Bayer Giants Leverkusen is a professional basketball club, part of the TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen sports club based in Leverkusen, Germany. It currently plays in ProA, the second division of German basketball.
Based on the number of titles, Bayer Leverkusen is the most successful team in the history of German Basketball with a record-14 championships and 10 Cups. In 2009, the Bayer company cut down sponsorship and the club went down to Germany's ProB (third division) to restructure. The license for the Basketball Bundesliga was transferred to the newly formed Giants Düsseldorf.
The team is currently coached by two of its legends: Hansi Gnad and Michael Koch.Koch returns, 20 October 2023
History Founded as TuS Bayer 04 Leverkusen in 1961, the club moved up to first division Basketball Bundesliga in 1968. The club won 5 national championships 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.
The first success came in 1970 when TuS 04 won the double under coach Günter Hagedorn with more Trophies and participations in European competitions following during the 1970s. From 1970 until 1977 the club played in 5 Cup Finals winning four titles. In 1985 and 1986 Bayer won the German Championship again before establishing itself as a powerhouse in the 1990s with constant presence in the FIBA Euroleague after winning 7 championships in a row (1990–96) with coach Dirk Bauermann.
After the team lost three of its key players on a free transfer in the summer of 1996 (Michael Koch, Chris Welp and Henning Harnisch) Alba Berlin was the team that broke Bayer's dominance with the last success being the 2nd place in the league in 2000. The last participation in Europe's top competition was in the 2000-01 season when the club as German's runners-up played in the Suproleague.
To the disdain of all of its supporters, in 2008 the Bayer company decided to make dramatic cuts in its sponsorship for the team and simply focus on its football operations and amateur athletics. This move forced the club's basketball team to cede its Basketball Bundesliga license to the newly formed Giants Düsseldorf and move down to Germany's 4th Division Regionalliga to restructure. Thousands of club supporters gathered in the streets of Leverkusen to protest the company's move. Giants won the Regionalliga and promotion to the ProB in their first season.
In 2013, the club promoted to the ProA League, but it was relegated to the ProB two years later. In 2019 Bayer returned to the ProA, German basketball's second tier, but relegated in 2023. In the 2024/25 season, the Giants lost only one of their 34 games. The club ultimately won the ProB championship against the SBB Baskets. They subsequently moved up to the ProA.
Season by season
SeasonTierLeaguePos.German CupEuropean competitions1989–901 Bundesliga1stChampion 2 Cup Winners' Cup 1990–911 Bundesliga1stChampion 1 Champions Cup 1991–921 Bundesliga1st 1 Euroleague 1992–931 Bundesliga1stChampion 1 Euroleague 1993–941 Bundesliga1st Semifinalist 1 Euroleague 1994–951 Bundesliga1stChampion 1 Euroleague 1995–961 Bundesliga1stRunner-up 1 Euroleague 1996–971 Bundesliga4th 1 Euroleague 1997–981 Bundesliga8th 2 EuroCup 1998–991 Bundesliga4th 3 Korać Cup 1999–001 Bundesliga2nd 3 Korać Cup 2000–011 Bundesliga3rd Third position 1 SuproLeague 2001–021 Bundesliga5th 3 Korać Cup 2002–031 Bundesliga8th 4 Regional Challenge Cup North RU2003–041 Bundesliga8th2004–051 Bundesliga13th2005–061 Bundesliga10th2006–071 Bundesliga8th2007–081 Bundesliga6th2008–094 1st Regionalliga2009–103 ProB7th2010–113 ProB2011–123 ProB2012–133 ProB2013–142 ProA13th2014–152 ProA14th2015–162 ProA15th2016–173 ProB2017–183 ProB2018–193 ProB2019–202 ProA5th2020–212 ProA5th2021–222 ProA5th2022–232 ProA17th2023–243ProB2nd2024–253ProB2025–262ProA17th
Honours German Champions Winners (14-record): 1970, 1971, 1972, 1976, 1979, 1985, 1986, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996 Runners-up (6): 1977, 1980, 1987, 1988, 1989, 2000 German Cup: Winners (10): 1970, 1971, 1974, 1976, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995 Runners-up (2): 1977, 1989 ProA Runners-up (1): 2021 ProB Winners (3-record): 2013, 2019, 2025 1. Regionalliga Winners (1): 2009
European participations The club has competed for 21 seasons in European competitions organized by FIBA Europe from 1970 until 2003.German clubs in Europe - sathanasias
FIBA Euroleague/Suproleague : 11 times (1970–71, 1971–72, 1972–73, 1990–91, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1994–95, 1995–96, 1996–97, 2000–01) Cup Winners' Cup: 4 times (1974–75, 1987–88, 1989–90, 1997–98) Korac Cup: 5 times (1975–76, 1988–89, 1998–99, 1999–00, 2001–02) FIBA Regional Conference: 1 time (2002–03)
Games against NBA teams
Players
Current 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 Coach Start End Pascal Chatziathanasiou 1965 1968 Günter Hagedorn 1969 1973 Bernd Röder 1975 1976 Dragoş Nosievici 1977 1978 Chris Lee 1980 1984 Jim Kelly 1984 1989 Dirk Bauermann 1989 1998 Calvin Oldham 1998 2002 Heimo Förster 2002 2005 Achim Kuczmann 2005 2008 Stephan Ruers 2008 2010 Chris Martin 2010 2011 Achim Kuczmann 20112018 Hans-Jürgen Gnad 20182024 Michael Koch since 2024
See also TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen (handball) Bayer 04 Leverkusen (football)
References
External links Team Homepage