Alba Berlin

Alba Berlin
Nickname	Berlin Albatrosse
Leagues	BBL / EuroLeague [1] men's team DBBL women's team
Founded	1991;33 years ago (1991)
History	Alba Berlin (1991–present)
Arena	Mercedes-Benz Arena
Capacity	14,500 [2]
Location	Berlin, Germany
Team colors	Yellow, Navy, Blue
President	Dr. Axel Schweitzer
General manager	Marco Baldi
Head coach	Israel González
Most recent season position	Basketball Bundesliga, 1st of 18
Championships	1 FIBA Korać Cup 11 Basketball Bundesliga 11 BBL-Pokals 3 German Champions Cups
Retired numbers	2 (4, 12)
Website	albaberlin.de
Home Away

Alba Berlin is a professional basketball club that is based in Berlin, Germany. The club was founded in 1991, and is today the largest German national basketball club by membership figures. Alba Berlin hosts its home games at the Uber Arena and competes in the German League and the EuroLeague.

After winning eleven German Championships, eleven German Cups, three German Supercups, and the FIBA Korać Cup in 1995, Alba Berlin is considered to be the most successful German basketball team, both domestically and internationally. With an average attendance of more than 10,000 fans per game in a season, it is also one of the most popular basketball clubs in Europe. In 2013, Alba was portrayed in the ESPN documentary series Basketball Capitals. In 2014, the club was the first German basketball team to beat a reigning NBA champion, the San Antonio Spurs.

History

1991–2000: Foundation and first championships

Alba Berlin traces its history back to the BG Charlottenburg, a basketball club in western Berlin which was founded in 1989. In 1991, when the global recycling company ALBA Europe agreed to a significant basketball sponsorship, BG Charlottenburg changed its name to Alba Berlin.

Shortly thereafter, under the direction of head coach Faruk Kulenović, Alba Berlin became runner-up at the German Championship. In 1993, the Serbian Svetislav Pešić took over as coach, and the club gained successes that no other German basketball team had previously accomplished. Winning the FIBA Korać Cup in 1995 marked the first international title of a German club team in basketball.

In 1996, shortly after moving the club from the Sömmeringhalle to the Max-Schmeling-Halle, Alba Berlin finally beat series champion Bayer Leverkusen and won its long-awaited first German Championship. In addition to winning the Korać Cup and other successes at the European level, in his seven-year career as head coach, Pešić won four German championships and one German Cup.

2000–2008: Professionalization and national success

The Max-Schmeling-Halle was the team's home arena from 1996 until 2008

Under head coach Emir Mutapčić, the team recorded three German championships and two German Cup victories, but particularly at the European level no significant progress could be made. As a reaction to the time without titles, the team was largely rebuilt for each new season. In 2004 and 2005, Berlin eventually was kicked out of the national playoffs semi-final series. Organizationally, the club created the new position of team manager, which was occupied by Henning Harnisch. Further, the professional section of the club was transformed into a GmbH on 1 September 2005.

In the season 2005–06, under new coach Henrik Rödl, Alba Berlin won another German Cup. As winner of the regular season, the team advanced to the finals series of the championship, in which they lost to RheinEnergie Köln. Köln was coached by Saša Obradović, who had helped Berlin win the FIBA Korać Cup in 1995. The following season, 2006–07, however, Berlin was once again winner of the regular season but was eliminated in the quarter-finals by the Artland Dragons. This event triggered the dismissal of Rödl and the signing of a new head coach Luka Pavićević, followed by another major remodeling of the team. After injury problems in the preparation and the course of the 2007–08 season, including the loss of Goran Jeretin for the entire season and Aleksandar Rašić for the play-offs, Berlin took advantage of the insolvency of the Cologne 99ers and signed their major players Immanuel McElroy and Aleksandar Nađfeji in January 2008. Led by the league MVP Julius Jenkins, the team was superior to all other competitors in the play-offs and won the championship again after a five-year hiatus.

