Leuven Bears
Basketball team in Leuven, Belgium
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Leuven Bears, for sponsorship reasons also called Stella Artois Leuven Bears, is a Belgian professional basketball club from Leuven. The club competes in the BNXT League, the highest tier in Belgian basketball.
- Telindus Leuven
(1999–2001)
Vastiau-Godeau Leuven
(2001–2003)
Basket Groot Leuven
(2003–2007)
Spotter Leuven
(2007–2009)
Leuven Bears
(2009–present)
| Leuven Bears | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| Leagues | BNXT League | ||
| Founded | 1999 | ||
| History | List
| ||
| Arena | Sportoase | ||
| Capacity | 3,400 | ||
| Location | Leuven, Belgium | ||
| Team colors | Black, orange, white | ||
| Main sponsor | Stella Artois | ||
| President | Ben De Goignies | ||
| Head coach | Kristof Michiels | ||
| Team captain | Wen Mukubu | ||
| Championships | 1 Belgian Cup | ||
| Website | leuvenbears.be | ||
|
| |||
History
The team has played in the Belgian First Division since 1999 and has participated in the Belgian Cup since 1954, winning the tournament in 2005. The Belgian Cup victory earned the team a place in the 2005–06 FIBA EuroCup where it finished fourth in its opening-round group and was eliminated.
Since the 2021–22 season, Leuven plays in the BNXT League, in which the national leagues of Belgium and the Netherlands have been merged.[1]
Honours and titles
- Belgian Cup
- Winners (1): 2004–05
- Runners-up (1): 2024–25
Season by season
.jpg)
| Season | Tier | League | Pos. | Belgian Cup | European competitions | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002–03 | 1 | BLB | 5th | |||
| 2003–04 | 1 | BLB | 9th | |||
| 2004–05 | 1 | BLB | 6th | |||
| 2005–06 | 1 | BLB | 8th | 3 FIBA EuroCup | ||
| 2006–07 | 1 | BLB | 10th | |||
| 2007–08 | 1 | BLB | 9th | |||
| 2008–09 | 1 | BLB | 6th | |||
| 2009–10 | 1 | BLB | 9th | |||
| 2010–11 | 1 | BLB | 6th | |||
| 2011–12 | 1 | BLB | 6th | Semifinalist | ||
| 2012–13 | 1 | BLB | 6th | Quarterfinalist | ||
| 2013–14 | 1 | BLB | 7th | Quarterfinalist | ||
| 2014–15 | 1 | BLB | 11th | Quarterfinalist | ||
| 2015–16 | 1 | BLB | 11th | Quarterfinalist | ||
| 2016–17 | 1 | BLB | 9th | Quarterfinalist | ||
| 2017–18 | 1 | BLB | 10th | Round of 16 | ||
| 2018–19 | 1 | BLB | 9th | Quarterfinalist | ||
| 2019–20 | 1 | BLB | 6th | Quarterfinalist | ||
| 2020–21 | 1 | BLB | 6th | Semifinalist | ||
| 2021–22 | 1 | BNXT League | BE 3rd | Quarterfinalist | ||
| BNXT 4th | ||||||
| 2022–23 | 1 | BNXT League | BE 6th | Quarterfinalist | ||
| BNXT 11th | ||||||
| 2023–24 | 1 | BNXT League | BE 8th | Semifinalist | ||
| BNXT 13th | ||||||
| 2024–25 | 1 | BNXT League | BE 7th | Runners-up | ||
| BNXT 7th | ||||||
| 2025–26 | 1 | BNXT League | BE 9th | Runners-up | ||
| BNXT 12th | ||||||
Players
Current roster
Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed.
| Leuven Bears roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Updated: September 30, 2025 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Notable players
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:
|
List of head coaches
| Period | Coach |
|---|---|
| 2005–2007 |  Peter van Noord |
| 2008–2010 |  Ivica Skelin |
| 2016–2018 |  Ferried Naciri |
| 2018–2024 | Eddy Casteels |
| 2024–present | Kristof Michiels |