# Bayer Giants Leverkusen

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 ProB, the third 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 as his assistant.

## 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.

## Season by season

| Season | Tier | League | Pos. | German Cup | European competitions | European competitions |
| 1989–90 | 1 | Bundesliga | 1st | Champion | 2 Cup Winners' Cup | R16 |
| 1990–91 | 1 | Bundesliga | 1st | Champion | 1 Champions Cup | QF |
| 1991–92 | 1 | Bundesliga | 1st | | 1 Euroleague | GS |
| 1992–93 | 1 | Bundesliga | 1st | Champion | 1 Euroleague | GS |
| 1993–94 | 1 | Bundesliga | 1st | Semifinalist | 1 Euroleague | GS |
| 1994–95 | 1 | Bundesliga | 1st | Champion | 1 Euroleague | GS |
| 1995–96 | 1 | Bundesliga | 1st | Runner-up | 1 Euroleague | GS |
| 1996–97 | 1 | Bundesliga | 4th | | 1 Euroleague | GS |
| 1997–98 | 1 | Bundesliga | 8th | | 2 EuroCup | R32 |
| 1998–99 | 1 | Bundesliga | 4th | | 3 Korać Cup | GS |
| 1999–00 | 1 | Bundesliga | 2nd | | 3 Korać Cup | GS |
| 2000–01 | 1 | Bundesliga | 3rd | Third position | 1 SuproLeague | RS |
| 2001–02 | 1 | Bundesliga | 5th | | 3 Korać Cup | R16 |
| 2002–03 | 1 | Bundesliga | 8th | | 4 Regional Challenge Cup North | RU |
| 2003–04 | 1 | Bundesliga | 8th | | | |
| 2004–05 | 1 | Bundesliga | 13th | | | |
| 2005–06 | 1 | Bundesliga | 10th | | | |
| 2006–07 | 1 | Bundesliga | 8th | | | |
| 2007–08 | 1 | Bundesliga | 6th | | | |
| 2008–09 | 4 | 1st Regionalliga | 1st | | | |
| 2009–10 | 3 | ProB | 7th | | | |
| 2010–11 | 3 | ProB | 8th | | | |
| 2011–12 | 3 | ProB | 11th | | | |
| 2012–13 | 3 | ProB | 5th | | | |
| 2013–14 | 2 | ProA | 13th | | | |
| 2014–15 | 2 | ProA | 14th | | | |
| 2015–16 | 2 | ProA | 15th | | | |
| 2016–17 | 3 | ProB | 4th | | | |
| 2017–18 | 3 | ProB | 8th | | | |
| 2018–19 | 3 | ProB | 1st | | | |
| 2019–20 | 2 | ProA | 5th | | | |
| 2020–21 | 2 | ProA | 5th | | | |
| 2021–22 | 2 | ProA | 5th | | | |
| 2022–23 | 2 | ProA | 17th | |
* ↑ Sold its place to Giants Düsseldorf.

## 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
* ProB
** Winners (2): 2013, 2019
* 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.
* 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

* Date: 9 September 1984
* Venue: Wilhelm-Dopatka-Halle, Leverkusen :
Seattle SuperSonics 109 – Bayer 04 Leverkusen 86

