Plymouth Raiders are a basketball team based in Plymouth, England, currently competing in Division 3 of the National Basketball League.
Founded in 1983 through a merger between two local basketball clubs, Raiders were a formidable force within the National Basketball League throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, winning no less than six national trophies between 1996 and 2004 including three National Basketball League Play-off titles, two Division 1 league titles and the National Cup in 2004.
After years of dominating the second-tier National Basketball League (later rebranded to English Basketball League in 2003), the Raiders moved to the franchise-based professional British Basketball League (BBL) in 2004, playing amongst the United Kingdom's elite teams. Their only silverware in the top-tier came in 2007, winning the BBL Trophy, though the team would reach three further BBL Trophy finals and two BBL Cup finals between 2009 and 2021, without further success.
The Raiders announced their withdrawal from the British Basketball League following the 2020–21 season, attributing to increasing rental costs of their long-time home venue, the Plymouth Pavilions. However, after a two year hiatus, Raiders announced their relaunch in 2023, entering Division 3 of the National Basketball League..
History Origins and foundation The origins of the Raiders organisation can be traced back to two local amateur basketball teams, Plymouth Kanaries and Plympton Basketball Club, both of which were founded in the late 1960s. Formed in 1968, Plympton had established themselves as a formidable force in the region, winning the local Plymouth & District League and Cup on 7 occasions, and entered the regional Southern League in 1976.
Kanaries, also a dominant team in the Southern League, became the first team to represent the city of Plymouth in the national leagues when they entered the National Basketball League in the 1979–80 season. Known as Plymouth Panasonic, due to sponsorship reasons, and coached by future Raiders co-founder Frank Pocock, the team achieved a 7th-place finish in Division Two before withdrawing after just one season due to a lack of finances. Kanaries continued to have success in the Southern League and went on to win the Founders' Cup – a nationwide competition for non-national league teams – in 1983 after defeating local rivals Plympton in the Semi-finals and Stockport Belgrade in the Final; earning a 76–64 home win in the first leg at the Mayflower Centre, Plymouth sealed the title with a comfortable 90–76 away win in the second leg on 26 March 1983, to win 166–140 on aggregate.
Having previously attempted to re-join the national leagues, the Kanaries – led by Pocock and Bob Karruck – joined forces with Plympton's Dave Mills and local basketball figures including Martyn Moon, Keith Mollard and businessman Les Palmer (of the Wrigley's company) to form a consortium in 1983 and merged the two teams together. The new club was accepted into Division Two of the National Basketball League for the 1983–84 season. A sponsorship deal was arranged with pharmaceutical producer Farley Health, and the team adopted their brand colours of red and yellow and the sponsor name Glucodin, after one of their leading products. Several nicknames were considered for the newly established team including Plymouth Cavaliers and Plymouth Armada, however after being inspired by a photo of a fox in a magazine and imagining a fox raiding for chickens, the name Plymouth Raiders was settled on by the ownership.
Early years (1983–1996) Raiders played their first competitive game on 24 September 1983, a 97–84 away loss to Calderdale Explorers, and continued with a further away defeat to Newcastle, 108–88, on the following day. Plymouth's first home game took place on 1 October, at the Mayflower Centre, with a further 75–76 defeat to the visiting Merseyside Mustangs. American Dave Lutz, formerly of East Stroudsburg University, made an immediate impact scoring 116 points in the first three games.
After an inconsistent start to the campaign, Canadian coach Graham Nicholls stepped down from his position and was replaced by his assistant Bob Karruck who led the team to lowly 10th-placed finished in their rookie season.
Gary Stronach became player/coach in 1994.
The club endured a barren spell throughout the early 1990s and were forced to leave their Mayflower Centre in 1991 due to a leak in the roof. The team underwent a brief nomadic period using venues such as the John Kitto Centre, China Fleet Centre, Ivybridge Community College and even Torbay Leisure Centre, 30 miles away in Paignton, to host home games. The Raiders returned to the Mayflower Centre, now with a brand new roof, in January 1992 and made a brief return to the Play-offs before bowing out to League Runners-up Bury Lobos in the semi-final. By late 1992, with no major sponsor in place, the Raiders faced more financial troubles and an uncertain future. Following the help of a local newspaper campaign in the Evening Herald, Wolferstan's Solicitors came forward with a sponsorship offer and investment that enabled the club to survive its second financial crisis in six years.
In the summer of 1993, head coach Bob Karruck announced his retirement and was replaced by his assistant Vic Fleming, who led the team to the 1994 National Trophy Final. Raiders were pitted against Sheffield Forgers at their home Sheffield Arena and, despite a spirited performance, they lost by 60–62 to a Sheffield team who would be crowned as Carlsberg League champions the following year. Fleming's tenure lasted only a season as he left to join the Chester Jets and was replaced by long-serving player Gary Stronach, who assumed the role of player/coach.
Golden era (1996–2004)
In 1998 the Raiders lost the league, trophy and NBL Final to Richmond Jaguars.
