Antwerp Giants, named Windrose Giants Antwerp for sponsorship reasons, is a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct language ...

professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

club based in

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

. Their home arena is

Lotto Arena Lotto Arena is an arena in Antwerp, Belgium. It has a seating capacity for 8,050 people for concerts and 5,218 for sporting events. The arena opened on 10 March 2007 after nine months of construction.

. The club plays in the

BNXT League The BNXT League is a professional basketball league in Belgium and the Netherlands. The league is the first tier in both the Dutch and Belgian system, replacing the Dutch Basketball League, DBL and Pro Basketball League, PBL. The inaugural season ...

, the highest tier of Belgian basketball. The club was created from the merger of Sobabee and

Racing Mechelen Koninklijke Racing Club Mechelen, simply known as Racing Mechelen or KRC Mechelen, is a football in Belgium, Belgian association football club from Mechelen in the Antwerp (province), Antwerp province. It is a long-time rival of KV Mechelen. The ...

. Then named Racing Basket Antwerpen, it was renamed Antwerp Giants in 2005. Antwerp has won the Belgian championship once, in 2000. The team has won five

Belgian Cup The Belgian Cup (; ; ) is the main knockout football competition in Belgium, run by the Royal Belgian FA. The competition started in 1908 with provincial selections as the "Belgian Provinces Cup". Starting from 1912 only actual clubs were allowed ...

s and two Belgian Supercups.

History

In 1995, Sobabee from

and

merged into ''Racing Basket Antwerpen''. The club made its debut on the highest stage in Belgium in the 1998–99 season. Antwerp was one of the top 3 teams until 2001. In the 1999–2000 season the club won its first national championship as ''Telindus Antwerpen'', by beating Oostende 3–1 in the Finals. The team had a setback after the championship year and ended in the 6th, 7th or 8th place for five seasons in a row. In 2007 the club won its third trophy, by winning the

Belgian Basketball Cup The Belgian Basketball Cup (Beker van België / Coupe de Belgique), for sponsorship reasons the Lotto Basketball Cup, is the top tier national basketball cup competition in Belgium. The tournament is played in a knock-out format, in which teams ...

for the second time. The second team of the club plays in the Belgian Second Division, while the women's team participates in the regional competition. The team holds the attendance record for a basketball game in Belgium, with 17,135 spectators, on 31 January 2015, during their game against

Spirou Charleroi Spirou Basket, commonly known simply as Spirou, is a Belgian professional basketball club that is located in Charleroi. The club competes in the BNXT League, the highest tier of basketball in Belgium. The club's home arena is the Spiroudome which ...

, in the

Sportpaleis The Antwerps Sportpaleis () (to be renamed to AFAS Dome effective 1 September, 2025), also called Sportpaleis Antwerpen, Sportpaleis Merksem or simply the Sportpaleis, is an arena in Antwerp, Belgium. It is a multipurpose hall used for organizin ...

. In June 2017, it was announced that

Telenet Telenet was an American commercial packet-switched network which went into service in 1975. It was the first FCC-licensed public data network in the United States. Various commercial and government interests paid monthly fees for dedicated lin ...

would become the main sponsor of the team for three seasons. The signing of this sponsor, previously the main sponsor of Oostende, made the Giants one of the favorites in Belgian basketball. In the 2018–19 season, Antwerp had its most successful season in club history. In Europe, it qualified for the

Basketball Champions League The Basketball Champions League (BCL), also commonly known as the FIBA Champions League, is an annual professional basketball competition for European sports club, clubs, organised by FIBA. It is the European professional club basketball system ...

