# Valur (men's basketball)

The Valur men's basketball team, commonly known as Valur, is a basketball team based in Reykjavík, Iceland. It is part of the Valur multi-sport club.

## History

The club was founded as Gosi on 25 December 1951 and was one of the founding members of the Icelandic men's top division. On 22 December 1957 the club changed its name to Körfuknattleiksfélag Reykjavíkur (English: Reykjavík Basketball Club) and played under that name until 1970. On 3 October 1970 the club merged into Valur sports club and became its basketball department.
Under the new name, Valur had considerable success in the 1980s, winning the Icelandic championship two times, in 1980 and 1983, and the Icelandic cup three times, 1980, 1981 and 1983.
In 1992, Valur reached the Úrvalsdeild finals where it lost to Keflavík 2–3.
In 2022, Valur won its third national championship after beating Tindastóll in the Úrvalsdeild finals. On 2 October 2022, Valur won its first Super Cup, after defeating Icelandic Cup holders Stjarnan 80–77.
On 14 January 2023, Valur won its fourth Icelandic Cup title, and its first in 40 years, after defeating Stjarnan in the Cup final.

## Honours

Úrvalsdeild karla
* Winners (4): 1980, 1983, 2022, 2024
Icelandic Cup
* Winners (4): 1980, 1981, 1983, 2023
Icelandic Super Cup
* Winners (2): 2022, 2023
Division I
* Winners (2): 1997, 2002

### Individual awards

* Úrvalsdeild Men's Domestic Player of the Year
** Kári Jónsson – 2023
** Kristófer Acox – 2022
** Magnús Matthíasson – 1991
** Rick Hockenos – 1978
** Torfi Magnússon – 1982
** Þórir Magnússon – 1974
* Úrvalsdeild Men's Foreign Player of the Year
** Tim Dwyer – 1979, 1980, 1983
* Úrvalsdeild Men's Domestic All-First Team
** Kári Jónsson – 2023
** Kristófer Acox – 2021, 2022, 2023
** Magnús Matthíasson – 1991, 1993
** Tómas Holton – 1989
* Úrvalsdeild Men's Young Player of the Year
** Magnús Matthíasson – 1991
* 1. deild karla Player of the Year
** Ragnar Jónsson – 1997
* 1. deild karla Coach of the Year
** Torfi Magnússon – 1997
* Icelandic Cup Finals MVP
** Kári Jónsson – 2023

## Notable players

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed.
* Criteria
* To appear in this section a player must have either:
* Set a club record or won an individual award while at the club
* Played at least one official international match for their national team at any time
* Played at least one official NBA match at any time.
* Bárður Eyþórsson
* Brynjar Karl Sigurðsson
* Einar Matthíasson
* Einar Ólafsson
* Flosi Sigurðsson
* Frank Booker
* Frank Aron Booker
* Guðmundur Árnason
* Herbert Arnarson
* Hjálmar Stefánsson
* Ingi Þorsteinsson
* Ívar DeCarsta Webster
* Jóhannes Magnússon
* Jónatan James Bow
* Jón Arnór Stefánsson
* Jón H. Steingrímsson
* Kári Jónsson
* Kári Marísson
* Kristinn Pálsson
* Kristján Ágústsson
* Kristófer Acox
* Leifur Gústafsson
* Magnús Konráð Sigurðarson
* Magnús Matthíasson
* Marinó Sveinsson
* Matthías Matthíasson
* Miguel Cardoso
* Pavel Ermolinskij
* Pétur Guðmundsson
* Ólafur Þór Thorlacius
* Ragnar Nathanaelsson
* Rick Hockenos
* Ríkharður Hrafnkelsson
* Sigurður Már Helgason
* Símon Ólafsson
* Stefán Bjarkason
* Sturla Örlygsson
* Svali Björgvinsson
* Tim Dwyer
* Torfi Magnússon
* Tómas Holton
* Valdimar Guðlaugsson
* Þórir Magnússon

## Coaches

* Ólafur Þór Thorlacius 1970–1974
* Guðmundur Þorsteinsson 1974–1976
* Tim Dwyer 1978–1980, 1982–1983
* Vladimir Obuchov 1990–1991
* Tómas Holton 1991–1992
* Svali Björgvinsson 1992–1993, 1994, 1997–1999
* Ágúst Björgvinsson 2011–2019
* Finnur Freyr Stefánsson 2020–present

## European record

| Season | Competition | Round | Opponent | Home | Away | Aggregate |
| 1980–81 | FIBA European Cup Winners' Cup | 1Q | Cibona Zagreb | 79–110 | 90–120 | 169–230 |
| 1981–82 | FIBA European Cup Winners' Cup | 1Q | Crystal Palace | 80–118 | 81–104 | 161–222 |
| 1992–93 | FIBA Korać Cup | 1Q | CRO Lyon | 74–109 | 88–128 | 162–237 |