In the 2003–04 season, Berlin achieved its last master qualification to participate in the highest European League, the EuroLeague. Between the 2004–05 and 2007–08 seasons, the team was only able to qualify for the ULEB Cup, the second-highest European league. There, the team only made it beyond the first round in the 2006–07 season, when they were eliminated in the second round.

2008–present: Current era

With the move into the new 14,500-seat O2 World Berlin, the then-reigning champion Alba Berlin opened a new chapter in the club's history. Berlin was the first team in German history to ever average more than 7,000 fans in attendance per game. Thus, Alba's manager Marco Baldi and Supervisory Board chairman, Axel Schweitzer, decided to take the next step towards a permanent presence in international competition and appropriate presentation options. The Anschutz Group, owner of the O2 World Berlin, and Alba Berlin agreed to a 15-year contract until 2023, with an option for another ten years.

As the reigning German champion, Alba participated in the 2008–09 Euroleague. There, the team reached the Top 16, where it could not hold its ground against European elite clubs like FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Maccabi Tel Aviv. Yet, Alba had Europe's highest attendance at 11,264 spectators in the O2 World Berlin. In addition, the club gathered 14,800 spectators in the main round home game against Union Olimpija, a record crowd at a European Cup game in Germany. While at the national level in the cup final, Alba defeated Baskets Bonn. Later, Alba was beaten by the same team in the play-off semi-final series in five games.

In 2009 and 2015, the manager of Alba Berlin, Marco Baldi, was honored by Euroleague Basketball Company executives with the EuroLeague Executive of the Year Award. ^[3]

On 8 October 2014 Alba Berlin defeated the defending NBA champion San Antonio Spurs, 94–93, on a buzzer beater by Jamel McLean. ^[4]

Mercedes-Benz Arena before an Alba Berlin game in 2019

In the 2014–15 season, Alba returned to the EuroLeague and reached the Top 16. In the Bundesliga, the team had another disappointing season: it finished in second place, but was eliminated in the semifinals. In the 2015–16 season, Alba had one of its worst seasons in history as the team managed to finish only in 7th place in the regular season, though Alba won the German Cup. In the playoffs, the team was eliminated in the quarterfinals. In the 2016–17 season, the same thing repeated – a disappointing sixth-place finish in the Bundesliga.

The 2017–2018 season, though Alba returned to the finals, losing only to Bayern Munich. Alba also had one of the better Eurocup campaigns of the past years, being closest to the playoffs in years. Alba had brought an awarded veteran for the 2017/18: The Spaniard Aíto García Reneses, 70 years old at the time of signing up his first contract abroad. He had won nine Spanish championship titles (Spanish Basketball Liga) as well as Olympic silver as a coach (2008). With him a successful Spanish Army ^[5] took over: The 2017 new coaching staff also included other Spaniards: such as co-coach Israel González who had worked with Aito in the past, individual coach Carlos Frade and athletics coach Pepe Silva Moreno. As in the previous course of his coaching work, García Reneses has increasingly brought players from the younger teams into the professional team in Berlin, like Franz Wagner and Tim Schneider [26] .

In the 2018–2019 season, Alba had some of its greatest success in more than a decade, as they not only played in the Bundesliga finals for the second year in a row, but also managed to reach the 2019 EuroCup Finals, where they ultimately lost the series 1–2 to Valencia Basket. Two of Alba's players, Rokas Giedraitis, and Luke Sikma (who was also named the league's MVP), were selected to the All-EuroCup First Team, while the team's coach, Aíto García Reneses, was named the Eurocup Coach of the Year. The club also set the season's record for highest attendance, with 12,945 spectators in a finals game against Valencia Basket, which Alba won 95–92.

Alba fans in June 2022

The 2019–20 season was altered due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In a final tournament behind closed doors in Munich, Alba went on an undefeated 10–0 streak to win its 9th German title, its first in 12 years. ^[6] In the 2021–22 season, Alba won the BBL again.

