Real Madrid Baloncesto facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Real Madrid |
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| Leagues | Liga ACB EuroLeague |
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| Founded | 8 March 1931 | ||
| History | Real Madrid CF (1931–present) |
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| Arena | WiZink Center | ||
| Capacity | 15,000 | ||
| Location | Madrid, Spain | ||
| Team colours | White, Purple, Grey |
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| Main sponsor | Autohero | ||
| President | Florentino Pérez | ||
| Head coach | Chus Mateo | ||
| Team captain | Sergio Llull | ||
| Championships | 11 EuroLeague 4 Saporta Cup 1 Korać Cup 1 Eurocup 5 Intercontinental Cup 37 Spanish Championship 29 Spanish Cup 10 Spanish Supercup |
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| Retired numbers | 1 (10) | ||
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Real Madrid Baloncesto (which means Real Madrid Basketball in English) is a famous Spanish professional basketball team. It started in 1931 as part of the bigger Real Madrid CF sports club. The team plays in Spain's top league, the Liga ACB, and also competes internationally in the EuroLeague. Many people think they are the best basketball club in Europe. Real Madrid is currently ranked number one among European professional basketball clubs.
Just like the Real Madrid football (soccer) team, the basketball team has been super successful in both Spain and Europe. Real Madrid CF is the only sports club in Europe to have won the European championship in both football and basketball in the same year!
The Real Madrid basketball teams have won a record 37 Spanish League championships. This includes amazing winning streaks of 7 and 10 championships in a row! They have also won a record 29 Spanish Cup titles, a record 11 EuroLeague Championships, 4 Saporta Cups, and 5 Intercontinental Cups. Madrid has even won the "Triple Crown" three times. This means they won their national league, national cup, and the main European league all in one season. Many amazing players have played for the club, including Arvydas Sabonis, Dražen Petrović, Rudy Fernández, Sergio Llull, and Luka Dončić.
Real Madrid also has a team for younger players, called Real Madrid B. This team plays in a lower, amateur league in Spain called Liga EBA.
Contents
The History of Real Madrid Basketball
Early Success: 1950s to 1980s
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For over 50 years, Real Madrid has been a top team in European basketball. They have won a record 11 European titles, especially dominating in the 1960s. Their early success in Spain led to them winning 37 national league titles and 29 national cup trophies. Even when they weren't playing in Europe's top competition, they often won other European trophies. These included four Saporta Cups, a Korać Cup, and a ULEB Cup. These wins helped them get back to the biggest stages.
Great players like Emiliano Rodríguez, Clifford Luyk, Wayne Brabender, Walter Szczerbiak, Juan Antonio Corbalán, Dražen Petrović, Mirza Delibašić, Arvydas Sabonis, and Dejan Bodiroga helped make Real Madrid one of the biggest basketball clubs in the world. Madrid won 7 EuroLeague titles between 1964 and 1980, becoming a true legend in European basketball. Even when it took them 15 years to win the EuroLeague again, they still found success in other European competitions.
Madrid beat Olimpia Milano in the 1984 Cup Winners' Cup. Brian Jackson made the winning free throws. Then, Petrović scored an incredible 62 points in the 1989 Cup Winners' Cup final against Snaidero Caserta. Madrid also won a 1988 Korać Cup title against Cibona Zagreb.
The 1990s and 2000s
Real Madrid won the 1992 Saporta Cup by beating PAOK. Rickey Brown made a last-second shot to win the game. It wasn't until Arvydas Sabonis joined Madrid that Real won its eighth EuroLeague title in 1995. They beat Olympiacos in the final. Madrid then won the 1997 Saporta Cup against Verona. However, they didn't win any more big European trophies for the next ten years.
Madrid still had success at home, winning Spanish League titles in 2000 and 2005. Things changed in 2007 when Joan Plaza became the team's head coach. With players like Louis Bullock, Felipe Reyes, and Álex Mumbrú, Madrid won a new trophy, the ULEB Cup. They won 12 of their last 13 games and beat Lietuvos Rytas 87–75 in the 2007 ULEB Cup Final. Also, Madrid finished second in the 2006–07 Spanish League regular season. They were strong in their home arena, Palacio Vistalegre, during the playoffs. They won the club's 30th national league trophy by beating their rivals, Winterthur FC Barcelona, 3–1 in the 2007 Spanish League finals.
