ASVEL Basket

ASVEL Basket, currently known as LDLC ASVEL for sponsorship reasons,^[1] is a French professional basketball team that is located in the city of Villeurbanne, which is a suburb of Lyon, France. The club, which is the basketball section of the ASVEL multi-sports club, competes in the top-tier level French Pro A League. The club's home games are played at L'Astroballe, which seats 5,556 people.^[2]

LDLC ASVEL
Leagues	LNB Élite EuroLeague
Founded	1948; 76 years ago (1948)
Arena	LDLC Arena Astroballe
Capacity	12,500 5,556
Location	Villeurbanne, Lyon, France
Main sponsor	LDLC OL
President	Tony Parker
Head coach	Pierrick Poupet
Championships	21 French Championships 10 French Cups 2 French Supercups 1 French Federation Cup 1 French Leaders Cup
Retired numbers	3 (4, 4, 5)
Website	ldlcasvel.com
Home Away Third

Founded in 1948, the team is the most successful in French basketball with 21 LNB Élite championships and 10 French Cup titles.

In 2014, Tony Parker became the president of the club. In 2017, Nicolas Batum became the club's director of basketball operations. In June 2019, football club Olympique Lyonnais's holding company OL Groupe purchased a 25% stake in the ASVEL men's team, plus a 10% stake in the ASVEL women's team, in a deal worth around €3.7 million.^[3] The deal also included a plan for a new EuroLeague-standard arena.^[4]

History

The parent club was founded in 1948, with the merger of two multi-sport clubs in Lyon and vicinity; ASVEL is an acronym combining the names of the predecessor clubs—Association Sportive Villeurbanne and Éveil Lyonnais. In its history, ASVEL has won 21 French Pro A League championships, 10 French Cups, two French Supercups, one French Federation Cup, and one Semaine des As Cup (French Pro A Leaders Cup), which makes it the most titled basketball club in France.

In 2014, former San Antonio Spurs star and France national team player, Tony Parker, became the club's president.

In the French Pro A League 2015–16 season, ASVEL won its 18th French League title, after beating Strasbourg IG 3 games to 2 in the French Pro A League Finals. ASVEL was down 2–0 in the series, but won three games in a row to take the championship.^[5]

In March 2017, NBA player, Nicolas Batum, became a shareholder in Infinity Nine Sports, the main investment company behind the club, and took over the position as director of basketball operations. Tony Parker remained majority owner, and ASVEL President.^[6] In 2018, the club signed a 10-year name sponsorship agreement with LDLC. The club also changed its main team colors from the original white and green to white and black, and changed its main logo design.^[1]

In 2019, ASVEL returned to the EuroLeague after the organisation decided to give the team a wild card for two years.^[7]

In the 2021–22 season, ASVEL won its third Pro A championship in a row, its first three-peat in 32 years after beating Monaco in the Finals.^[8]

Arenas

In July 2016, ASVEL announced that it would build a new multi-functional arena, with a projected seating capacity between 12,000 and 16,000 people, depending on the configuration.^[9] The arena is projected to cost €60 million.^[10] The new arena will be named the LDLC Arena, and its design and construction were given to architectural firm Populous and Citinea.^[11] Construction began in January 2022 and was opened in November 2023.^[12][9]

• 
  Astroballe
• 
  LDLC Arena

Logos and branding

• 
  (The official logo of the club, 2011–2018)
• 
  (The official logo of the club, 2018–present)

On September 11, 2018, the club changed its name to LDLC ASVEL for sponsorship reasons. Along with this change, the club changed its main colors from green to black and white.^[13] The decision was made with the explanation that, "when you are European, green is a colour that does not make you dream", and was followed by criticism from fans.^[14] The new logo, used since 2018, consists of the number four, which refers to ASVEL legend Alain Gilles, while also keeping the V that was used in the previous logo.

Honours

Domestic competitions

• French League

Winners (21): 1948–49, 1949–50, 1951–52, 1954–55, 1955–56, 1956–57, 1963–64, 1965–66, 1967–68, 1968–69, 1970–71, 1971–72, 1974–75, 1976–77, 1980–81, 2001–02, 2008–09, 2015–16, 2018–19, 2020–21, 2021–22

Runners-up (7): 1953–54, 1958–59, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1998–99, 1999–00, 2002–03

• French Cup

Winners (10): 1952–53, 1956–57, 1964–65, 1966–67, 1995–96, 1996–97, 2000–01, 2007–08, 2018-19, 2020–21