Players

Retired numbers

Alba Berlin retired numbers
No	Nat.	Player	Position	Tenure
4		Henrik Rödl	SF	1993–2004
12		Wendell Alexis	PF	1996–2002

Current roster

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

Alba Berlin roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Ht. Age G/F 0 Brown, Sterling 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) 29 – (1995-02-10)10 February 1995 G/F 1 Procida, Gabriele 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) 21 – (2002-06-01)1 June 2002 F 2 Grosber, Dorian 1.97 m (6 ft 6 in) 18 – (2006-05-15)15 May 2006 G 3 Spagnolo, Matteo 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) 21 – (2003-01-10)10 January 2003 F/C 5 Wetzell, Yanni 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) 27 – (1996-07-08)8 July 1996 G/F 6 Delow, Malte 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) 23 – (2001-04-22)22 April 2001 G 7 Nufer, Anton 1.99 m (6 ft 6 in) 18 – (2006-04-09)9 April 2006 G 9 Mattisseck, Jonas 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) 24 – (2000-01-16)16 January 2000 PF 10 Schneider, Tim 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) 26 – (1997-09-01)1 September 1997 SG 11 Thomas, Matt 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) 29 – (1994-08-04)4 August 1994 C 14 Ruf, Linus 2.11 m (6 ft 11 in) 18 – (2005-07-21)21 July 2005 G 15 Hermannsson, Martin 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) 29 – (1994-09-16)16 September 1994 C 16 Nikić, Krešimir 2.13 m (7 ft 0 in) 25 – (1999-04-16)16 April 1999 PG 18 Samar, Žiga 1.97 m (6 ft 6 in) 23 – (2001-01-26)26 January 2001 F 19 Olinde, Louis 2.05 m (6 ft 9 in) 26 – (1998-03-18)18 March 1998 C 21 Koumadje, Christ 2.24 m (7 ft 4 in) 27 – (1996-07-07)7 July 1996 PF 22 Doerries, Amon 2.10 m (6 ft 11 in) 18 – (2006-01-03)3 January 2006 G/F 25 Rapieque, Elias 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) 20 – (2004-02-25)25 February 2004 F/C 32 Thiemann, Johannes 2.05 m (6 ft 9 in) 30 – (1994-02-09)9 February 1994 F 34 Bean, Justin 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) 27 – (1996-11-17)17 November 1996	Head coach Israel González Legend (C) Team captain Injured Roster Updated: 15 August 2023

Depth chart

Pos.	Starting 5	Bench 1	Bench 2	Bench 3	Inactive
C	Yanni Wetzell	Christ Koumadje		Krešimir Nikić	Linus Ruf
PF	Johannes Thiemann	Tim Schneider	Justin Bean		Amon Doerries
SF	Louis Olinde	Gabriele Procida		Malte Delow	Dorian Grosber
SG	Sterling Brown	Matt Thomas		Jonas Mattisseck	Elias Rapieque
PG	Martin Hermannsson	Matteo Spagnolo	Žiga Samar	Will McDowell-White	Anton Nufer