(BCL) after advancing past three qualifying rounds. Antwerp was the surprise of the BCL season, as the team beat

Murcia Murcia ( , , ) is a city in south-eastern Spain, the Capital (political), capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia, and the Ranked lists of Spanish municipalities#By population, seventh largest city i ...

and

Nizhny Novgorod Nizhny Novgorod ( ; rus, links=no, Нижний Новгород, a=Ru-Nizhny Novgorod.ogg, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj ˈnovɡərət, t=Lower Newtown; colloquially shortened to Nizhny) is a city and the administrative centre of Nizhny Novgorod Oblast an ...

in the round of 16 and quarterfinals. It qualified for the

Final Four In sports, the final four is the last four teams remaining in a playoffs, playoff tournament. Usually the final four compete in the two games of a single-elimination tournament's semi-final (penultimate) round. Of these teams, the two who win in ...

which was hosted in the city of Antwerp in the

. In the semi-finals, Antwerp lost to

Iberostar Tenerife Club Cantera Base 1939 Canarias S.A.D., commonly known as CB Canarias and known as La Laguna Tenerife for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball team that is based in La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain. Domestically, the team plays in the top- ...

, and it won the third place game over

Brose Bamberg Bamberg Baskets is a German professional basketball team from Bamberg, Franconia/North Bavaria. The club has won the German Championship title nine times and the German Cup six times. The club currently plays in the German top tier Basketball ...

. Domestically, Antwerp won the

for the first time in 12 years. In the PBL, Antwerp lost to

Filou Oostende Basketball Club Oostende, for sponsorship reasons Filou Oostende, is a Belgium, Belgian professional basketball team. The club is based in Ostend and was founded in 1970. The club competes domestically in the BNXT League and internationally in t ...

1–3 in the finals. Since the 2021–22 season, Antwerp plays in the

, in which the national leagues of Belgium and the Netherlands have been merged. On 12 March 2023, the Giants won their fifth Belgian Cup title after beating Oostende in the final. On 8 July, 2024 Antwerp got a new name sponsor. The company

Windrose Technology Windrose Technology is a Chinese electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer specializing in zero-emission heavy-duty trucks. Founded in China, the company is known for its global expansion strategy, particularly into the United States and Europe. Windrose ...

, which is located in electronic trucks are the new name sponsor. The new team name is Windrose Giants Antwerp.

Trophies

Domestic competitions

Belgian League The Belgian Pro League (; ; ), officially the Jupiler Pro League () for sponsor Jupiler, is a professional association football league in Belgium and the highest level of the Belgian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs from the 2023– ...

:Champions (1): 1999–2000 *

:Winners (5): 1999–2000, 2006–07, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2022–23 *

Belgian Supercup The Belgian Super Cup ( ; ; ), ''Pro League Supercup'', is a Belgian club competition played as a single match between the Belgian Pro League champions (also received the Super Cup host) and the Belgian Cup winners. If both teams are the same, t ...

:Winners (2): 2007, 2016

European competitions

**Third place (1): 2018–19

Names

Due to sponsorship reasons, the name of the club has frequently changed:

Players

Retired numbers

Current roster

Season by season

Head coaches

Notable former players

A list of former players of Antwerp Giants since 2000 * Kevin Punter (2017) * Jordan Callahan (2014) *

Maxime De Zeeuw Maxime De Zeeuw (born 26 April 1987) is a Belgian professional basketball player who last played for Limburg United of the BNXT League. De Zeeuw usually plays at the power forward position. He has also been a member of the Belgian national baske ...

(2012–14) * Yannick Driesen (2012–14) * Marko Špica (2013–14) *

Frank Turner Francis Edward Turner (born 28 December 1981) is an English Punk rock, punk and Folk music, folk singer-songwriter from Meonstoke, Hampshire. He began his career as the vocalist of post-hardcore band Million Dead, then embarked upon a primaril ...

(2013–14) *

Clayton Vette Clayton Vette (born September 5, 1988) is an American professional basketball player, who last played for Okapi Aalst of the Pro Basketball League (PBL). Standing at , Vette plays as power forward. He is currently an assistant basketball coach at ...

(2013–14) * Ralph Biggs (2010–13) * Jason Love (2012–13) *

Salah Mejri Salah Mejri (; born June 15, 1986) is a Tunisian former professional basketball player who represented the senior Tunisian national basketball team internationally. Standing at , he played at the center position. After a successful career in E ...

