Real Madrid Baloncesto

The name of Real Madrid is one that is well known throughout the sporting world and while the football team is the first thing that people think of when it comes to Los Blancos, this is not the only sporting arena that Real Madrid manages to dominate.

The Real Madrid basketball team, Real Madrid Baloncesto, was initially founded back in 1931, as a division of the football team. Living up to the reputation of the football team, Real Madrid are deemed to be the most successful basketball team in Spain and in Europe. Their list of honours leaves the vast majority of clubs in their wake.

Real Madrid have won 32 domestic champions, the record, and their dominance has been signified by lengthy runs of successive titles, with Madrid having claimed 7 domestic titles in a row and then in another run, 10 titles in a row. They have also won the Spanish Cup 25 times, another record and they are also record holders in the European area. The Spanish giants have won the Euroleague Championship 9 times and the Saporta Cups 4 times, which is the highest number of times that both of these titles have been won. Add the fact that Madrid have clinched the Intercontinental Cup 5 times and have clinched the Triple Crown, xx, on three times, you have a basketball team that is well known for winning silverware.

Trophies

The Spanish league started in 1957 and Real Madrid wasted no time in asserting their dominance, winning the league in 1957 and in 1958. However, this was merely a taste of the dominance that was to follow. Madrid would win 7 titles in a row between 1959/60 and 1965/66, take a year off in the 1966/67 season and then go on to win 10 titles in a row between 1967/68 and 1976/77. Even then, Madrid would bounce back with title wins in 1978/79, 1979/80 and then clinching the title in 1982, 1984, 1985 and in 1986. In the first 30 seasons of the Spanish basketball league, Real Madrid won 25 titles.

The intervening years have been slower and only two title triumphs in the 1990s, in 1992/93 and 1993/94 would have seemed like a drought for the Spanish giants. Madrid would reclaim the title in 1999/2000 and then enjoy further success in 2004/05, 2006/07, 2012/13 and in 2014/15.

European Cup / Euroleague

The European Cup for basketball started in 1958 and while Real Madrid were not immediately dominant, they would settle into a rhythm in the 60s and 70s. Madrid clinched their first European Cup in 1963/64 and followed this with wins in 1964/65, 1966/67 and 1967/68. In the next decade, Madrid triumphed in 1973/74, 1977/78 and they headed into the 80s in style with a win in the 1979/80 season. Since then, Madrid have triumphed in 1994/95 and of course, they roared back to European glory in 2014/15 when they clinched the Euroleague title.

• 1963/64 Real Madrid 183 – Spartak ZJŠ Brno 174 (110–99 / 84–64)
• 1964/65 Real Madrid 157 – CSKA Moscow 150 (88–81 / 76–62)
• 1966/67 Real Madrid 91 – Olimpia Milano 83
• 1967/68 Real Madrid 98 – Spartak ZJŠ Brno 95
• 1973/74 Real Madrid 84 – Varèse (Ignis) 82
• 1977/78 Real Madrid 75 – Varèse (Mobilgirgi) 67
• 1979/80 Real Madrid 89 – Maccabi Tel Aviv (Elite) 85
• 1994/95 Real Madrid 73 – 61 Olympiacos
• 2014/15 Real Madrid 78 – 59 Olympiacos

Saporta Cup

The Saporta Cup is regarded as the second most important European trophy for basketball clubs and it was named after a director at Real Madrid, Raimundo Saporta. Understandably, Madrid would prefer to have their eyes on the European Cup but they have managed to clinch 4 Saporta Cups in their time. During the leaner years in Madrid’s history, this trophy provided some respite with the club winning in 1983/84, 1988/89, 1991/92 and in 1996/97.

Madrid also won the Eurocup, currently regarded as the second tier trophy in European basketball, in 2006/07.

Korac Cup

Regarded as the third tier European trophy, Madrid won the Korac Cup in 1987/88, making them one of the few teams to have clinched the three main European trophies in basketball.

Real Madrid also takes a great sense of pride in winning the America Basketball Cup in 1952/53, the only time this trophy was played for. This was almost a precursor to the European Cup and Madrid defeated Olimpia Borletti of Italy, 63-58 in the final.

Intercontinental trophies

Madrid haven’t just been the dominant team in Europe, they have won the FIBA Intercontinental Cup, the World Cup for Champion Clubs, on 5 occasions. In 1976, 1977, 1978, 1981 and again in 2015, Real Madrid could rightfully claim to be the best basketball team in the world, clinching the trophy of continental champions. Their record of 5 wins and 2 defeats in 7 tournaments is the strongest of all teams with the nearest challenger to Madrid being Varèse from Italy who have triumphed on 3 occasions and been runner up 4 times.

The first three titles won by Real Madrid were won in a league format, and the team that finished second in league to Madrid has been listed. The triumph in 1981 was in a single game final and the 2015 Intercontinental Cup was decided by a two-legged final.

The Triple Crown

The Triple Crown is an unofficial award with no trophy presented but it is something that teams who win it take a great sense of pride in. To be a Triple Crown winner, a team must win its domestic league, its domestic cup and the leading continental trophy it plays for. Real Madrid have achieved this feat three times, in 1964/65, 1973/74 and in 2014/15. Maccabi Tel Aviv are the team who has enjoyed this style of win the most, on 6 occasions, but many will point to the lower level of competition that they face in Israel as a factor in why Madrid’s is more important. Both teams should be congratulated for their consistency in clinching this accolade on so many occasions.

Famous players

When it comes to great players, you don’t win as many trophies as Real Madrid have without having a list of illustrious players. The thing with Real Madrid is though, for a player to stand out, they need to be spectacular. The fact that Real Madrid have 5 representatives in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, a museum dedicated to the greatest people and players in the world of basketball, indicates that this is a club highly regarded and respected around the world. Even America, the home of basketball, recognises the impact that Real Madrid Baloncesto have had on world basketball. The Real Madrid representatives in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame are:

• Dražen Dalipagić, 1982–1983
• Antonio Díaz-Miguel, 1958–1961
• Pedro Ferrándiz, 1959–1962, 1964–1965, 1966–1975
• Dražen Petrović, 1988–1989
• Arvydas Sabonis, 1992–1995

Real Madrid have also retired the number 10 after Fernando Martín passed away during his second spell with Real Madrid. Martin died in a car crash in December 1989 but he is best remembered for being the first Spanish player to play in the NBA and the second European player to play in the NBA.

Current players

Given that Real Madrid clinched the Triple Crown and the Intercontinental trophy in 2015, it is fair to say that many of the current squad will be regarded as legends of the club. The past 10 years or so have been a golden era for the Spanish basketball side but the 2014/15 season is the one where everything rally came together for Real Madrid in the modern era. Players like Rudy Fernández, Sergio Llull, Felipe Reyes and Sergio Rodríguez have all tasted success at club and international level with Fernández and Rodríguez having enjoyed life in the NBA as well.

Current coach Pablo Laso was awarded the ACB Coach of the Year award in 2013. 2014 and in 2015 while he was named the Euroleague Coach of the Year for 2015. In the past three seasons he has guided Madrid to 10 trophies in Spain, Europe and around the world.

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