Season by season

The Mercedes-Benz Arena is the host venue for Alba Berlin

Alba Berlin vs the Dallas Mavericks in 2012

Season	Tier	League	Pos.	German Cup	European competitions
1991–92	1	Bundesliga	2nd		2 European Cup	RS
1992–93	1	Bundesliga	2nd		3 Korać Cup	RS
1993–94	1	Bundesliga	3rd		3 Korać Cup	RS
1994–95	1	Bundesliga	2nd		3 Korać Cup	C
1995–96	1	Bundesliga	2nd	Semi-finalist	3 Korać Cup	QF
1996–97	1	Bundesliga	1st	Champion	1 Euroleague	RS
1997–98	1	Bundesliga	1st		1 Euroleague	QF
1998–99	1	Bundesliga	1st	Champion	1 Euroleague	RS
1999–00	1	Bundesliga	1st	Runner-up	1 Euroleague	RS
2000–01	1	Bundesliga	1st		1 SuproLeague	QF
2001–02	1	Bundesliga	1st	Champion	1 Euroleague	RS
2002–03	1	Bundesliga	1st	Champion	1 Euroleague	RS
2003–04	1	Bundesliga	3rd		1 Euroleague	RS
2004–05	1	Bundesliga	3rd		2 ULEB Cup	RS
2005–06	1	Bundesliga	2nd	Champion	2 ULEB Cup	RS
2006–07	1	Bundesliga	5th		2 ULEB Cup	RS
2007–08	1	Bundesliga	1st	Fourth place	2 ULEB Cup	RS
2008–09	1	Bundesliga	3rd	Champion	1 Euroleague	T16
2009–10	1	Bundesliga	6th	Quarter-finalist	1 Euroleague	QR2
					2 Eurocup	RU
2010–11	1	Bundesliga	2nd	Quarter-finalist	1 Euroleague	QR3
					2 Eurocup	RS
2011–12	1	Bundesliga	5th	Quarter-finalist	1 Euroleague	QR2
					2 Eurocup	RS
2012–13	1	Bundesliga	5th	Champion	1 Euroleague	T16
2013–14	1	Bundesliga	2nd	Champion	2 Eurocup	QF
2014–15	1	Bundesliga	3rd	Third place	1 Euroleague	T16
2015–16	1	Bundesliga	7th	Champion	2 Eurocup	T16
2016–17	1	Bundesliga	6th	Third place	2 EuroCup	T16
2017–18	1	Bundesliga	2nd	Runner-up	2 EuroCup	T16
2018–19	1	Bundesliga	2nd	Runner-up	2 EuroCup	RU
2019–20	1	Bundesliga	1st	Champion	1 EuroLeague	CX
2020–21	1	Bundesliga	1st	Runner-up	1 EuroLeague	RS
2021–22	1	Bundesliga	1st	Champion	1 EuroLeague	RS
2022–23	1	Bundesliga	5th	Semi-finalist	1 EuroLeague	RS
2023–24	1	Bundesliga		Semi-finalist	1 EuroLeague	TBD

Honours

Korać Cup

Total Titles: 26

Domestic competitions

• German League (11)

Winners: 1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–00, 2000–01, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2007–08, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22

• German Cup (11)

Winners: 1996–97, 1998–99, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2015–16, 2019–20, 2021–22

• German Supercup (3)

Winners: 2008, 2013, 2014

European competitions

• FIBA Korać Cup (1)

Winners: 1994–95

• EuroCup

Runners-up: 2009–10, 2018–19

Other competitions

• Zadar Basketball Tournament

Runners-up: 2019

• Berlin, Germany Invitational Game

Winners: 2010

• Zielona Gora, Poland Invitational Game

Winners: 2015

• Torneo EncestaRias

Winners: 2018

• Trofeo Alava

Runners-up: 2018

• Clermont-Ferrand, France Invitational Game

Winners: 2019

• Oranienburg, Germany Invitational Game

Winners: 2019

Games against NBA teams

6 October 2012

Alba Berlin

84–89

Dallas Mavericks

O2 World, Berlin Attendance: 14.504 [7]

8 October 2014

Alba Berlin

94–93

San Antonio Spurs

O2 World, Berlin Attendance: 14.504 [8]

The road to 1995 FIBA Korać Cup victory

Round	Opponent club	Home	Away
2nd	ZTE	79–59	76–60
Top 32	JDA Dijon	106–88	81–72
Top 16	Pau-Orthez	82–101	80–78
	Birex Verona	76–66	74–87
	Estudiantes Argentaria	107–80	63–65
QF	Filodoro Bologna	77–73	80–80
SF	Cáceres	93–70	74–72
F	Stefanel Milano	85–79	87–87

Hall of Fame

Notable players

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationality 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.