Runners-up (5): 1953–54, 1954–55, 1958–59, 2001–02, 2015–16

• A Leaders Cup

Winners (2): 2010, 2023

Runners-up (2): 2017, 2020

• French Super Cup

Winners (2): 2009, 2016

Runners-up (1): 2008

• Federation Cup (defunct)

Winners (1): 1983–84

Runners-up (1): 1981–82

European competitions

• EuroLeague

Semifinalists (1): 1975–76

3rd place (1): 1977–78

4th place (1): 1996–97

Final Four (1): 1997

• FIBA Saporta Cup

Runners-up (1): 1982–83

Semifinalists (2): 1984–85, 1986–87

• FIBA Korać Cup

Semifinalists (1): 1995–96

• Latin Cup

3rd place (2): 1953, 1966

Other competitions

• Villeurbanne, France Invitational Game

Winners (1): 2020

Season by season

The ASVEL team during the 2008–09 season

Season by season results of the club in national, cup, and European competitions.

Season	Tier	League	Pos.	French Cup	A Leaders Cup	European competitions
2008–09	1	Pro A	1st	Quarterfinalist	Semifinalist	2 Eurocup	RS
2009–10	1	Pro A	9th	Round of 16	Champion	1 Euroleague	RS
2010–11	1	Pro A	11th	Semifinalist	Semifinalist	1 Euroleague	QR2
						2 Eurocup	RS
2011–12	1	Pro A	12th	Round of 16		1 Euroleague	QR2
						2 Eurocup	L16
2012–13	1	Pro A	3rd	Semifinalist	Quarterfinalist
2013–14	1	Pro A	7th	Round of 32		2 Eurocup	RS
2014–15	1	Pro A	6th	Quarterfinalist		1 Euroleague	QR3
						2 Eurocup	RS
2015–16	1	Pro A	1st	Runner-up	Semifinalist	3 FIBA Europe Cup	L16
2016–17	1	Pro A	4th	Round of 32	Runner-up	3 Champions League	QF
2017–18	1	Pro A	6th	Quarterfinals	Semifinalist	2 EuroCup	T16
2018–19	1	Pro A	1st	Champion	Quarterfinalist	2 EuroCup	QF
2019–20	1	Pro A	–1	–1	Runner-up	1 EuroLeague	RS1
2020–21	1	Pro A	1st	Champion		1 EuroLeague	RS

^1 Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe.

International record

Season	Achievement	Notes
EuroLeague
1964–65	Quarter-finals	eliminated by Real Madrid, 65–83 (L) in Villeurbanne and 65–84 (L) in Madrid
1966–67	Quarter-finals	4th place in a group with Simmenthal Milano, AŠK Olimpija and Racing Mechelen
1969–70	Quarter-finals	3rd place in a group with CSKA Moscow, Ignis Varese and Crvena zvezda
1975–76	Semi-finals	eliminated by Real Madrid, 77–113 (L) in Madrid and 101–99 (W) in Villeurbanne
1977–78	Semi-final group stage	3rd place in a group with Real Madrid, Mobilgirgi Varese, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Jugoplastika and Alvik
1996–97	Final Four	4th place in Rome, lost to FC Barcelona 70–77 in the semi-final, lost to Smelt Olimpija 79–86 in the 3rd place game
1998–99	Quarter-finals	eliminated 2–0 by Olympiacos, 57–70 (L) in Piraeus and 77–81 (L) in Villeurbanne
1999–00	Quarter-finals	eliminated 2–1 by Efes Pilsen, 85–93 (L) in Istanbul, 77–60 (W) in Villeurbanne and 66-68 (L) in Istanbul
2000–01	Quarter-finals	eliminated 2–0 by CSKA Moscow, 63–78 (L) in Moscow and 76–82 (L) in Villeurbanne
FIBA Saporta Cup
1967–68	Quarter-finals	eliminated by Ignis Varese, 88–73 (W) in Villeurbanne and 51–70 (L) in Varese
1976–77	Quarter-finals	4th place in a group with Forst Cantù, Juventud Schweppes and Steaua București
1978–79	Quarter-finals	3rd place in a group with EBBC, Gabetti Cantù and Śląsk Wrocław
1982–83	Final	lost to Scavolini Pesaro 99–111 in the final (Palma de Mallorca)
1984–85	Semi-finals	eliminated by Žalgiris, 78–84 (L) in Kaunas and 93–88 (W) in Villeurbanne
1986–87	Semi-finals	eliminated by Cibona, 82–98 (L) in Villeurbanne and 93–109 (L) in Zagreb
1997–98	Quarter-finals	eliminated by Stefanel Milano, 58–67 (L) in Villeurbanne and 70–62 (W) in Milan
FIBA Korać Cup
1973–74	Semi-finals	eliminated by Forst Cantù, 68–99 (L) in Cantù and 94–76 (W) in Villeurbanne
1995–96	Semi-finals	eliminated by Stefanel Milano, 69–73 (L) in Milan and 72–81 (L) in Villeurbanne
EuroCup
2005–06	Quarter-finals	eliminated by Aris TT Bank, 60–67 (L) in Villeurbanne and 67–77 (L) in Thessaloniki

