Dutch championship seven times and the
Dutch Cup
The KNVB Beker (; en, KNVB Cup), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organized by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Ou ...
five times.
History
Early years (1995–1997)
After it was announced that the
Graydons Canadians, a team from Amsterdam would not participate in the Eredivisie of 1995–96, Ed de Haas, Carlo Brunink and Oscar Kales founded the club. The club immediately started playing in the highest division in the Netherlands, and was named ''Finish Profiles Amsterdam'' after the new main sponsor. In the first season Tyrone Marionneaux was the head coach and Finish Profiles ended on a 9th place.
In the 1996–97 Jan Willem Jansen became head coach and new players like Mario Bennes were acquired, which led to the team winning the
NBB Cup
The Basketball Cup, formerly the NBB Cup ( nl, NBB-Beker), is an annual cup competition for Dutch basketball teams organised by the Basketball Nederland. Every team in the Netherlands can participate by signing up for the preliminary rounds. Profes ...
and reaching the league Finals. The club also played for the first season with the name Amsterdam Astronauts, which referred to the home arena of the club, the
Apollohal
The Apollohal is an indoor sports hall located in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Built in 1934 as a tennis hall, the complex was later designated for expositions and ice skating. Since it was renovated in 2004–2005, it has mainly been used as basket ...
.
First European games and Dutch titles (1997–2002)
In 1997–98 the club debuted in
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
and started a second team, that would play in the
Promotiedivisie
The Promotiedivisie (English: Promotion Division) is the second tier of basketball in the Netherlands and is the highest amateur competition in the country. At the end of a Promotiedivisie-season, a Final Four is played to decide the new champion. ...
. From that point some good years for the club began, as one of the all-time great coaches in Dutch basketball history
Ton Boot
Antoine "Ton" Boot (born October 16, 1940) is a Dutch retired professional basketball coach and player. Boot is viewed as one of the best Dutch coaches ever, because of his 14 national titles in the Netherlands. The Dutch newspaper '' De Volkskran ...
started coaching the team. In the 1998–99 season the club won its first Dutch championship and reached the semifinals of 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 Kor ...
, in which it lost to
Racing Basket Paris
Paris Basket Racing, or PBR, was a French professional basketball club from Paris. It was founded in 1922, as the basketball section of the sports club, multi-sports club Racing Club de Paris. The team took the name "Paris Basket Racing" in 2000. ...
. In that semifinals the team played against later NBA All-Star
Tony Parker
William Anthony Parker Jr. (born 17 May 1982) is a French-American former professional basketball player and majority owner of ASVEL Basket in LNB Pro A. Himself the son of a basketball pro, Parker started his career at Paris Basket Racing in ...
.
In the 2000–01 season the 3rd straight Dutch title was one.
Before the 2001–02 season the club moved to Sporthallen Zuid, which had a capacity of 3,000. Another championship was won in the Sporthallen. The club had a tough season the following year, as newly formed
EiffelTowers Nijmegen
EiffelTowers Nijmegen was a Dutch basketball club based in Nijmegen. The club played in the top-tier Eredivisie during the period 2000–2005 and won one championship in 2003. In 2005, the club merged with EBBC Den Bosch to form EiffelTowers Den Bo ...
took the trophies.
Golden Years (2003–2009)
In the 2003–04, season Israeli head coach
Arik Shivek
Arik Shivek ( he, אריק שיבק) is an Israeli professional basketball head coach. Shivek is the former head coach of the senior Israeli national basketball team, serving from 2009 to 2014, succeeding Zvi Sherf.
Coaching career
Shivek started ...
became head coach of Amsterdam, and some memorable players were acquired in
Joe Spinks
Joseph S. Spinks (born June 20, 1972) is an American-Dutch retired basketball player and coach. He played eight seasons for ABC Amsterdam in the Netherlands and is considered one of the best players to have played in the Eredivisie. Spinks also ...
, Mario Bennes (who played earlier with the club), Chris McGuthrie and
Teddy Gipson
Sergerio Montez "Teddy" Gipson (born February 15, 1980) is an American professional basketball player who last played for Donar of the Dutch Basketball League (DBL).
Professional career
Gipson started his professional career in 2003 with MyGui ...
. The club also got a new main sponsor in Demon and was renamed ''Demon Astronauts''.
In 2004–05, the fifth national title was won, after Amsterdam beat
Landstede Basketbal
Landstede Hammers is a Dutch basketball club based in Zwolle. The club plays in the BNXT League, the Dutch top tier division. The club was founded as Cees Lubbers The Hammers in 1995. In 1999, the club’s name was changed into Landstede Hammers. ...
4–0 in the Finals.
In 2005–06 and 2006–07, Amsterdam played as the ''Amsterdam Astronauts'' and ended in the 2nd and 6th places in the Eredivisie.
In May 2007, businessman Roel Pieper got the job of chairman of the club. MyGuide became the new main sponsor of the club. In 2008–09 and 2009–10, the club won their sixth and seventh titles, both by beating
EiffelTowers Den Bosch
Heroes Den Bosch is a Dutch professional basketball club based in 's-Hertogenbosch. The club plays in the BNXT League since 2021 and in the top basketball division in the Netherlands since 1972. Founded as EBBC in 1951, the club had several sponso ...
4–3 in the Finals. Also, captain
Peter van Paassen
Peter van Paassen (born 20 December 1978) is a former Dutch basketball player. Van Paassen played for multiple teams in Belgium, Spain and the Netherlands. Standing at 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m), he usually played as center. Van Paassen has won the Dut ...
won the
league MVP award in both seasons.
