The Hague Royals were a Dutch basketball club based in The Hague. Established in 2020, the team played in the highest level of basketball in the Netherlands for two seasons. Home games are played in the Sportcampus Zuiderpark, which has a capacity of 3,500 people.[1]
| The Hague Royals | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Founded | May 2020 | ||
| Dissolved | September 2023 | ||
| History | The Hague Royals 2020–2023 | ||
| Arena | Sportcampus Zuiderpark | ||
| Capacity | 3,500 | ||
| Location | The Hague, Netherlands | ||
| Chairman | Mart Waterval | ||
| Head coach | Bert Samson | ||
| Team captain | Deividas Kumelis | ||
| 2021–22 position | BNXT League, 21nd of 21 | ||
| Website | thehagueroyals | ||
The Royals played in the 2020–21 and 2021–22 seasons of the Dutch Basketball League (DBL) and later the BNXT League, the top flight divisions of Dutch basketball. They were denied a license in 2022 for the following season. After trying to revive the club, the Royals decided to dissolve the club in 2023.[2][3]
History
Before the establishment of the Royals, the last time a professional basketball team played at the highest level was C3 Cobra's the 2000–01 season. In May 2020, The Hague Royals announced its plans to play in the Dutch Basketball League (DBL) starting from the 2020–21 season.[4] The name Royals comes from the reputation of The Hague as the Hofstad, where the Dutch royal family is seated.
On 20 June 2020, Bert Samson was announced as the first head coach of the Royals.[5] On 10 August, the Royals signed Sam van Dijk as its first player ever.[6] On 27 August, the DBL granted the club a license for the 2020–21 season.[7] On 3 October, the Royals played their first ever DBL game, losing away against Aris Leeuwarden, 63–81.[8]
In the 2021–22 season, the Royals played in the BNXT League, in which the national leagues of Belgium and the Netherlands have been merged.[9] The Royals ended 21st out of the 21 teams with one victory in the season. The Royals failed to obtain a club licence for the 2022–23 season, the club appealed the decision but without success.[3]
During the 2022–23 season, the club went into hiatus while the organisation aimed for a comeback the next season. In September 2023, the board announced the dissolution of the club after their application for a license in the 2023–24 season was once again rejected by the BNXT League.[2]
Players
Final roster
The following was the Royals’ final roster in the 2021–22 season.
| The Hague Royals roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Updated: 2021-10-05 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationality not displayed.
Depth chart
| Pos. | Starting 5 | Bench 1 | Bench 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| C | Arben Camaj | Vincent Alkema | |
| PF | Bryce Smith | Marnexson Knepa | |
| SF | Tom Ackermans | Piotr Pandura | |
| SG | Jens te Velde | Casey Lopes | |
| PG | Deividas Kumelis | Skip Samson | Rick van der Salm |
Notable players
Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationality not displayed.
| Criteria |
|---|
To appear in this section a player must have either:
|
Eric Kibi (1 season: 2020–21)
Season by season
| Season | Tier | League | Regular season | Playoffs | Dutch Cup | Head coach | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finish | Played | Wins | Losses | Win% | ||||||||
| The Hague Royals | ||||||||||||
| 2020–21 | 1 | DBL | 10th | 21 | 6 | 15 | .286 | DNQ | Quarter-finalist | Bert Samson | ||
| 2021–22 | 1 | BNXT | 21st | 30 | 1 | 29 | .033 | DNQ | Quarter-finalist | |||
| Overall | 41 | 7 | 34 | .171 | ||||||||
Sponsorship
| Period | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020–2021 | Burned | None | |
| 2021–2022 | Majr |
Head coaches
| Period | Head coach |
|---|---|
| 2020–2022 |  Bert Samson |