## Roster 2022/23

| # | Name | Birth Date | Nationality | Height | Body Weight | Position | Former Club |
| 0 | Abdul Mohamed | 03.12.1996 | Canada | 2,01 m | 93 kg | SF/PF | Montreal Alliance (CAN-CEBL) |
| 2 | Aimé Olma | 16.05.2004 | Germany | 1,93 m | 83 kg | SG | Giants Düsseldorf (GER-ProB) |
| 3 | Gabriel de Oliveira | 03.03.1998 | Germany / Brazil | 2,06 m | 102 kg | PF | Rostock Seawolves (BBL) |
| 4 | Lennart Litera | 15.04.2004 | Germany | 1,91 m | 70 kg | SG | BBV Köln-Nordwest |
| 5 | Kadre Gray | 02.07.1997 | Canada | 1,85 m | 86 kg | PG/SG | Ottawa BlackJacks (CAN-CEBL) |
| 7 | Matthew Meredith | 07.07.2000 | Germany / United States | 1,98 m | 93 kg | SG/SF | Skyliners Frankfurt (BBL) |
| 8 | Dejan Kovacevic | 27.12.1996 | Germany | 2,08 m | 99 kg | PF | Crailsheim Merlins (BBL) |
| 9 | Marius Stoll | 09.07.1999 | Germany | 1,97 m | 94 kg | PG | OrangeAcademy (GER-ProB) |
| 10 | Haris Hujic | 30.04.1997 | Germany | 1,92 m | 93 kg | PG/SG | BG Göttingen (BBL) |
| 18 | Justin Gnad | 24.06.1997 | Germany | 1,94 m | 105 kg | SF | Own Youth |
| 21 | Robert Drijencic | 20.04.1996 | Germany | 1,93 m | 93 kg | PG/SG/SF | Wiha Panthers Schwenningen (GER-ProA) |
| 22 | Dennis Heinzmann | 22.01.1991 | Germany | 2,16 m | 120 kg | C | RheinStars Köln (GER-ProB) |
| 24 | Thomas Fankhauser | 26.08.2001 | Germany | 2,01 m | 96 kg | SF/PF | RheinStars Köln (GER-ProB) |
| 30 | TreVion Crews | 03.03.1996 | United States | 1,83 m | 82 kg | PG | BBC Résidence (LUX) |
| 33 | Nick Hornsby | 21.06.1995 | United States | 2,01 m | 107 kg | SF/PF | Capital City Go-Go (NBA G-League) |
| 34 | Stef Van Bussel | 18.06.2004 | Netherlands | 2,01 m | 100 kg | PF/C | BAL (basketball club) (NL) |
| 55 | Joel Lungelu | 20.08.2003 | Germany | 2,05 m | 114 kg | PF/C | Own Youth |
| HC | Hansi Gnad | 04.06.1963 | Germany | | | Headcoach | |
| AC | Jacques Schneider | 16.08.1992 | Germany | | | Assistant Coach | |
| AC | Philipp Stachula | 14.10.1987 | Germany | | | Assistant Coach | |
| AC | Philip Jacobs | 20.10.1993 | Germany | | | Athletiktrainer | |
Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed.

## Notable players

* Denis Wucherer
* Demond Greene
* Hansi Gnad
* Kristjan Kangur
    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.
* Stephan Baeck 4 seasons: '83–'85, '90–'92
* Gunther Behnke 11 seasons: '81–'92
* John Ecker 12 seasons: '71–'83
* Hansi Gnad 4 seasons: '95–'97, '99–'01
* Demond Greene 3 seasons: '02–'05
* Henning Harnisch 8 seasons: '88–'96
* Steven Hutchinson 3 seasons: '99–'02
* Rudi Kleen 11 seasons: '70–'81
* Moritz Kleine-Brockhoff 6 seasons: '88–'94
* Michael Koch 5 seasons: '91–'96
* Dieter Kuprella 9 seasons: '68–'77
* Michael Pappert 4 seasons: '85–'89
* Jochen Pollex 3 seasons: '69–'72
* Sven Schultze 3 seasons: '02–'05
* Norbert Thimm 10 seasons: '69–'72,'74–'81
* Christian Welp 5 seasons: '91–'96
* Denis Wucherer 9 seasons: '92–'98, '02–'05
* Kristjan Kangur 2 seasons: '04–'06
* John Best 3 seasons: '00–'03
* Tony Dawson 2 seasons: '95–'97
* Nate Fox 5 seasons: '02–'03, '05–'08
* Tom Garrick 2 seasons: '93–'95
* Nick Hornsby 2 seasons: '18–'20
* Kannard Johnson 4 seasons: '89–'93
* J. J. Mann 2 seasons: '20–'22
* Clinton Wheeler 4 seasons: '89–'93

## Head coaches

| Coach | Start | End |
| Günter Hagedorn | 1969 | 1973 |
| Bernd Röder | 1975 | 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 |
| Achim Kuczmann | 2011 | 2018 |
| Hans-Jürgen Gnad | 2018 | present |