Players

Current roster

LDLC ASVEL roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Ht. Wt. Age G 1 Harrison, Shaquille 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) 86 kg (190 lb) 31 – (1993-10-06)6 October 1993 F 2 Schofield, Admiral 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) 109 kg (240 lb) 27 – (1997-03-30)30 March 1997 PG 3 Lee, Paris 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) 84 kg (185 lb) 29 – (1995-04-20)20 April 1995 SF 5 Kahudi, Charles 1.99 m (6 ft 6 in) 100 kg (220 lb) 38 – (1986-07-19)19 July 1986 PG 6 Maledon, Théo 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) 79 kg (174 lb) 23 – (2001-06-12)12 June 2001 F/C 7 Lauvergne, Joffrey 2.11 m (6 ft 11 in) 118 kg (260 lb) 33 – (1991-09-30)30 September 1991 SF 8 Ajinça, Melvin 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 97 kg (214 lb) 20 – (2004-06-26)26 June 2004 SG 11 Jackson, Edwin 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) 91 kg (201 lb) 35 – (1989-09-18)18 September 1989 G 12 de Colo, Nando 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) 91 kg (201 lb) 37 – (1987-06-23)23 June 1987 C 13 Sako, Neal 2.11 m (6 ft 11 in) 102 kg (225 lb) 26 – (1998-08-13)13 August 1998 G/F 23 Lighty, David 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) 98 kg (216 lb) 36 – (1988-05-27)27 May 1988 F 24 N'Diaye, Mbaye 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 92 kg (203 lb) 25 – (1999-01-04)4 January 1999 C 28 Black, Tarik 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) 118 kg (260 lb) 32 – (1991-11-22)22 November 1991	Head coach Pierric Poupet Assistant coach(es) Jean-Christophe Prat Bryan George Legend (C) Team captain Injured Roster Transactions Updated: 26 October 2024

Depth chart

Pos.	Starting 5	Bench 1	Bench 2	Bench 3
C	Neal Sako	Tarik Black		Mbiya Paul
PF	Admiral Schofield	Joffrey Lauvergne		Mbaye N'Diaye
SF	David Lighty	Melvin Ajinça	Charles Kahudi
SG	Shaquille Harrison	Nando de Colo	Edwin Jackson	Yohann Sissoko
PG	Théo Maledon	Paris Lee

Retired numbers

LDLC ASVEL retired numbers
No.	Player	Position	Tenure
4	Alain Gilles	G	1965–1986
4	Delaney Rudd	G	1993–1999
5	Amara Sy	G	1999–2002, 2005–2007, 2008–2009, 2012–2015

Notable players

Alain Gilles played 21 years with the club, and coached the team for 9 years.

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed.

Criteria
To appear in this section a player must have either: Set a club record or won an individual award while at the club Played at least one official international match for their national team at any time Played at least one official NBA match at any time.

• Éric Beugnot
• Jim Bilba
• Yann Bonato
• André Buffière
• Alain Digbeu
• Alain Gilles
• Henri Grange
• Charles Lombahe-Kahudi
• Théo Maledon
• Jacques Monclar
• Amine Noua
• Tony Parker
• Yves Pons
• Henri Rey
• Zaccharie Risacher
• Gérard Sturla
• Philip Szanyiel
• Victor Wembanyama
• Arthur Rozenfeld
• Noam Yaacov
• Nikola Radulović
• Nikola Vujčić
• François Németh
• Kristjan Kangur
• Rolandas Alijevas
• Mantas Kalnietis
• Mindaugas Lukauskis
• Hüseyin Beşok
• Bobby Dixon
• Steve Bucknall
• David Andersen
• Adrian Uter
• Corey Crowder
• Brian Howard
• Scott Machado
• Delaney Rudd
• Alex Tyus
• Casper Ware

