The Bristol Flyers are an English professional basketball team based in the city of
Bristol
Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...
. The Flyers compete in the
Super League Basketball
Super League Basketball (SLB) is a men's professional basketball sports league, league. Established in 2024, the competition replaces the former British Basketball League (BBL) as the top-level men's basketball competition in Great Britain.
Hist ...
, after promotion from the
English Basketball League
The National Basketball League, or NBL for short, is a league competition representing semi-professional and amateur basketball clubs from England and Wales. It forms levels 2 to 5 on the British basketball pyramid, in line with the Scottish B ...
in 2014. The team play their home games at the SGS (
South Gloucestershire and Stroud College
South Gloucestershire and Stroud College, also known as SGS College, is a college of further education and higher education based in South Gloucestershire and Stroud, England. It was established in February 2012 following the merger of Filton Co ...
) WISE Arena. The Flyers' head coach is Andreas Kapoulas.
The Flyers, part of the
Bristol Academy of Sport, is the largest basketball club in
South West England
South West England, or the South West of England, is one of the nine official regions of England, regions of England in the United Kingdom. Additionally, it is one of four regions that altogether make up Southern England. South West England con ...
and are a four star accredited
England Basketball and
Sport England
Sport England is a non-departmental public body under the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
Its role is to build the foundations of a community sport system by working with national governing bodies of sport, and other funded partners, ...
clubmark club. In 2013, the club was acquired by
Stephen Lansdown and became a part of the Bristol Sport Ltd group, alongside
Bristol City F.C.
Bristol City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Bristol, England. The team compete in the , the second level of the English football league system.
Founded in 1894, the club competed in the Southern ...
and
Bristol Bears
Bristol Bears (officially Bristol Rugby Club or Bristol Rugby) are a professional rugby union club based in Bristol, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby.
The club was founded as Bristol Football Club in 18 ...
, amongst others.
History
Formation and early years
The club was established in 2006 through a merger between two Bristol-based teams, the Filton Flyers and Bristol Academy (who were formerly known as the Bristol Bombers). Both teams competed in
English Basketball League
The National Basketball League, or NBL for short, is a league competition representing semi-professional and amateur basketball clubs from England and Wales. It forms levels 2 to 5 on the British basketball pyramid, in line with the Scottish B ...
Division 3 (South West), and were based at the SGS WISE Basketball Arena at
Filton College, now
South Gloucestershire and Stroud College
South Gloucestershire and Stroud College, also known as SGS College, is a college of further education and higher education based in South Gloucestershire and Stroud, England. It was established in February 2012 following the merger of Filton Co ...
. Filton Flyers finished the 2005–06 season as Division 3 (South West) Champions and earned a promotion to Division 2 for the following season, whilst Bristol Academy had finished third in the league.
The newly formed Bristol Academy Flyers commenced play in the 2006–07 season, having assumed Filton's spot in Division 2. The Flyers played their first competitive game on 28 October 2006, marking the occasion with a 55–75 home defeat to
Kent Crusaders. Flyers' Greg Streete top-scored for the débutantes with 14 points. The new-look team went on to have a very successful season, finishing Division 2 in second place with a 19–3 win record, and gained promotion to Division 1. Further success came in their inaugural appearance in the
Patrons Cup. After topping their regional pool with 3 wins and just 1 defeat in the first round, Flyers marched on with a tight 75–74 victory over
Team Northumbria in the Semi-final before losing out to
Leicester Warriors in the Final on 4 March 2007. Warriors defeated the Flyers 61–55 at the show-piece event at the
Metro Radio Arena
The Newcastle Arena (currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Utilita Arena) is an indoor arena in the city of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Owned and operated by ASM Global, the naming rights are currently held by Utilita Energy.
Ha ...
in
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...
.
