Ármann (men's basketball)
Basketball team in Reykjavík, Iceland
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Ármann men's basketball team, commonly known as Ármann, is the men's basketball department of Ármann multi-sport club and is based in Reykjavík, Iceland. It won its lone national championship in 1976.
(1952–2000)
Ármann/Þróttur
(2000–2008)
(2008–present)
| Ármann | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1952 | ||
| History | Ármann (1952–2000) Ármann/Þróttur (2008–present) | ||
| Arena | Kennaraháskólinn | ||
| Location | Reykjavík, Iceland | ||
| Team colors | Blue, red, white | ||
| Championships | 1 Icelandic championship (1976) | ||
| Website | Armenningar.is | ||
|
| |||
History
Ármann was one of the founding teams of the first Icelandic basketball league in 1952.[1] In 1968, its star player, Birgir Örn Birgis, won the inaugural Player of the Year award.[2] In 1976, Ármann won its first national championship after beating KR 84-74 in the championship clinching game.[3][4][5]
On 1 December 1979, Danny Shouse scored 100 points for Ármann in a 1 .deild karla game against Skallagrímur, setting the Icelandic single game scoring record.[6][7] In January 1980 he scored 76 points in an overtime loss against Grindavík[8] and in February he broke the 70 point barrier again, scoring 72 points against Þór Akureyri.[9] In 10 games, he scored 648 points for an average of 64.8 points per game.[10] His scoring prowess helped Ármann win Division I and achieve promotion to the Úrvalsdeild.[7] Even though Shouse played in the nations tier 2 league during his first season, he was widely regarded as one of the best players in the country and finished third in the vote for Foreign Player of the Year.[11][12]
The team played in the top-tier Úrvalsdeild during the 1980-1981 season. The team fired head coach Bob Starr four games into the season and replaced him with player-coach James Breeler. The team battled financial difficulties all seasons and Breeler, who led the team with 33.3 points per game, left the team in December due to unpaid salary.[13] The team finished the season on a 11 game losing streak and were relegated back to 1. deild.
On 6 April 2022, Ármann won the 2. deild karla, after winning all 21 league and playoff games, and was promoted to the 1. deild karla.[14]
On 12 May 2025, Ármann gained promotion to the top-tier Úrvalsdeild karla for the first time in 44 years.[15]
Record
Úrvalsdeild
Ármann played in the top division during the 1952, 1956 and 1960 to 1974 seasons.
| Season | Tier | League | Pos. | W–L | Playoffs | Icelandic Cup |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973–74 | 1 | Úrvalsdeild karla | 2nd | 11–3 | Runner-up | |
| 1974–75 | 1 | Úrvalsdeild karla | 3rd | 9–5 | N/A | Champion |
| 1975–76 | 1 | Úrvalsdeild karla | 1st | 13–1 | Champions | Champion |
| 1976–77 | 1 | Úrvalsdeild karla | 4th | 9–5 | N/A | |
| 1977–78 | 1 | Úrvalsdeild karla | 8th | 0–14 | Relegated | |
| Lower leagues | ||||||
| 1980–81 | 1 | Úrvalsdeild karla | 6th | 1–19 | Relegated | |
| Lower leagues | ||||||
| 2025–26 | 1 | Úrvalsdeild karla | 10th | 7–15 | DNQ | 2nd round |
European record
| Season | Competition | Round | Opponent | Home | Away | Aggregate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975–76 | FIBA European Cup Winners' Cup | 1Q |  Honka Playboys |
65–88 | 81–107 | 146–195 |  |
Trophies and achievements
Titles
- Úrvalsdeild karla:
- Winners (1): 1976[16]
- 1. deild karla:
- Winners (1): 1980[17]
- 2. deild karla:
- Winners (4): 2000, 2006, 2015, 2022[18]
- Icelandic Men's Basketball Cup:
- Winners (3): 1965, 1975, 1976[19]
Individual awards
- Icelandic Basketball Player of the Year
- Jón Sigurðsson - 1976
- Úrvalsdeild karla Domestic player of the year
- Birgir Örn Birgis - 1968[20]
- Jón Sigurðsson - 1970, 1976
- 1. deild karla Domestic All-First team
- Steinar Kaldal - 2008[21]
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:
|
Adama Darboe[22]- Atli Arason
- Birgir Mikaelsson
- Birgir Örn Birgis
- Björn Christensen
- Björn Magnússon
Danny Shouse- Davíð S. Helgason
- Guðsteinn Ingimarsson
- Hallgrímur Gunnarsson
- Haraldur Hauksson
- Hörður Kristinsson
- Jimmy Rogers
- Jón H. Steingrímsson
- Jón Björgvinsson
- Jón Sigurðsson
- Lárus Lárusson
- Símon Ólafsson
- Stew Johnson
Notable coaches
- Birgir Örn Birgis 1976–1977
- Michael Wood 1977–1978[23]
- Bob Starr 1979–1980
- James Breeler 1980[24]
- Birgir Mikaelsson 2003–2004
- Pétur Ingvarsson
- Tómas Hermannsson
- Karl Guðlaugsson
- Ólafur Þór Jónsson 2021–2023[25]
- Steinar Kaldal 2023–present[26]
