# BC Astana

Astana Basketball Club (Kazakh: Astana Basketbol Kluby), commonly referred to as BC Astana, is a Kazakh professional basketball club that is based in Astana, Kazakhstan. Founded in 2011, it has competed in the Kazakhstan Basketball Championship and the VTB United League since, obtaining many domestic titles in the process.

## History

BC Astana was created in March 2011, with the aim of competing in the VTB United League. Valery Tikhonenko was chosen as the team's general director. There were doubts expressed by other clubs in the VTB United League, about whether or not the club would be a good addition to the competition, due to the lack of basketball tradition in Kazakhstan; but the side answered all the admission requirements, including their budget, stadium (a revamped Saryarka Velodrome) and the proximity of hotels, and an international airport. The side received the totality of its funding from the Samruk-Kazyna sovereign wealth fund.
They would sign a number of Kazakhstani players from successful side Astana Tigers, also recruiting their head coach, Vitaly Strebkov, to serve as the team's assistant coach.
In their first season in the VTB United regional league, the team from Kazakhstan won 7 games out of 16 during 2011–12 regular season, including games against strong sides, such as Žalgiris and the defending title holders, Khimki, nearly reaching the playoffs. They had more success on the domestic front, winning the Kazakhstani national domestic league championship, and the Kazakhstani Cup.
The team became a part of the Astana Presidential Club multi-sports club, when it was formed in December 2012.

## Arenas

BC Astana plays its home basketball games at the Saryarka Velodrome, which has a seating capacity of 10,000 people for basketball games.

## Logos

* Logo (2011–2017)
* Logo (2017–2022)
* Logo (2022–present)

## Players
### Current roster

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed.

### Depth chart

| Pos. | Starting 5 | Bench |
| C | Dmitriy Gavrilov | Askar Maidekin |
| PF | Devin Davis | Igor Kanygin |
| SF | Maxim Marchuk | Ruslan Aitkali |
| SG | Roman Marchuk | Vadim Chsherbak |
| PG | Rustam Murzagaliyev | Markell Johnson |

## Season by season

| Season | Domestic competitions | Domestic competitions | Domestic competitions | Domestic competitions | Kazakhstani Cup | Regional competitions | Regional competitions | Regional competitions | Continental competitions | Continental competitions | Continental competitions |
| Season | Tier | League | Pos. | Postseason | Kazakhstani Cup | League | Pos. | Result | Tier | League | Result |
| 2011–12 | 1 | KBC | 1 | Champion | Winner (x2) | VTB | 7 | — | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| 2012–13 | 1 | KBC | 1 | Champion | Winner | VTB | 5 | 1R | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| 2013–14 | 1 | KBC | 1 | Champion | Winner | VTB | 5 | 1R | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| 2014–15 | 1 | KBC | 1 | Champion | DNP | VTB | 8 | QF | 3 | FIBA EuroChallenge | T16 |
| 2015–16 | 1 | KBC | 2 | Runners-up | DNP | VTB | 15 | — | 3 | FIBA Europe Cup | RS |
| 2016–17 | 1 | KBC | 1 | Champion | Winner | VTB | 8 | QF | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| 2017–18 | 1 | KBC | 1 | Champion | Winner | VTB | 10 | — | | FIBA Asia Champions Cup | Bronze |
| 2018–19 | 1 | KBC | 1 | Champion | Winner | VTB | 6 | QF | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| 2019–20 | 1 | KBC | 1 | Champion | DNP | VTB | 9 | — | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| 2020–21 | 1 | KBC | 1 | Champion | Winner | VTB | 12 | — | | FIBA Asia Champions Cup | |
| 2021–22 | 1 | KBC | 1 | Champion | | VTB | 10 | — | DNP | DNP | DNP |

## Trophies and awards

* FIBA Asia Champions Cup:
** Bronze (1): 2017
* West Asia Super League
** Bronze medal (1): 2022–23
* Kazakhstan Basketball Championship:
** Winner (11): 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023
* Kazakhstan Basketball Cup:
** Winner (11): 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023

## Head coaches

* Matteo Boniciolli: (2011–13)
* Aleksandar Trifunović: (2013–15)
* Ramūnas Butautas: (2015–16)
* Ilias Papatheodorou: (2016–17)
* Kostas Flevarakis: (2017–2018)
* Mikhail Karpenko: (2018)
* Emil Rajković: (2018–2021)
* Darko Ruso: (2021–2022)
* Dejan Parežanin: (2022)
* Oleg Kisilev: (2022–2024)
* Fotis Takianos: (2024–present)

## Notable players

    To appear in this section a player must have 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.
* Rašid Mahalbašić
* Leonidas Kaselakis
* Dimitrios Katsivelis
* Dmitriy Gavrilov
* Rustam Murzagaliyev
* Anton Ponomarev
* Anatoliy Kolesnikov
* Jānis Blūms
* Ojārs Siliņš
* Ivan Paunić
* Justin Carter
* Anthony Clemmons
* Jerry Johnson
* Adonis Thomas
* Isaiah Whitehead

## References and notes

* ↑ "A brand of our country is well-known all around the world". BC Astana. Archived from the original on 27 June 2015. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
* ↑ "Report on the use of property, BC Astana for the year 2012". BC Astana. Archived from the original on 29 June 2015. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
* ↑ "Valery Tikhonenko: The goal of "Astana" - is return big basketball to Kazakhstan". VTB United League. 13 June 2011. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
* ↑ Ibraev, Serik (6 April 2011). "Новые "Тигры"" Русский [New Tigers]. Sports.kz (in Russian). Np.kz. Retrieved 26 June 2015 – via Sports.kz.
* ↑ "Valeriy Tikhonenko: We are ready to bring multiple surprises in the upcoming season". VTB United League. 3 September 2012. Archived from the original on 29 June 2015. Retrieved 26 June 2015.