Head coaches

Tenure Head Coach 1948–1955 André Buffière 1955–1956 Raymond Sahy 1956–1959 Georges Darcy 1959–1960 Raymond Sahy 1960–1963 Gérard Sturla 1963 Raymond Sahy 1963–1964 Henri Rey 1964–1967 Jesus Mercader 1967–1970 Maurice Buffière 1970 Michel Le Ray 1970–1972 Jacques Caballé

Tenure Head Coach 1972–1973 Jesus Mercader 1973–1980 André Buffière 1980–1989 Alain Gilles 1989–1990 Pierre Galle 1990–1991 Dominique Richard 1991–1992 Jean-Paul Rebatet 1992–2001 Grégor Beugnot 2001–2002 Bogdan Tanjević 2002–2004 Philippe Hervé 2004–2005 Erman Kunter 2005–2006 Claude Bergeaud

Tenure Head Coach 2006–2008 Yves Baratet 2008–2010 Vincent Collet 2010–2011 Nordine Ghrib 2011–2014 Pierre Vincent 2014 Nordine Ghrib (interim head coach) 2014–2018 J. D. Jackson 2018 T. J. Parker 2018–2020 Zvezdan Mitrović 2020–2023 T. J. Parker 2023–2024 Gianmarco Pozzecco

Club Presidents

Tenure	Club President
1948–1963	Pierre Millet
1963–1988	Raphaël de Barros
1988–1990	Charles Hernu
1990	Philippe Charvieux
1990–1992	Gaston Charvieux
1992–2001	Marc Lefebvre
2001–2014	Gilles Moretton
2014–present	Tony Parker

Individual club records

Individual club record holders, while players of ASVEL.

Category	Player	Club Tenure	Record
Total Points Scored	Alain Gilles	1965–86	6,141
Points Per Game	Norris Bell	1984–88	21.8
Total Assists	Delaney Rudd	1993–99	1,208
Assists Per Game	Delaney Rudd	1993–99	7.3
Total Rebounds	Willie Redden	1983–92	1,472
Rebounds Per Game	Willie Redden	1983–92	8.5
Games Played	Alain Gilles	1965–86	372

ASVEL players with the most French League championships

ASVEL players with the most French League championships won, while members of the club.

Player	French Championships	Club Tenure
Alain Gilles	8	1965–86
Henri Grange	7	1955–69
Raymond Sahy	6	1948–57
Alain Durand	5	1963–72
Henri Rey		1949–60
Michel Duprez		1968–77
Gilbert Lamothe		1959–71
Bruno Recoura		1967–75
André Buffière	4	1948–55
Michel Le Ray		1967–73
Gérard Sturla		1951–60
Jean-Pierre Castellier		1963–69
Gérard Moroze		1967–75

Sponsors

• LDLC

References

1. "New logo and record contract for the naming rights of LCDC ASVEL". Archived from the original on 12 September 2018. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
2. "0 ME,Astroballe (5556 places)" (in French). Archived from the original on 30 June 2017. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
3. "Lyon seal €3.7m Asvel investment deal". SportsPro. 24 June 2019. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
4. "Lyon invests in Euroleague club, reveals arena plans". SportBusiness. 24 June 2019. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
5. "Villeurbanne completes total comeback to win the championship". Eurohoops. 14 June 2016.
6. "Nicolas Batum becomes shareholder of Tony Parker's ASVEL and director of basketball operations". Sportando. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
7. "EuroLeague & EuroCup clubs, domestic leagues shape 2018-19 season". Euroleague Basketball. 5 July 2018. Retrieved 11 July 2019.^{[permanent dead link]}
8. "Le triplé pour Lyon-Villeurbanne !". Betclic ELITE (in French). 25 June 2022. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
9. "First seat put in place at ASVEL's new arena! | Euroleague Basketball". Euroleague Basketball. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
10. "Villeurbanne: la future Arena de l'Asvel sera réalisée par le groupe Floriot et DCB International". Lemoniteur.fr. 12 July 2016. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
11. "New Lyon venue to be named LDLC Arena". The Stadium Business. 7 December 2021. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
12. Chabas, Gwendal (13 January 2022). "OL - Asvel : les travaux pour l'Arena ont débuté". Olympique & Lyonnais (in French). Retrieved 26 June 2022.
13. "Un Naming unique et innovant". LDLC ASVEL. Archived from the original on 12 September 2018. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
14. "Basket. LDLC Asvel : "Quand on est européen, le vert n'est pas une couleur qui fait rêver"" (in French). Ouest-France. 11 September 2018. Retrieved 12 September 2018.

External links

• Official website
• Euroleague.net Team Page
• French League Profile (in French)
• Eurobasket.com Team Page