Alba Berlin's home games at Mercedes-Benz Arena (formerly O₂ World) are among the most attended of any European basketball club.

German: İsmet Akpınar Stephen Arigbabu Stephan Baeck Uwe Blab Mithat Demirel Patrick Femerling Stefano "Nino" Garris Hansi Gnad Demond Greene Henning Harnisch Johannes Herber Jörg Lütcke Ademola Okulaja Marko Pešić Henrik Rödl Heiko Schaffartzik Sven Schultze Akeem Vargas Franz Wagner Moritz Wagner Christian Welp

Europe & Rest of the World: Vule Avdalović Saša Obradović Tadija Dragićević Dejan Koturović Vladimir Petrović-Stergiou Zoran Radović Miroslav Raduljica Jovo Stanojević Goran Jeretin Goran Nikolić Blagota Sekulić Matej Mamić Teoman Alibegović Vojdan Stojanovski Geert Hammink Martynas Mažeika Marius Grigonis Rokas Giedraitis Tanel Tein Martin Hermannsson Szymon Szewczyk Jiří Zídek, Jr. Vasily Karasev Tamir Blatt Bar Timor Yovel Zoosman Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje Kirk Penney

North American: Wendell Alexis William Avery Michael Bradley Bobby Brown Tyler Cavanaugh John Celestand Will Cherry Terry Dehere Sharrod Ford Kiwane Garris Julius Jenkins Immanuel McElroy Chris Owens Mike Penberthy Derrick Phelps Hollis Price Kevin Rankin Taylor Rochestie Luke Sikma Peyton Siva Dijon Thompson Luke Whitehead Mike Whitmarsh Michael Wright

Head coaches

• Svetislav Pešić: (1993–2000)
• Emir Mutapčić: (2000–2005)
• Henrik Rödl: (2005–2007)
• Luka Pavićević: (2007–2011)
• Muli Katzurin: (2011)
• Gordon Herbert: (2011–2012)
• Saša Obradović: (2012–2016)
• Ahmet Çakı: (2016–2017)
• Aíto García Reneses: (2017–2021)
• Israel González: (2021–present)

Home arenas

Alba Dancers in 2013

• Sömmeringhalle: (1991–1996)
• Deutschlandhalle: (1995), used only once, for the FIBA Korać Cup Final
• Max-Schmeling-Halle: (1996–2008)
• Mercedes-Benz Arena: (2008–present)

Sponsorships

Name sponsor	ALBA SE [9]
Main partner and shirt sponsor	Cazoo [9]
Shirt sponsor	bett1 [9]
Sport clothing manufacturer	Adidas AG [9]

See also

• 2012 NBA Europe Live Tour

References

1. Turkish Airlines EuroLeague. "Teams". euroleaguebasketball. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
2. Stadiums in Germany, Berlin Archived 6 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine Worldstadiums.com
3. Club Executive of the Year: Marco Baldi, Alba Berlin Euroleague.net
4. "VIDEO: Spurs lose to Alba Berlin at the buzzer". CBS Sports. Retrieved 9 October 2014.
5. "ALBA's Spanish Army". Welcome to 7DAYS EuroCup. Retrieved 15 January 2020.^{[ dead link ]}
6. "Berlin feiert erste Meisterschaft seit zwölf Jahren / Marcos Knight von Kapitänen zum Turnier-MVP gewählt". www.easycredit-bbl.de. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
7. "Mavericks 89–84 Berlin". ESPN. 6 October 2012. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
8. "San Antonio Spurs vs Alba Berlin Berlin". NBA. 8 October 2014. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
9. Partner-Übersicht Alba Berlin Basketballteam, albaberlin.de. Retrieved 30 September 2015. (in German)

External links

• Official website (in German)
• Euroleague.net Team Profile
• Eurobasket.com Team Profile