In their Division 1 debut, the Flyers opened their campaign with an away defeat to the previous season's runner up,
Reading Rockets. It wasn't until their third game, an away fixture at
Derby Trailblazers – who were promoted alongside the Flyers from Division 2 – that Bristol earned their first victory. New American import signing Ryan Williams (formerly of
Brooklyn Comets) posted a game-high 28 points in the 83–91 win. Flyers' sporadic form continued throughout the early part of the season and by mid-February they had recorded just a single home win – a 99–75 win over local rivals
Taunton Tigers). A 90–84 victory over fellow struggler's Derby on 16 February kick-started a change in fortunes for the Flyers, with the team marching on to record consecutive home wins over
West Anglia Fury,
Coventry Crusaders
The Coventry Crusaders were a Coventry-based basketball team competing in Division 1 of the English Basketball League at the time of the club's closure. The team played their home games at the Coventry Sports & Leisure Centre, and their home col ...
and
Sheffield Arrows and achieve a respectable fourth-placed finish and a 10–8 win record by the end of the regular season. With home court advantage in the Play-offs, Flyers easily dispatched
London Leopards
The Essex & Herts Leopards were an English semi-professional basketball club, based in Brentwood, Essex and St Albans, Hertfordshire. The Leopards competed in Division 1 of the English Basketball League. The team was established in 1997 as War ...
in the Quarter-final with a 105–96 victory, despite Leopards' Gareth Laws posting a massive 39 points. A strong
Manchester Magic team defeated the Flyers 88–67 in the Semi-final en route to their first Play-off Championship. Flyers weren't able to better their performance during the 2008–09 season, finishing in 5th place and with first round exits in both the
National Trophy
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, ce ...
and the post-season Play-offs.
Cup Finals and League success
The arrival of former
Appalachian State players Doug McLaughlin-Williams and Davis Browne in the summer of 2009 brought about a new era of success for the Flyers. With Division 1 expanding from 10 to 12 teams for the 2009–10 season, Bristol started the campaign strongly with victories over
Coventry Crusaders
The Coventry Crusaders were a Coventry-based basketball team competing in Division 1 of the English Basketball League at the time of the club's closure. The team played their home games at the Coventry Sports & Leisure Centre, and their home col ...
and
Reading Rockets. A dismal 91–60 defeat away to Manchester Magic followed by defeats to
London Leopards
The Essex & Herts Leopards were an English semi-professional basketball club, based in Brentwood, Essex and St Albans, Hertfordshire. The Leopards competed in Division 1 of the English Basketball League. The team was established in 1997 as War ...
and
Leeds Carnegie
Leeds Carnegie was a brand name used by several sports teams associated with the Carnegie School of Physical Education, now part of Leeds Beckett University
Leeds Beckett University (LBU), formerly known as Leeds Metropolitan University (LM ...
in the following weeks ensured that Flyers' challenge for the League title would be a closely fought one. As the season progressed Flyers, along with Manchester, Leeds and
Derby Trailblazers, stormed ahead in a bid for the Division title.
As well as their positive form in Division 1, a further distraction for Flyers was their successful run in the
National Cup The English National Cup is an annual basketball knock-out competition held between professional, semi-professional and amateur teams from the various divisions of the National Basketball League (England), National Basketball League. For most of th ...
. After disposing of regional rivals
Plymouth Marjon and
Taunton Tigers in the early rounds, Flyers overcame Reading Rockets, and a 9-point deficit at the start of the fourth quarter, in a tough Quarter-final tie to win 80–84. A comfortable 83–76 victory at home to Division 1 rivals Derby in the Semi-final saw Bristol progress to their first ever National Cup Final where they were to face another league title rival, Manchester, at the
English Institute of Sport
The UK Sports Institute,https://uksportsinstitute.co.uk/who-we-are/uk-sports-institute/ previously known as the English Institute of Sport (EIS), established in May 2002, is an organisation which provides sport science and medical support servi ...
in
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...
