Guildford Kings was a successful

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

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 ...

team, most prominent in the National Basketball League during the early 1980's and later the

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) during the late 1980s and early 1990s period. The team ceased operations at the end of the 1993–94 season and folded.

History

The team's origins date back to the London YMCA Metros who entered the National Basketball League in 1973. The Metros enjoyed several successful seasons and a variety of exotic names - due to sponsorship naming deals - throughout the 1970s, but in 1979, owner Malcolm Chamberlain uprooted the team and relocated them from

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

to the suburbs of

Kingston upon Thames Kingston upon Thames, colloquially known as Kingston, is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, south-west London, England. It is situated on the River Thames, south-west of Charing Cross. It is an ancient market town, notable as ...

and to the Tolworth Recreation Centre, and rebranding as Kingston. Kingston were one of the first entrants into the new

Carlsberg League The British Basketball League (BBL) was a men's professional basketball league in Great Britain. Since its establishment in 1987 the BBL represented the highest level of basketball competition within the United Kingdom. The organisation that o ...

, finishing second in the inaugural 1987–88

season. In 1988, the franchise was bought out by

Rangers F.C. Rangers Football Club is a professional football club in Glasgow, Scotland. The team competes in the Scottish Premiership, the top division of Scottish football. The club is often referred to as Glasgow Rangers, though this has never been i ...

, and became the Glasgow Rangers, although the team played at the Coasters Arena in Falkirk. Rangers were League Champions in 1988–89, but were sold off after just one year and returned to Kingston, where the franchise enjoyed their most glorious period. From 1989 to 1992, they won every League Championship as well as many other trophies and competitions. In 1992 the franchise was moved yet again to the brand new

Guildford Spectrum Guildford Spectrum is a leisure complex in Guildford, Surrey, England. Owned by Guildford Borough Council, it was opened on 23 February 1993 at a cost of £28 million. It is the home of ice hockey teams the Guildford Flames and the Guildford ...

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, England, around south-west of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The nam ...

to become the Guildford Kings. However, with the newly constructed Spectrum venue not yet complete, the Kings started their tenure in Guildford playing at the Guildford Sports Centre on Bedford Road before moving to the Spectrum in January 1993. The Kings competed in Guildford for two years in the

and even European competitions, until 1994, when the franchise folded completely due to the club being unable to negotiate a viable contract with the owners of the Guildford Spectrum. The league sold Kings' licence to a group headed by Robert Earl, Ed Simons and Harvey Goldsmith, who went on to establish the equally successful

Leopards The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant cat species in the genus ''Panthera''. It has a pale yellowish to dark golden fur with dark spots grouped in rosettes. Its body is slender and muscular reaching a length of with a ...

franchise. Professional basketball returned to Guildford in 2005 with the creation of

Guildford Heat The Surrey Scorchers were an English professional basketball team based in Guildford, Surrey, that competed in the British Basketball League. The team was established in 2005 as the Guildford Heat by fans of former British Basketball League te ...

. The club folded in 2009. Club basketball remains in Kingston with the

Kingston Wildcats Kingston Wildcats School of Basketball is a community basketball development club originating from Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston ...

School of Basketball, a community basketball development club that practices and plays its home fixtures at

Chessington School Chessington School (Chessington Community College until September 2018) is a co-educational secondary school with a sports centre, in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, Greater London. The current building was opened in September 2009. ...

, competing in the Surrey League and Basketball England National League.

Home arenas

* Tolworth Recreation Centre (1979–1988) * Coasters Arena (1988–1989) * Tolworth Recreation Centre (1989–1992) * Guildford Sports Centre (1992–1993) *

(1993–1994) Note: European matches and some high-profile domestic games for Kingston, and later Guildford, were often played at the larger

Crystal Palace National Sports Centre The National Sports Centre at Crystal Palace, London, Crystal Palace in south London, England is a large sports centre and outdoor Sport of athletics, athletics stadium. It was opened in 1964 in Crystal Palace Park, close to the site of the for ...

venue.

Season-by-season records

References

{{Reflist Defunct basketball teams in the United Kingdom Sport in Guildford Sports clubs and teams founded by the YMCA Sport in Falkirk Basketball teams established in 1973 Basketball teams disestablished in 1994 1994 disestablishments in England 1974 establishments in England Basketball teams in London Sport in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames Former British Basketball League teams