The Pablo Laso Era: 2011–2022
During Pablo Laso's time as coach, Real Madrid Baloncesto became very successful. Top Spanish players like Sergio Rodríguez and Rudy Fernández joined the team. Also, ACB Rising Star winner Nikola Mirotić was part of the team. Along with Sergio Llull and Felipe Reyes, this group of players gave Real Madrid a strong core of local talent. This team won 6 Copa del Rey (Spanish Cup) titles, 7 Spanish Super Cup titles, 6 Liga ACB (Spanish League) titles, 2 EuroLeague championships, and an FIBA Intercontinental Cup championship.
On May 17, 2015, after 20 years, Real Madrid finally won another EuroLeague championship. They beat Olympiacos in the final. Madrid's Andrés Nocioni was named the Final Four MVP. This win was called La Novena (The Ninth). After winning the EuroLeague, they also won the Spanish League championship that season. Because Real also won the national Spanish Cup and the national Spanish Supercup that year, the club achieved its first "Quadruple Crown." This means winning four major titles in one season!
On September 27, 2015, 34 years after their last FIBA Intercontinental Cup title, Real Madrid won their fifth FIBA Intercontinental Cup trophy. They defeated the Brazilian team Bauru. Sergio Llull was named the MVP of the tournament. Real Madrid now holds the record for most FIBA Intercontinental Cup titles with five.
On May 20, 2018, Real Madrid won the EuroLeague again, earning their tenth title ever. The main star of the team that season was a Slovenian player named Luka Dončić. He was named the EuroLeague MVP at just 19 years old!
On June 5, 2022, Pablo Laso had a heart attack. One month later, Real Madrid decided to part ways with him for "medical reasons." They said keeping him as coach with his health condition would be "a risk that this institution cannot assume." Laso left Real Madrid as one of the greatest coaches in the club's history. He won 22 titles, tying him with Lolo Sainz for the second-most trophies. Only Pedro Ferrándiz won more (27). Laso also coached the most games for Madrid (860), winning 659 of them. His assistant, Chus Mateo, took over as coach.
The Post-Laso Era: 2022–Present
In the 2022–23 season, Real Madrid won their eleventh EuroLeague title. They beat Olympiacos in the championship game. This win came after they had lost the previous season's championship game to Anadolu Efes by a score of 57–58. In the final against Olympiacos, Sergio Llull made a crucial 2-point shot with only 3.1 seconds left, leading Real Madrid to a 79–78 victory.
Home Arenas
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Real Madrid basketball has played in many different home arenas over the years:
- Estadio Chamartín (1931–1936): An outdoor court under the football stadium stands.
- Frontón Recoletos (1939–1952): Their first indoor court, originally a basque pelota court.
- Frontón Jai Alai (1952–1965): A larger converted court that became the club's official headquarters.
- Colegio Maravillas (1965): Used temporarily while a new arena was being built.
- Pabellón de la Ciudad Deportiva del Real Madrid (1966–1986): The first arena owned by the club, located at their training complex.
- Palacio de Deportes de la Comunidad de Madrid (1986–1998).
- Pabellón Parque Corredor (1998–1999): Used during renovations of their main pavilion.
- Pabellón Raimundo Saporta (1999–2004): The renovated and renamed Pabellón de la Ciudad Deportiva.
- Palacio Vistalegre (2004–2010).
- Caja Mágica (2010–2011).
- Palacio de Deportes – WiZink Center (2011–present): Their current home arena.
Famous Players and Coaches
Players in the Hall of Fame
Some former Real Madrid players and coaches have been honored in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame:
Dražen Dalipagić, a guard who played in 1982–1983. He was inducted in 2004.
Antonio Díaz-Miguel, a forward who played from 1958–1961. He was inducted in 1997.- Pedro Ferrándiz, a coach who led the team for many years. He was inducted in 2007.
Dražen Petrović, a guard who played in 1988–1989. He was inducted in 2002.