. A low scoring and strong defensive performance from both teams produced a particularly scrappy Final. With Manchester holding a 2-point lead in the final minute, Flyers' McLaughlin-Williams managed to tie the game 57–57 with two out of three
free throws
In basketball, free throws or foul shots are unopposed attempts to score points by shooting from behind the free-throw line (informally known as the foul line or the charity stripe), a line situated at the end of the Key (basketball), restricted ...
on 1.9 seconds and force Overtime before coming out as eventual winners, with the 63–61 victory. Davis Browne was named as the game's
MVP
MVP most commonly refers to:
* Most valuable player, an award, typically for the best performing player in a sport or competition
* Minimum viable product, a concept for feature estimating used in business and engineering
MVP may also refer to:
...
with 12 points, 13 rebounds and 2 blocks to his name.
Back in Division 1, Bristol were able to continue their successful form and went on an 11-game winning streak to finish in fourth place with 16–6 record (Second and third-placed Manchester and Leeds also finished 16–6 but were placed higher due to their head-to-head results with Flyers). They swept passed fifth seed
Leicester Warriors in the post-season Play-offs but lost in the Semi-final to Derby, who ran out 76–65 winners, at the Final Four event at the Amaechi Basketball Centre in Manchester.
Summer 2010 saw a contraction of the number of teams in Division 1, going back to 10, and with the bulk of Flyers' roster returning for the new campaign, hopes of further success were high for the 2010–11 season. Starting the regular season campaign with a 9-game winning streak – including victories over fellow title-rivals Leeds, Manchester, Derby, and Reading – it wasn't until 5 February 2011 that Flyers experienced their first League defeat; a 51–80 loss at home to Leopards. The team also had another emphatic run in the National Cup in a bid to defend their title from the previous season, knocking out Birmingham Mets (59–104), Plymouth Marjon (53–92), Leeds (85–43) and Derby (69–93) on their way to their second successive appearance in the Final. They were not able to retain their crown however, instead coming up short to
Brixton TopCats
Brixton TopCats is a British basketball club based in the Brixton area of London. Established in 1985, the Men's first team currently compete in the National Basketball League Division 2, and the Women's team compete in the Women's British Bas ...
at the Final at
Ponds Forge
Ponds Forge International Sports Centre is a leisure complex in Sheffield, England. It has an Olympic-sized swimming pool with 2,600 seating capacity, a family and children's pools (50 m Competition pool and 25 metre diving pit ...
in
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...
. An injury-hit Flyers team were defeated 77–63 by the underdogs. The team didn't lose momentum as they continued their excellent form in the regular season and stormed to their first Division 1 League title, finishing with a 15–3 win record. In the post-season Play-offs, the team narrowly defeated the eighth-placed seed Derby, 91–90, in the Quarter-final before being knocked out by Leeds in the Semi-final, in a tight 81–85 loss at the Amaechi Basketball Centre.
The team entered into the 2011–12 campaign with key American's Davis Browne and Doug McLaughlin-Williams re-signed for the third consecutive season along with Flyers mainstays Tyrone Treasure and Greg Streete, as well as the addition of former
Worcester Wolves
The Worcester Wolves are a basketball club in Worcester, England, Worcester, England. The team plays in the National Basketball League (England), NBL Division 2, the third tier of British basketball. The club was formed in 2000, and from 2006 u ...
players Jordan Ranklin and Roy Owen. A strong start in the National Trophy saw Flyers top Pool 1 and progress to the Quarter-finals where they defeated
Bradford Dragons, 59–50. They went on to beat London Leopards in the Semi-final (69–62) before being blown away by a dominant and forceful Derby side in the Final at
Leicester
Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...
's Braunstone Leisure Centre, losing 60–87. Another successful run in the National Cup saw Flyers record a third consecutive appearance in the Final where they faced London Leopards. Despite leading the whole game until the final two minutes, a disastrous fourth quarter – where Flyers conceded 26 points and scored just 13 – saw Bristol lose 64–63 and subsequently gift the title to London. In the regular season campaign, Flyers also finished as runner-up to London in the Division 1 title race, before being knocked out by Derby Trailblazers in the Semi-final of the Play-offs.
