Bayer Giants Leverkusen is a 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, part of the TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen sports club based in

Leverkusen Leverkusen () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, on the eastern bank of the Rhine. To the south, Leverkusen borders the city of Cologne, and to the north the state capital, Düsseldorf. With about 161,000 inhabitants, Leverkusen is on ...

, Germany. It currently plays in

ProA Proas are various types of multi-hull outrigger sailboats of the Austronesian peoples. The terms were used for native Austronesian ships in European records during the Colonial era indiscriminately, and thus can confusingly refer to the do ...

, the second division of German basketball. Based on the number of titles, Leverkusen is the most successful team in the history of German Basketball. In 2009, the

Bayer Bayer AG (, commonly pronounced ; ) is a German multinational corporation, multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company and one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. Headquartered in Leverkusen, Bayer's areas of busi ...

company cut down sponsorship and the club went down to Germany's

ProB The ProB is the third-tier level league of professional club basketball in Germany. The league comprises 24 teams, separated into a Northern and a Southern Division. Officially, the ProB is part of the ''2. Basketball Bundesliga'', which consi ...

(third division) to restructure. The license for the

Basketball Bundesliga The Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) (English language: ''Federal Basketball League''), for sponsorship reasons named easyCredit BBL, is the highest level league of professional club basketball in Germany. The league comprises 18 teams. A BBL season ...

was transferred to the newly formed Giants Düsseldorf.

History

Founded as ''TuS Bayer 04 Leverkusen'' in 1961, the club moved up to first division

in 1968. The club won 5

national championships A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the best team, indi ...

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. To the disdain of all of its supporters, in 2008 the

company decided to make dramatic cuts in its sponsorship for the team and simply focus on its

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

operations and amateur athletics. This move forced the club's basketball team to cede its

license to the newly formed Giants Düsseldorf and move down to Germany's 3rd Division Pro B to restructure. Thousands of club supporters gathered in the streets of

to protest the company's move. In 2013, the club promoted to the

League.

Season by season

Honours

German Champions The German football champions are the annual winners of the highest Football in Germany, association football competition in Germany. The history of the German football championship is complex and reflects the turbulent history of the country thr ...

:Winners (14): 1970, 1971, 1972, 1976, 1979, 1985, 1986, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996 *

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 considered ...

: :Winners (10): 1970, 1971, 1974, 1976, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995 *

:Winners (1): 2013

Roster

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

References

External links

Team Homepage
{{ProA Basketball teams established in 1961 Bayer 04 Leverkusen Basketball clubs in North Rhine-Westphalia 1961 establishments in West Germany