BV Den Helder

Den Helder Kings
Leagues	Dutch Basketball League
Founded	1981; 43 years ago (1981)[A]
Dissolved	2014; 10 years ago (2014)[A]
Arena	De Slenk (1981–1992) Quelderduijn (1992–2005, 2007–2009) KingsDome (2012–2014)
Capacity	1,500
Location	Den Helder, Netherlands
Team colors	White, Navy Blue, Azure
Head coach	List of head coaches
Championships	6 Dutch Championships 1 Dutch Cup
Home Away Third

BV Den Helder was a professional basketball club from Den Helder, Netherlands. The team had several seasons in the Dutch Basketball League, the highest professional league in the Netherlands. The club is currently inactive, however Den Helder Suns has replaced the club as professional team from Den Helder.

The club has won the Dutch League six times and the NBB Cup once. The club had a long history of financial troubles, with the club being dissolved three times. The last time the club appeared at the highest level was in 2014, as the professional team was declared bankrupt during that season.

The club was founded in 1981, as a separation was made between amateur sports club BV Noordkop. BV Den Helder became the separated professional team. The club played in the Eredivisie in its first season. Home games were played in Sporthal Sportlaan and Sporthal de Slenk. With coach Ton Boot the club experienced its best years: the team won the championship six times between 1989 and 1998. Den Helder won the NBB Cup in 1992. In 2005, the club was forced to leave the Dutch Basketball League because of a shortage of money. The club played a few years in an amateur competition. Den Helder returned to the professional level in 2007, but after two seasons the club was declared bankrupt.^[1]

In 2012 the club changed its name to Den Helder Kings, as the first team returned to the Dutch Basketball League again.^[2] In its first season the team played in its new home arena KingsDome. The new head coach was Belgian Jean-Marc Jaumin. After a solid first season with a sixth place, the Kings really performed in the following season.

In the 2013–14 season, the team led by Manny Ubilla finished third in the regular season. Before the 2014 Playoffs, the name of the club was changed to "Port of Den Helder Kings" after the club started a conjunction with the Port of Den Helder.^[3] In the playoffs, the team beat Magixx 2–0 in the quarterfinals before being swept by SPM Shoeters Den Bosch in the semifinals.

In the 2014–15 season, financial problems troubled the Kings. The team had a €200,000 deficit in their budget and in December the professional team was declared bankrupt. All results of the team were removed and the Kings were expelled from the DBL.^[4]

In 2016, a new professional team in the city was founded with the Den Helder Suns which entered the 2016–17 DBL season.

Since its establishment the club frequently changed its name due to sponsorship deals.^[5][6]

• 
  2007–2009
  Den Helder Seals
• 
  2012–2014
  Den Helder Kings

Dutch Basketball League^[7]

• Winners (6): 1988–89, 1989–90, 1990–91, 1991–92, 1994–95, 1997–98

Dutch Cup^[7]

• Winners (1): 1991–92

Season	Competition	Round	Club	Home[A]	Away[A]	Agg[A]
1989–90	FIBA European Champions Cup	First round	Steiner Bayreuth	97–75	79–97	176–174
		Second round	Maes Pils	99–70	70–84	169–154
		Quarterfinal round	Seven opponents			7th place (2–12)
1991–92	FIBA European Cup	Second round	Maccabi Rishon LeZion	73–55	75–89	148–144
		Regular season	Seven opponents			7th place (2–12)
1992–93	FIBA European Cup	First round	CSKA Moscow	74–79	95–94	168–174
1993–94	FIBA European Cup	Second round	St. Vincent's	97–66	77–61	174–124
		Third round	Rabotnički	92–76	62–85	154–171
1994–95	FIBA European Cup	First round	Kyiv	89–70	63–89	152–159
1995–96	FIBA European Cup	First round	Pau-Orthez	72–94	57–88	139–182
1996–97	FIBA Korać Cup	First round	Queluz	73–71	73–78	146–149
1997–98	FIBA Korać Cup	First round	Sparta Bertrange	93–64	54–47	147–111
		Group stage	Bamberg Benfica Montpellier			4th place (0–6)
1998–99	FIBA Saporta Cup	Group stage	Five opponents			5th place (4–6)

Notes

DBL Most Valuable Player

• Jose Waitman – 1987

DBL Most Improved Player

• Jeroen van der List – 2013, 2014

DBL Rookie of the Year

• Eric van der Sluis – 1993
• Tjoe de Paula – 2002

DBL All-Stars

• Manny Ubilla – 2014
• Justin Knox – 2014

BV Den Helder

• Ton Boot (1985–1993)
• Meindert van Veen (1993–1995)

Den Helder Seals

• Peter van Noord (2007–2009)

Den Helder Kings

• Jean-Marc Jaumin (2012–2014)

• Den Helder Kings on Eurobasket.com