Flyers opened the 2012–13 season with a record attendance of 750 spectators watching a pre-season exhibition against Team USA Select at WISE Arena. A strong start in the National Trophy first round saw Flyers finish in second place in Pool 2 and advance to the Quarter-finals, where they recorded a 79–75 victory against
Medway Park Crusaders. A second consecutive Final appearance wasn't to be for Bristol, as they were knocked out with an away defeat to
Tees Valley Mohawks. Tees Valley's Jorge Ebanks posted 31 points as the Mohwaks recorded a 95–89 win over the Flyers.
The Flyers roster was boosted by the signing of Spanish
guard
Guard or guards may refer to:
Professional occupations
* Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault
* Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street
* Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning
* Prison gu ...
Francisco Robles, formerly of
CAI Zaragoza
Basket Zaragoza 2002 S.A.D., more commonly referred to as Basket Zaragoza and as Casademont Zaragoza for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball club based in Zaragoza, Spain. The team plays in the Liga ACB and the FIBA Europe Cup. ...
, in November 2012. Robles made an instant impact and scored a buzzer beating three-point shot to secure a 68–71 away victory against
Hemel Storm in the National Cup Quarter-final. Having previously defeated Plymouth Marjon and Worcester Wolves II in earlier rounds, Bristol edged past Reading Rockets in the Semi-final with a 72–64 victory at the WISE Arena. Sixteen-year-old local student Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye posted 15 points for the Flyers who progressed to their fourth consecutive National Cup Final. However Bristol's winless streak in the show-piece event continued as they were closely defeated by Leeds Carnegie at Ponds Forge. Though Flyers led for most of the game, an incredible 14-point comeback from Carnegie in the final two and half minutes saw the Yorkshire team claim the silverware with a 66–64 victory.
In Division 1 play, injuries to key starting five players Tyrone Treasure (out from November for 9 months) and Doug McLaughlin-Williams hindered any potential title bid. A three-game losing streak in early March further dented any title hopes but following a run of eight victories at the end of the regular season, the team had risen from rank-outsiders to finish in 2nd place for a second consecutive year – though several victories away from 1st placed Reading Rockets. In the post-season Play-offs, Bristol were drawn to play sixth seeded
Worthing Thunder
Worthing Thunder is a British professional basketball, based in Worthing, West Sussex, England. They compete in the National Basketball League (England), National Basketball League (NBL) and has played their home games at the Worthing Leisure Ce ...
who finished their campaign with a 50% win percentage. Despite being favourites, Bristol fell to the visiting Thunder and were knocked out after a 71–76 defeat. Enrique Garcia and Doug McLaughlin-Williams both scored 14 points for the homes side, but it was Bud Johnson from the visitors that stole the show with 26 points.
Takeover and BBL move
On 17 June 2013, it was announced that the club had received financial backing from
Stephen Lansdown, owner of
Bristol City Football Club and the 'Bristol Sport Ltd' group. As part of the deal, the club would be entering into the top-level
British Basketball League
The British Basketball League (BBL) was a men's professional basketball sports league, league in Great Britain. Since its establishment in 1987 the BBL represented the highest level of basketball competition within the United Kingdom. The orga ...
(BBL) for the
2014–15 season as its newest franchise and rebranding itself as the Bristol Flyers (from 2014).
On court, the team saw several changes to its roster including the departures of Enrique Garcia and Francisco Robles, whilst Coach Kapoulas drafted in Spencer Wells, who had previously played in Italy and Germany. Unlike previous seasons, the team struggled in the National Trophy opening stages and failed to qualify for the Quarter-final. Their form didn't improve much in the National Cup and for the first time since the 2008–09 season, Bristol did not make an appearance in the Final, having been knocked out in the Quarter-final after 58–73 defeat at home to Reading. Sporadic victories and mixed form across their regular season campaign earned the team a 7th-place finish and a place in the Play-off Quarter-final, where they were defeated by
Essex Leopards. However moderate success did come in the form of an invitational place in the 1st round of the
BBL Trophy. Despite their poor form throughout the season, Bristol claimed a historic shock victory against
Surrey United of the higher-level British Basketball League, in the knock-out competition. England Under-18 international star Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye high-scored for the Flyers in the 91–75 win, posting 19 points and 8 rebounds. Flyers' giant-killing feat was short lived, as they were defeated in the Quarter-finals by
Cheshire Phoenix
The Cheshire Phoenix are an English professional basketball team based in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire. Founded in 1984, they are members of the Super League Basketball and play their home games at the Cheshire Oaks Arena. From 1993 until 2015 the ...
