From Pro B to the title of champion: the meteoric rise of Paris Basketball in eight dates

The first lines of Paris Basketball's history were written at the end of the 2017-2018 season. Faced with financial difficulties, Hyères-Toulon was relegated to the Second Division. At the same time, a man wanted to establish a permanent professional club in Paris: American David Kahn, a former journalist and lawyer, also manager of Minnesota and Indiana in the NBA. He found the support of a businessman, Eric Schwartz. With their association, APB Paris, playing amateur, they then bought the sporting rights of the Var club on June 28, 2018, to play in Pro B. On July 5, the French Federation made this decision official , and on July 12, Paris Basketball was born.

Just three years after its creation, Paris Basketball has reached the Jeep Elite for the first time in its history —the predecessor to the Betclic Elite—thanks to its second-place finish in Pro B, behind Fos Provence. Due to Covid-19, the playoffs were canceled, allowing the second-place team to advance directly. The start of the season had been difficult for teammates like Juhann Begarin, Amara Sy, and Milan Barbitch. But the Parisians ended their season on a high note with an impressive series of victories to secure promotion to the elite. Paris Basketball is definitely making a name for itself, thanks to smart recruiting and a well-designed sports project. And it can now look to new horizons.

For its first year in the elite league, Paris Basketball is attracting bigger names. Former NBA player Kyle O'Quinn and Frenchman Axel Toupane, who had just won an NBA title with Milwaukee, are filling the Parisian ranks. Paris is already seeing life in a big way. The Accor Arena is even requisitioned for a match against Monaco (76-69 defeat) and 8,117 spectators gather for the occasion. On the sporting front, however, the capital club has to wait until the final day to confirm its survival , thanks to an 81-65 victory against neighboring Boulogne-Levallois. It was also Jean-Christophe Prat's last as coach, who is handing over his place to Will Weaver .

Paris Basketball coach from 2018 to 2022, Jean-Christophe Prat, pictured here alongside Ryan Boatright. (J.-M. Hervio/L'Equipe)

On the verge of the playoffs at the end of the 2022-2023 season, which finished in ninth place, Paris made a "German" turn and began to build the squad as we know it today. Weaver gave way to the Finnish Tuomas Iisalo , who arrived from Bonn and had just won the Champions League - the third continental tier. In his suitcases, the new coach brought with him a certain TJ Shorts , since double MVP of the season, but also other key players such as Tyson Ward, Collin Malcom, Michael Kessens, Sebastian Herrera and Leon Kratzer. Paris then adopted Bonn's style, a game with a hellish pace, supercharged, around Shorts.

Paris Basketball crowned Eurocup champion. (A. Martin/L'Équipe)

It was undoubtedly the surprise of the season. Paris caused a sensation and rivaled the big names in its first season in the Euroleague. The club briefly topped the standings , racked up prestigious victories (Panathinaikos, Barcelona, ​​Monaco and Olympiakos in the first two months), ten in a row and finally secured an 8th place in the regular season, before knocking out Real Madrid in the play-in to reach the quarter-finals in its first participation. No miracle, however, against Fenerbahçe, the future winner of the competition and a 3-0 defeat . But Paris's adventure aroused the astonishment of all of Europe.

Nadir Hifi's Paris Basketball team emerged from the Euroleague with their heads held high, facing eventual winners Fenerbahçe. (A. Mounic/L'Equipe)