The history of basketball in Monaco dates back to 1928, with the creation of the first AS Monaco basketball club. As early as 1950, Monegasque basketball players were winning their first titles, including a runners-up spot in France’s Nationale 1 (today’s Jeep Elite).
These initial glory days were followed by some inconsistent years, with a series of rises and falls in the top rankings. The Roca Team‘s return to the forefront started during the 2015-16 season. Since then, AS Monaco Basketball team has been breaking records. They are the first team in the history of French basketball to move up from the fourth division (NM2) to the first division (Pro A) in four years (i.e. a promotion in each season), winning the French Pro B title in 2015.
From 2016 to 2018, the Monegasque team finished first in the Pro A regular season. At the same time, they achieved the remarkable triumph of winning the Leaders Cup three times in a row on the court of the Disneyland Paris Arena, a rare hat trick in this event.
Runners-up in France in 2018, 2019 and 2022, the Roca Team moved up a gear for the 2022-2023 season, claiming their first-ever title as Saša Obradović’s squad beat Boulogne’s Metropolitans 92 in the final. This victory validates the club’s strategy of bringing in seasoned players such as Elie Okobo, Jordan Loyd, John Brown, and Mike James alongside captain Yakuba Ouattara.
The Principality’s rise to prominence in Europe has been equally impressive. Twenty-nine years after leaving the European scene, AS Monaco finished third in the FIBA Champions League Final Four in 2017, reaching the competition final the following season.
The team has steadily climbed to the top of European basketball. In 2021, they won the EuroCup against Russian club Kazan, earning their place in the EuroLeague for the first time. Eliminated in the EuroLeague quarter-finals in 2022, the Roca Team took things up a notch in 2023, winning the third-place game final, finishing third in Europe’s most prestigious competition.
At home, the Roca team plays at the Salle Gaston-Médecin in the Stade Louis II. In 2022, to meet EuroLeague standards, the Monegasque government renovated this public facility in record time to accommodate 5,000 spectators.
“That’s wonderful. It’s the result of a long journey and a decades-long desire for sport to be an important part of development in the Principality, not only in terms of communication but also of inclusion, to bring all the strengths of society together“
H.S.H Prince Albert II.
