Who founded Fenerbahçe Basketball Club?

When the founding of Fenerbahçe is mentioned, 1907 immediately comes to mind. The specific founding dates of other major teams are remembered in the same way, but we know that these are the founding dates of the football clubs. In other words, a sports club’s entry and investment into branches like football, basketball, and volleyball can occur in different years. Therefore, it is necessary to consider the founding of Fenerbahçe Basketball Club separately.

Apart from basketball enthusiasts or die-hard fans of Fenerbahçe, Beşiktaş, and Galatasaray, very few people wonder about the history of basketball clubs. However, the development of basketball in Turkey, just like in football, was constantly undermined by occupations and political turmoil, and blossomed out of difficulties.

In what year was Fenerbahçe Basketball Club founded?

As we mentioned in the previous paragraph, the development of basketball in Turkey has been constantly interrupted due to wars, occupations, and political conflicts. For this reason, there are two founding years in the history of Fenerbahçe.

The first founding date is 1913. Shortly after football, the club wanted to invest in basketball as well and began competing by transferring players. However, after some minor and major struggles, as a result of the occupation of Istanbul by the British in 1920, the Fenerbahçe Club was closed down, and it became impossible for it to compete in the basketball branch. Although some attempts were made later, such as transferring players from Robert College and starting international competitions, it was again not possible to continue training or club activities due to the lack of an indoor sports hall. Therefore, although Fenerbahçe’s basketball activities began in 1913, activities continued sparsely until their second founding.

These efforts to exist, stretching until the 1930s, bore a permanent seed decades later, and Fenerbahçe Sports Club found the chance to continue its activities uninterruptedly. In 1944, the basketball branch was re-established through the initiatives of Muhtar Sencer and Cem Atabeyoğlu, making an ambitious entry into Turkish basketball.

In other words, Fenerbahçe Basketball Club was founded in 1913 but was able to continue its uninterrupted activities since its second founding by Muhtar Sencer and Cem Atabeyoğlu in 1944. In the modern era, the Ülker merger in 2006 and the legendary Zeljko Obradovic era between 2013-2020 became the most important turning points in the club becoming a global giant.

Having achieved great success in the Turkish Basketball League since 1944, the club has also successfully represented our country in European leagues and contributed greatly to bringing Turkish Basketball to the international arena.

Achievements of Fenerbahçe Basketball Club

Before counting its championships and trophies, it should be noted that: Fenerbahçe defeated the Boston Celtics, one of the most successful and established teams in the NBA, and became the first Turkish basketball team to defeat an NBA team. Besides this, it also defeated the Brooklyn Nets on their home court and became the first and only Turkish team to defeat an NBA team in America.

The most important of these achievements and the peak of the club’s history is that Fenerbahçe Basketball Club became the first Turkish men’s basketball team to win Europe’s biggest trophy as the 2017 EuroLeague Champion. Additionally, the club set a record that is difficult to break by playing in the Final Four five times in a row between 2015-2019.

Looking at its current situation in Turkey, Fenerbahçe has managed to take 11 Basketball League championships, 8 Turkish Cups, 7 Presidential Cups, and many trophies from various tournaments to its museum.