(2010–12) * Michael Roll (2010–12) *

Julian Vaughn Julian Vaughn (born December 16, 1988) is an American former professional basketball player. He is a tall power forward- center. College career Vaughn played college basketball at Florida State University, with the Florida State Seminoles in 20 ...

(2011–12) *

Christophe Beghin Christophe Beghin (born 2 January 1980) is a Belgian retired basketball player and current coach. Born in Schaerbeek, Beghin had a long and successful professional career in which he was elected Belgium's Player of the Year three times. Beghin h ...

(2008–10) * Thomas Gardner (2009–10) *

Nick Oudendag Nick Oudendag (born 23 April 1987) is a Dutch former basketball player. Standing at , he played as center. During his career, Oudendag was a member of the Netherlands national team. Professional career He has played most of his career with the Du ...

(2007–09) * Brian Lynch (2008–09) * Mladen Sekularac (2005–08) *

Ryan Sears Ryan Joseph Sears (born 30 December 1998) is a Welsh footballer who plays as a right back for Cymru Premier club Newtown. Sears came through the youth academy at Shrewsbury Town playing seven times for the club in EFL League One. He also spen ...

(2007–08) * Ian Hanavan (2007–08) *

Ayinde Ubaka Ayinde X. Ubaka (born February 9, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the California Golden Bears and spent seven seasons playing professionally overseas. High school career Ubaka attended ...

(2007–08) * Len Matela (2003–07) *

Gur Shelef Gur Shelef (; born January 10, 1974) is an Israeli former professional basketball player. Standing at he played at the small forward and power forward (basketball), power forward positions. His father, Ami Shelef, and brother, Uri Shelef, were al ...

(2005–07) * Domien Loubry (2001–06) * Sebastien Bellin (2003–06) * Peter Lorant (2005–06) *

Ron Ellis Ronald John Edward Ellis (January 8, 1945 – May 11, 2024) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. Ellis played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Ellis won the Stanley Cup in 1967, and took part in th ...

(2004–05) *

Shaun Stonerook Shaun Andrew Stonerook (born August 19, 1977) is a retired Italian-American professional basketball player. At a height of tall, he played mainly at the power forward position, but he could also play as a small forward, if needed. High school S ...

(2000–01) *

Otis Hill Otis Hill (born 31 March 1974) is a former American professional basketball player. He played as a power forward. He graduated from Pleasantville High School in New York State, played basketball there and won many awards. At Pleasantville High S ...

(2000–01) *

Speedy Smith Kenneth Jerome "Speedy" Smith Jr. (born January 28, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for Türk Telekom of the Turkish Basketbol Süper Ligi (BSL). He was named Conference USA Men's Basketball Player of the Year in 2015. Early ...

(2020) *

Milos Babic Milos or Melos (; , ; ) is a volcanic Greek island in the Aegean Sea, just north of the Sea of Crete. It is the southwestern-most island of the Cyclades group. The ''Venus de Milo'' (now in the Louvre), the ''Poseidon of Melos'' (now in the NA ...

(2000–01) *

Andy Van Vliet Andy Van Vliet (born 27 July 1995) is a Belgian professional basketball player for Rostock Seawolves of the German Basketball Bundesliga. He played college basketball for the University of Wisconsin and the College of William & Mary. He plays at ...

(2014–15) *

Hans Vanwijn Hans Vanwijn (born 15 February 1995) is a Belgian professional basketball player for Merkezefendi Belediyesi Denizli of the Basketbol Süper Ligi (BSL). Professional career Vanwijn was named the BLB Young Player of the Year during the 2015–16 ...

(2017–20) * Jean-Marc Nwema (2009–16, 2021–24)

References

External links

Antwerp Giants official Web site
{{BNXT League Basketball teams established in 1995 Basketball teams in Belgium Sports clubs and teams in Antwerp Pro Basketball League teams