The Skyliners Frankfurt, currently known as Fraport Skyliners for sponsorship reasons, are a professional
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
club based in
Frankfurt
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...
,
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 ...
. Their home arena is
Ballsporthalle.
The club has played in the
Basketball Bundesliga since 1999. Its greatest accomplishments were the
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 ...
competition title in 2000, the
German national championship in 2004 and the
FIBA Europe Cup
The FIBA Europe Cup (FEC) is an annual professional club basketball competition organised by FIBA for eligible European clubs. It is FIBA's European-wide second level. Clubs mainly qualify for the competition based on their performance in natio ...
in 2016.
Its most famous player has been
Pascal Roller, who was selected as
Basketball Bundesliga All-Star seven times and played 122 games for the
German national basketball team
The Germany men's national basketball team (german: Deutsche Basketballnationalmannschaft or ''Die Mannschaft'') represents Germany in international basketball competition. The team is directed by the German Basketball Federation (''Deutscher ...
. Roller played ten seasons for the Frankfurt Skyliners until his retirement in 2011. Besides Roller, numerous other players of the
German national team played multiple seasons for the Skyliners. A notable non-German basketball player is
Mario Kasun, who played for the Skyliners when he was discovered and eventually drafted by the
NBA team
Orlando Magic in 2002.
History
The foundation
In 1999,
Gunnar Woebke, then manager and former player of
TV Tatami Rhöndorf moved his team from
Bad Honnef
Bad Honnef () is a spa town in Germany near Bonn in the Rhein-Sieg district, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is located on the border of the neighbouring state Rhineland-Palatinate. To the north it lies on the slopes of the Drachenfels (“Dragon' ...
to its current location. The declared goal was to place the team in a big arena in a large city to become a top team in the
Basketball Bundesliga and in Europe in the near future. In
Bad Honnef
Bad Honnef () is a spa town in Germany near Bonn in the Rhein-Sieg district, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is located on the border of the neighbouring state Rhineland-Palatinate. To the north it lies on the slopes of the Drachenfels (“Dragon' ...
, this did not seem possible. After going through several options – including the idea to send the team to
Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...
– ''Sylvia Schenk'', the director of Frankfurt's sports department officially announced Frankfurt as the team's new location. ''Franz-Ludwig Solzbacher'', a businessman from
Bad Honnef
Bad Honnef () is a spa town in Germany near Bonn in the Rhein-Sieg district, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is located on the border of the neighbouring state Rhineland-Palatinate. To the north it lies on the slopes of the Drachenfels (“Dragon' ...
helped organize the Skyliners' first steps but remained patron of the
TV Rhöndorf and bought a second division license from
EnBW Ludwigsburg to keep Rhöndorf from being relegated.
Later years
In its first season as a German elite team it managed to win the German Cup competition. In 2004, they won their first and only Bundesliga title, beating
Baskets Bamberg in the finals by 3–2 victories. The following year, the Skyliners had a repeated appearance in the finals, but this time the
Baskets Bamberg took the title by 3–2 victories. As in the year before, both teams were almost equally strong.
In 2004 and 2010, the Skyliners finished as runner-up in the
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 ...
competition, falling against the same opponent with identical victory splits again.
Throughout the years, the Skyliners have been known for their numerous appearances at European competitions such as the
Euroleague,
Saporta Cup and the
Eurocup Basketball.
In 2015, the team reached the
EuroChallenge Final Four, but the Germans lost both games to finish in fourth place. In the 2015–16 season, Fraport had once again an impressive European campaign, this time in the newly established
FIBA Europe Cup
The FIBA Europe Cup (FEC) is an annual professional club basketball competition organised by FIBA for eligible European clubs. It is FIBA's European-wide second level. Clubs mainly qualify for the competition based on their performance in natio ...
. In the Final, Skyliners beat
Pallacanestro Varese 66–62 to win its first European cup in history.
Arena
The Skyliners play their home games at the 5,002 seat
Fraport Arena (until summer 2011, it was called Ballsporthalle Frankfurt).
Honours and titles
Total titles: 3
Worldwide
*
FIBA Intercontinental Cup
The FIBA Intercontinental Cup, also commonly referred to as the FIBA World Cup for Champion Clubs, or the FIBA Club World Cup, is a professional basketball clubs competition that is endorsed by FIBA and the NBA. Historically, its purpose has b ...
:Runners-up:
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...
European competition
*
FIBA Europe Cup
The FIBA Europe Cup (FEC) is an annual professional club basketball competition organised by FIBA for eligible European clubs. It is FIBA's European-wide second level. Clubs mainly qualify for the competition based on their performance in natio ...
**Champions:
2015–16
*
FIBA EuroChallenge
FIBA EuroChallenge (called the FIBA Europe League in 2003–05, and FIBA EuroCup in 2005–08) was the 3rd-tier level transnational men's professional continental club basketball competition in Europe, from 2003 to 2015. It was organized and run ...
**Fourth place:
2014–15
Domestic competition
*
Basketball Bundesliga
**Champions: 2003–04
***Runners-up: 2004–05,
2009–10
*
BBL-Pokal
Basketball Bundesliga-Pokal, commonly known as the BBL-Pokal, is the annual national basketball cup competition in Germany. Since 2009, the title has been awarded to the winner of a tournament competition between top clubs of each Basketball Bunde ...
**Winners: 2000
***Runners-up: 2004, 2010
Players
Current roster
Out on loan
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 coach position
Season by season
Junior team
The second team of Skyliners plays in the
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 con ...
, the German third division. To develop its young players further, the Skyliners have merged some of their youth departments with
Eintracht Frankfurt Basketball.
Teams der NBBL Südwest – Eintracht Frankfurt / FRAPORT SKYLINERS
, nbbl-basketball.de. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
Kit
Manufacturer
Sponsor
References
External links
*
Teamcheck Deutsche Bank Skyliners
Video of the FIBA Europe Cup Final
at youtube.com
{{Fraport Skyliners 2015–16 FIBA Europe Cup champions
1999 establishments in Germany
Basketball clubs in Hesse
Basketball teams established in 1999
Skyliners