Riesen Ludwigsburg, for sponsorship reasons MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg, is a professional basketball club that is based in Ludwigsburg, Germany. The club currently plays in the Basketball Bundesliga, the first tier of basketball in Germany. As well, the club plays in the European Basketball Champions League competition. Founded in 1960 as DJK Ludwigsburg, the club has been a regular in the BBL since the 1986–87 season, when the team promoted from the second division 2. Basketball Bundesliga. Between the period 1970–2012, the team was also known as SpVgg 07 Ludwigsburg and BSG Basket, before changing its name due to the end of the sponsorship agreement with EnBW.
History
When the team was founded in 1960, it was founded as the basketball section of multi-sports clubDJK Ludwigsburg. In the 1979–80 season, the team promoted for the first time to the highest tier, the Basketball Bundesliga. From 1970 until 1987, the club was known as SpVgg 07, as it was part of the multi-sports club SpVgg Ludwigsburg. In 1987, the team separated from SpVgg and was renamed BSG Basket Ludwigsburg. In 2008, Ludwigsburg reached the German Cup Final for the first time, but lost to Artland Dragons, 60–74. In the 2016–17 season, Ludwigsburg participated in the inaugural Basketball Champions League season, where it was eliminated by one point on aggregate in the quarter-finals by Banvit. The campaign marked Ludwigsburg's best European performance in history, as it was the first time the team reached the knock-out phase of a European competition. In the 2017–18 season, Ludwigsburg set a new European club record when it advanced to the Final Four of the Champions League, after defeating Oldenburg and Bayreuth in the round of 16 and quarter-finals. This was the first time ever the club qualified for the final stage of a European tournament. Ludwigsburg lost in the semi-final to Monaco, 65–87. In the third place game, the team lost 74–85 to UCAM Murcia as it finished in the fourth place. On 19 July 2019, David McCrayannounced his retirement and subsequently his number 4 was retired by Riesen, the first retired number in club history. The 2019–20 season was altered due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In a final tournament behind closed doors in Munich, Luwdigsburg reached its first German finals ever. In the finals, it lost to Alba Berlin on aggregate in two games.