Arvydas Sabonis, a center who played from 1992–1995. He was inducted in 2011.
Top Scorers and Most Games Played
Here are some of Real Madrid's all-time record holders:
| Top scorers | Most official matches | ||||
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| 1. | Sergio Llull |
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1. | Sergio Llull |
1084 matches |
| 2. |  Wayne Brabender |
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2. | Felipe Reyes |
1046 matches |
| 3. | Felipe Reyes |
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3. | Rudy Fernández |
757 matches |
| 4. |  Jaycee Carroll |
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4. | Jaycee Carroll |
709 matches |
| 5. | Rafael Rullán |
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5. | Sergio Rodríguez |
580 matches |
| Show complete list | Show complete list | ||||
Head Coaches Through the Years
Many coaches have led Real Madrid Baloncesto. Here are some of them:
Ángel Cabrera: 1930–33- Juan Castellví: 1931–34
- Máximo Arnáiz: 1934–35
Segundo Braña: 1935–36
Cholo Méndez: 1939–43
Anselmo López: 1943–45, 1946–47
José Borrero: 1947–48
Felipe Kaimo Calderón: 1948–49
Freddy Borrás: 1949–1954- Ignacio Pinedo: 1954–1958, 1990–1991
- Jacinto Ardevínez: 1958–1959
- Pedro Ferrándiz: 1959–1962, 1964–1965, 1966–1975
- Joaquín Hernández: 1962–1964
Robert Busnel: 1965–1966- Lolo Sainz: 1975–1989
- George Karl: 1989–1990, 1991–1992
- Wayne Brabender: 1990
- Ángel González Jareño: 1991.
- Clifford Luyk: 1992–1994, 1998–1999
Željko Obradović: 1994–1997- Miguel Ángel Martín: 1997
- Tirso Lorente: 1998
Sergio Scariolo: 1999–2002- Javier Imbroda: 2002–2003
Julio Lamas: 2003–2004
Božidar Maljković: 2004–2006- Joan Plaza: 2006–2009
- Ettore Messina: 2009–2011
- Emanuele Molin: 2011
- Pablo Laso: 2011–2022
- Chus Mateo: 2022–present
Honours and Achievements
Spanish Championships
- Spanish League
- Winners (37): 1957, 1958, 1959–60, 1960–61, 1961–62, 1962–63, 1963–64, 1964–65, 1965–66, 1967–68, 1968–69, 1969–70, 1970–71, 1971–72, 1972–73, 1973–74, 1974–75, 1975–76, 1976–77, 1978–79, 1979–80, 1981–82, 1983–84, 1984–85, 1985–86, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1999–2000, 2004–05, 2006–07, 2012–13, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2021–22, 2023–24
- Spanish Cup
- Winners (29): 1951, 1952, 1954, 1956, 1957, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1985, 1986, 1989, 1993, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2020, 2024
- Spanish Super Cup
- Winners (10): 1984–85, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023
European and Worldwide Championships
- EuroLeague
- Winners (11): 1963–64, 1964–65, 1966–67, 1967–68, 1973–74, 1977–78, 1979–80, 1994–95, 2014–15, 2017–18, 2022–23
- Saporta Cup (a past competition)
- Winners (4): 1983–84, 1988–89, 1991–92, 1996–97
- Korać Cup (a past competition)
- Winners (1): 1987–88
- EuroCup
- Winners (1): 2006–07
- FIBA Intercontinental Cup
- Winners (5): 1976, 1977, 1978, 1981, 2015
Triple Crown
- Triple Crown (winning the national league, national cup, and EuroLeague in one season)
- Winners (3): 1964–65, 1973–74, 2014–15
Matches Against NBA Teams
Real Madrid has played several exciting games against teams from the NBA. Here are some of the results:
Images for kids
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Louis Bullock in 2008
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Sergio Llull became a very important player under coach Laso.
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Outside view of the WiZink Center.
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Inside view of the WiZink Center.
In Spanish: Real Madrid Baloncesto para niños
- Real Madrid–FC Barcelona rivalry
- Real Madrid–Estudiantes rivalry
- 2007 NBA Europe Live Tour
- 2009 NBA Europe Live Tour
