Derby Storm was a former
British Basketball League
The British Basketball League (BBL) is a men's professional basketball league in Great Britain and represents the highest level of play in the countries. The league is contested by 10 teams from England and Scotland. There are no clubs howeve ...
(BBL) franchise from the city of
Derby
Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...
,
Derbyshire
Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...
. The team took the decision to sit out the
2002–03 season after failing to find a suitable venue for home games. Despite early efforts for a new arena, the franchise never returned to playing action.
Founded in 1984 as the Derby Turbos later changed to Derby Rams in 1985. (which NBA head coach Nick Nurse was a player/coach), the team was a founder member of the
franchise-based professional BBL when it was set up in 1987. Another name change took place in 1991, becoming the Derby Bucks, and in 1993 the franchise withdrew from the BBL due to financial problems, but was "rescued" and allowed to re-enter before the new season began.
Future
Toronto Raptors coach and
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 ...
championship winner
Nick Nurse
Nicholas David Nurse (born July 24, 1967) is an American professional basketball coach, author and former college basketball player. He is the head coach of the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Canadian men's ...
coached here in 1990.
The team became known as the Derby Storm in 1995 and was the first British
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 to own their own venue, the Thunderdome Storm Arena, which was in fact a converted factory. The compact arena was definitely one of the most characteristic venues in the League, and often the subject of many jokes from rival fans.
Storm were given permission to "sit out" the 2002–03 season, to generate finance and find an alternative venue,
but having not returned since, the franchise membership with the BBL has lapsed. Basketball remained in the city however as fans took it upon themselves to take control of Storm's reserve team and reform them as
Derby Trailblazers. The Blazers adopted one of Storm's former homes, the Moorways Centre, as their home venue.
Season-by-season records
See also
*
John Trezvant
Notes
{{reflist
Defunct basketball teams in the United Kingdom
Sport in Derby