The 1998–99 season saw the Raiders and Solent Stars finishing the regular season on equal 21–5 records, the title was ultimately decided by a two-point aggregate differential in the head-to-head between the two teams. Raiders rallied a superb Play-off run and following the defeats of Cardiff Clippers, 111–101, and Guilford Pumas, 93–75, they edged out familiar foes Teesside in the Final at Guildford Spectrum, 71–66, securing the Play-off crown for the second time.
The 2000–2001 season saw Stronach recruit arguably the strongest roster the franchise had ever seen, bringing in Todd Cetnar and Terrence Durham, two American imports straight out of Albany and St. Bonaventure University's respectively. The addition of local players Roderick Wellington, Deng Deng (brother of Luol Deng), Canadian Peter Knechtel and Welsh international Nathan Hayes, bolstered an impressive roster and with eight straight victories to open the season, the Raiders were on course to claim the newly rebranded NBL Conference title. The first defeat of the campaign came in the Trophy Semi-final to a Worthing Thunder team that inflicted two further defeats upon Plymouth throughout the season and matched the Raiders all the way in the hunt for silverware. However, it was Raiders who came out on top with a 19–2 record and the Conference crown for the first time in the franchise's history. The season was completed with an excellent run in the Play-offs sweeping aside Sutton (98–68) and Manchester Magic (162–155 over two games), before commanding an 83–77 defeat on Worthing at Wembley Arena and claiming the Championship double.
After two seasons in Portugal, Terrence Durham's return was the only adjustment in a largely unchanged roster for the 2003–2004 season which saw the club accept an invitation to appear in the BBL Trophy for a second time, adding to a tough schedule including the league (now reverted to EBL Division 1), the National Trophy and the National Cup, which for the first time in history didn't feature any BBL teams. Progress through the National Cup provided interest early in the season, and the Final was reached with Teesside Mohawks providing the opposition at the EIS Sheffield, however it was Raiders who walked away with the George Williams Trophy after a close 89–82 victory. The National Trophy was once more unattainable following a surprise defeat to Sutton in the semi-final, but Raiders domination in the league secured another trophy, finishing first with just two defeats to London United and Reading, who finished in second place. The Play-off Final was reached again, but Raiders were unable to add a third title to the season's haul as Teesside, exacting their National Cup defeat revenge, came out on top with an 80–75 win.
Move to the British Basketball League (2004–2016) Having firmly established themselves as the dominant force in Division 1, winning six trophies in the past eight seasons, the club announced in the summer of 2004 that they had been admitted into the top-tier British Basketball League (BBL), the United Kingdom's highest level basketball competition. Canadian Ryan French, along with Gerrick Morris and Jeff Danchie, were brought in as new signings to strengthen the roster who had won the Division 1 title in the previous season. Raiders played their first BBL game on 2 October 2004, winning 63–46 against visitors Milton Keynes Lions at the Plymouth Pavilions.
During the 2006–07 season they won eight games in a row and by December found themselves joint top of the BBL. In the BBL Trophy final, at Newcastle's MetroRadio Arena on 4 March 2007, Raiders defeated Newcastle Eagles 74–65 to win their first top-flight title.
In the league, Raiders constantly held a Play-off position for the majority of the season and though qualifying with ease, just missed out on home advantage with a 5th-place finish. A journey into uncharted territory awaited the Plymouth team appearing in their first BBL Play-offs, however it was also a long journey to face opponents Scottish Rocks, as the league's most Southern and Northern teams met in the one-off clash. A dream first appearance to the Finals Weekend for Raiders was dashed by a 6-point defeat, 83–77, but a huge worry was an in-game injury to captain Gavin Love's Achilles tendon, which subsequently forced the Point Guard to miss a call-up to the Great Britain national team. At the end of season awards, Raiders "big-man" Aaron was named in the All-Star first team and 4th in the MVP ballot, finishing the season on 17 points-per-game, 12.4 rebounds-per-game and a field goal scoring average of 59%. On 1 May, the Raiders development programme was awarded with the prestigious Club Mark accolade by Sport England and England Basketball.
With such an excellent season under his belt, star man Carlton Aaron departed from the team during the close-season, trying out for teams in South Korea, before eventually signing for a Guildford side preparing for their first appearance in Europe's ULEB Cup.
After committing over two decades of service to the Raiders, Coach Stronach was presented by the BBC with a Lifetime Achievement Award at a ceremony in November, honouring the success he has brought to Plymouth. In March they travelled to leaders Newcastle, having won their previous seven league games. They faced Newcastle in the 3rd place game on 4 May 2008, and though losing 54–33 at half-time, edged out their opponents in a tight 96–92 victory taking 3rd place, the best league position in the club's history. With an average of 19 points-per-game, Plymouth's top scorer Andrew Lasker was named in the All-Star team for the 2007–08 season . After being declined by Newcastle and Guildford – who both finished above Plymouth in the league – FIBA approached Raiders with an invitation to compete in the EuroChallenge for the 2008–09 season, which Raiders also duly declined.