Even though Amsterdam won their 2009 title on May 31, they had to wait till June 15 to officially get their title. Amsterdam player
Orien Greene
Orien Randolph Greene II (born February 4, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player. His first two professional seasons were spent with the NBA's Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers, respectively. He played briefly with the Sacram ...
had used cannabis, but because the letter to inform the club never arrived the club got to keep their title.
To add to the turmoil, both main sponsors of the club (MyGuide and Eclipse-Jet) went bankrupt, so the team played without a sponsor in the 2009–10 season.
Rebuilding and disappearance (2009–2011)
The team was renamed ''ABC Amsterdam''. The team, led by domestic players as
DBL All-Star
The Dutch Basketball League All-Star Gala was a yearly basketball event in the Netherlands, organised by the Federatie Eredivisie Basketball (FEB). During the event the yearly All-Star Game was played, which included the best players of a given DB ...
s
Jessey Voorn
Jessey Voorn (born 17 March 1990 in Amsterdam) is a Dutch professional basketball player who last played for Heroes Den Bosch. Voorn is 6 ft 4 tall and plays the shooting guard position.
Professional career
Voorn started his professional c ...
,
Dimeo van der Horst
Dimeo van der Horst (born 23 June 1991) is a Dutch 3x3 basketball player who plays for the Netherlands men's national 3x3 team. Standing at 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in), Van der Horst primarily plays as point guard.
Born in Amsterdam, he played 11 season ...
and
Ramon Siljade did manage to reach the Playoffs in the
2009–10 and
2010–11
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
seasons.
The team was dissolved on August 11, 2011, after it couldn't find a main sponsor that was willing to invest enough money to keep the club in the DBL.
For the first time since the foundation of the Eredivisie, no team from
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
played in the league. In the 2012–13 season,
BC Apollo
Apollo Amsterdam is a professional basketball team based in Amsterdam. The club plays its games in the BNXT League, the Dutch top league. The club was founded in 2011 and has been playing in the highest national level for years. The amateur sectio ...
entered as new team from Amsterdam.
Sponsorships names
*1995–1997: Finish Profiles Amsterdam
*1997–2003: Ricoh Astronauts
*2003–2006: Demon Ricoh Astronauts
*2006–2007: Amsterdam Astronauts
*2007–2009: MyGuide Amsterdam
*2009–2010: EclipseJet-MyGuide Amsterdam
*2010–2011: ABC Amsterdam
Honours
Domestic competitions
Dutch League
* Winners (7): 1998–99, 1999–00,
2000–01,
2001–02,
2004–05,
2007–08,
2008–09
Dutch Cup
The KNVB Beker (; en, KNVB Cup), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organized by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Ou ...
* Winners (5): 1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–99, 2003–04, 2005–06
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 ...
* ''Semi-finalist (1)'':
2000-01
Season by season
Notable players
To appear in this section a player must have either: played at least one season for the club, set a club record or won an individual award while at the club, played at least one official international match for their national team at any time or performed very successfully during period in the club or at later/previous stages of his career.
*
Chris McGuthrie (1998–2003)
*
Joe Spinks
Joseph S. Spinks (born June 20, 1972) is an American-Dutch retired basketball player and coach. He played eight seasons for ABC Amsterdam in the Netherlands and is considered one of the best players to have played in the Eredivisie. Spinks also ...
(1998–2006)
*
Tony Miller (2001–02, 2003–04)
*
Ramon Siljade (2005–11)
*
Avis Wyatt
Avis Wyatt (born August 20, 1984) is an American retired basketball player. Wyatt is and played as power forward and center. After four years playing in college for Virginia State, Wyatt played in the Netherlands, Cyprus and Greece.
Biography ...
(2007–09)
*
Stefan Wessels
Stefan Wessels (born 28 February 1979) is a German former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.
Club career
Bayern Munich
Wessels was a youth team player at Bayern Munich, who progressed through the reserve team and broke into th ...
(2004–09)
*
Peter van Paassen
Peter van Paassen (born 20 December 1978) is a former Dutch basketball player. Van Paassen played for multiple teams in Belgium, Spain and the Netherlands. Standing at 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m), he usually played as center. Van Paassen has won the Dut ...
(2005–09)
*
Orien Greene
Orien Randolph Greene II (born February 4, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player. His first two professional seasons were spent with the NBA's Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers, respectively. He played briefly with the Sacram ...
(2008–09)
*
Teddy Gipson
Sergerio Montez "Teddy" Gipson (born February 15, 1980) is an American professional basketball player who last played for Donar of the Dutch Basketball League (DBL).
Professional career
Gipson started his professional career in 2003 with MyGui ...
(2003–06, 2007–09)
*
Patrick Sanders
Patrick Elliot Sanders (born August 27, 1985) is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for Club Ferro Carril Oeste of the Argentine Liga Nacional de Básquet. He played college basketball for UC-Irvine.
College career
...
(2010)
*
Jessey Voorn
Jessey Voorn (born 17 March 1990 in Amsterdam) is a Dutch professional basketball player who last played for Heroes Den Bosch. Voorn is 6 ft 4 tall and plays the shooting guard position.
Professional career
Voorn started his professional c ...
(2007–11)
*
Dimeo van der Horst
Dimeo van der Horst (born 23 June 1991) is a Dutch 3x3 basketball player who plays for the Netherlands men's national 3x3 team. Standing at 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in), Van der Horst primarily plays as point guard.
Born in Amsterdam, he played 11 season ...
(2007–11)
*
Sergio de Randamie (2007–11)
References
{{Dutch Basketball League
Defunct basketball teams in the Netherlands
Former Dutch Basketball League teams
Basketball teams established in 1995
1995 establishments in the Netherlands
Basketball teams disestablished in 2011
2011 disestablishments in the Netherlands
Sports clubs in Amsterdam