London City Royals

The London City Royals were a British professional basketball team, based in the Crystal Palace area of London, England. The team was founded in 2018, however despite big ambitions the team ceased trading less than two years later, during the 2019–20 season. [1][2]

London City Royals
LeagueBBL
Established2018
Folded2020
HistoryLondon City Royals
(2018–2020)
ArenaCrystal Palace NSC
Capacity1,500
LocationCrystal Palace, London
Championships0 BBL Championship
0 BBL Playoffs
0 BBL Cup
1 BBL Trophy
WebsiteOfficial website

History

The team was established in July 2018 by businessman Jon Sawyer and London-based basketball promoter Nhamo Shire, founder of the London School of Basketball. Following the withdrawal of Leeds Force earlier in the summer, the Royals became the 12th member of the league and the second London-based franchise along with London Lions, with the Royals being based at Lions' former home venue, the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre.[3]

In its inaugural season, the Royals invested heavily in a playing roster that included Great Britain internationals Matthew Bryan-Amaning and Ashley Hamilton. The team, led by former BBL player Jay Williams, secured their first silverware early in the club's fledgling existence, winning the BBL Trophy after defeating city rivals London Lions 90–82 in the first ever BBL final to be decided after overtime. [4] Overall, the star-studded team's fortunes were mixed, with a 1st Round Cup exit to lowly Worcester and a 4th-place finish and above-500 record in the league, before losing out comfortably in the Playoff final to Leicester.

The club announced midway through the 2019–20 season it would cease to operate with immediate effect, pending liquidation. [2]

Honours

Home arena

Players

Final roster

Note: Flags indicate national team, as has been defined under FIBA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIBA nationality.

No. Position Player
1 SF Will Saunders
3 G Matt Scott
4 PG Andrew Lawrence
5 G/F Kyle Carey
6 G Edmir Lucas
No. Pos. Nation Player
13 SF Orlan Jackman
15 F/C Will Neighbour
22 SF Abraham Ekperuoh
35 PG Elvisi Dusha

Notable former players

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

Season-by-season records
Season Division Tier Regular Season Post-Season Trophy Cup Head Coach
Finish Played Wins Losses Points Win %
London City Royals
2018-19 BBL 1 4th 33 18 15 36 0.545 Runners-Up, losing to Leicester Winners, beating London, 90-82 OT (BT) 1st Round (BC) Jay Williams
2019-20 BBL 1 Withdrew from league Semi Finals (BC) Lloyd Gardner

See also

References
  1. Mark Woods (2018). "Royals to grace BBL". MVP247.com. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
  2. "Royals withdraw from the BBL". BBL.org.uk. 2020. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
  3. "London City Royals to join BBL". BBL.org.uk. 2018. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
  4. "BBL Trophy final: London City Royals beat London Lions in overtime 90-82". 10 March 2019. Retrieved 8 August 2019 – via www.bbc.com.
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