.
In preparation for the start of their inaugural BBL campaign, Coach Kapoulas signed American's Doug Herring from
Saint John Mill Rats
The Saint John Riptide were a Canadian professional basketball team based in Saint John, New Brunswick, that had home games at Harbour Station. They were a member of the National Basketball League of Canada (NBL Canada) in the Atlantic Division ...
and ex-Cheshire Phoenix star Alif Bland, from
German ProA team
Cuxhaven BasCats. In their inaugural BBL season, the Flyers finished eighth in the league, qualifying for the playoffs. However they were defeated by eventual champions Newcastle Eagles. In the next season the team finished 10th. Despite that, new signings Daniel Edozie and Cardell McFarland made a big impact on the team; McFarland made BBL team of the week multiple times and Edozie led the entire league in rebounds in the 2015/16 season.
Ahead of the 2016/17 league, veteran Doug McLaughlin-Williams was dropped from the team, with Danish international Mathias Seilund and key playmaker of the previous season Cardell McFarland also departing. To fill the gaps in the roster, the team acquired BBL veterans
Michael Vigor and
Lovell Cook, British Virgin Islands international Leslee Smith, Brandon Boggs from the Kongsberg Miners in Norway and Hameed Ali, playing his first professional basketball after five years with the
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders in
NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...
Division I.
Ahead of the 2018/19 season, Bristol Sport announced plans for a new 4,000-seat arena for the Flyers next to
Bristol City F.C.
Bristol City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Bristol, England. The team compete in the , the second level of the English football league system.
Founded in 1894, the club competed in the Southern ...
's stadium
Ashton Gate Stadium
Ashton Gate is a multi-use stadium in Ashton Gate, Bristol, England, and is the home of Bristol City F.C. and the Bristol Bears rugby union team. Located in the south-west of the city, just south of the River Avon, it currently has an all-se ...
.
Following a third place finish in the 2022/23 main season, it was announced that the Flyers would join the
European North Basketball League
The European North Basketball League (ENBL) is regional professional men's club basketball league in northern, central and eastern Europe; it has been organised since 2021. ENBL format is based on the European Youth Basketball league (founded in ...
from 2023/24. The team progressed to the quarter final stage of the ENBL, but multiple injuries contributed to a seventh place finish in the 2023/24 BBL. Flyers re-entered the ENBL for 2024/25 and became a founder member of the new
Super League Basketball
Super League Basketball (SLB) is a men's professional basketball sports league, league. Established in 2024, the competition replaces the former British Basketball League (BBL) as the top-level men's basketball competition in Great Britain.
Hist ...
.
Logos
Image:BristolFlyersLogo.png, Bristol Academy Flyers logo (2006–2014)
Image:Bristol Flyers.png, Bristol Flyers
logo (2014–2024)
Home arena
:WISE Arena (2006–present)
:Bristol Sports & Convention Centre (proposed)
As 6 October 2022, the Bristol Flyers had plans approved to build their new arena near
Ashton Gate stadium. Work on Bristol Sport's Ashton Gate Sporting Quarter, which will include a new 5,000 seat basketball arena and a hotel, will now start construction in 2025.
Season-by-season records
Players
Current roster
Notable former players
Women's Players
References
External links
Official Bristol Flyers websiteBristol Flyerson Facebook
Bristol Flyerson Twitter
{{Sport in Bristol
South Gloucestershire and Stroud College
Basketball teams in England
Sports clubs and teams in Bristol
British Basketball League teams
2006 establishments in England
Basketball teams established in 2006
Super League Basketball teams