Élan Béarnais Pau-Lacq-Orthez
Nickname	EBPLO
Leagues	Pro B
Founded	1931; 94 years ago (1931)
History	Élan Béarnais Orthez (1931–1989) Élan Béarnais Pau-Orthez (1989–2008) Élan Béarnais Pau-Lacq-Orthez (2008–present)
Arena	Palais des Sports de Pau
Capacity	7,707
Location	Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques,France
Team colors	White and Turquoise
President	Sébastien Ménard
General manager	Audrey Sauret
Head coach	Eric Bartecheky
Championships	1Korać Cup 9French Championships 4French Cups 4French League Cup
Website	elan-bearnais.fr
Home Away

Élan Béarnais Pau-Lacq-Orthez, also known as simplyÉlan Béarnais (French pronunciation:[e.lɑ̃be.aʁ.nɛ]),^[1] and formerly known asÉlan Béarnais Pau-Orthez, is a French professionalbasketball club that is based inPau.^[2][3] They compete in the top-tier French league, theLNB Pro B. They are one of the most successful clubs inFrench basketball history, as they have won nine French League championships and have had European-wide successes as well.

TheÉlan Béarnais was founded in 1931 in the town ofOrthez inPyrénées-Atlantiques in the southwest of France. The club first reached the top level of French professional basketball in 1973. They were immediately relegated back to the second division, but returned to the top flight in 1976. The club then made their European debut one year later, in 1977, by qualifying for theFIBA Korać Cup. Their ascent continued by winning the FIBA Korać Cup in 1984, defeatingCrvena zvezda in the final inParis (Palais des sports Pierre-de-Coubertin). This was the first of many pieces of silverware that would be added to the club's trophy cabinet over the next two decades.

More success followed as the Élan Béarnais were finally crowned champions of France for the first time, winning back-to-back titles in 1986 and 1987. This earned them entry into the FIBA European Champions' Cup (present-dayEuroleague). Despite their status as newcomers, they were anything but intimidated, completing their maiden campaign of1986-87 with a shock 3rd-place finish and a perfect record at home. It was a magical run, as they defeated European giants or traditional clubs of European basketball likeŽalgiris,Maccabi Tel Aviv,Real Madrid,Zadar and that season's champions,Tracer Milano, on their home court,La Moutète. The Élan Béarnais would remain a fixture in European competition every season thereafter, until 2008, setting a European longevity record of 31 years in the process (1977–2008).

As this humble club from a village of 12,000 people at the foot of thePyrénées blossomed into a power of European basketball, a move to a bigger city became necessary. The club changed its name in 1989, becoming theÉlan Béarnais Pau-Orthez, and moved to the city ofPau, after the inauguration of thePalais des Sports in 1991. This move was made possible by the visionary efforts of two men:Pierre Seillant, the beloved longtime president of the club, andAndré Labarrère, then-mayor of Pau. Thanks to them, the Palais (still today the largest basketball-centric arena in France) was built, and the Élan were able to remain in their home region ofBéarn.

With the relocation complete, the club carried on cementing their status as the dominant force of French basketball, winning seven more league championships over the next thirteen years. The club's total of nine championships ranks them third behindASVEL andLimoges for the most of any team in the history of French professional basketball. The last one came in 2004, the second of back-to-back titles, and was the culmination of a golden-age for the club. The previous season, 2003, was arguably the most spectacular in the history of Pau-Orthez, when the breathtaking abilities of two homegrown, young talents namedBoris Diaw andMickaël Piétrus spearheaded the Élan Béarnais to a sweep of all three French trophies (Le Championnat, Coupe de France and Semaine des As). Diaw's campaign won him the League MVP award for French players, and following the season both he and Pietrus were drafted in the first round of the2003 NBA draft.

Unfortunately, due to exodus of talent, a lack of coaching stability, and financial problems, the success of the club steadily waned from 2004 on, until rock-bottom was reached and the previously unthinkable happened: in 2009, the Élan Béarnais were relegated to theLNB Pro B after finishing in last place. It was their first stint in the second division since 1976. This disappointment was used as an opportunity to re-structure and re-strengthen the club, but although they earned immediate promotion back to the Pro A in 2010, their struggles continued, and they were relegated for a second time in 2012. However, the Élan once again wasted no time in climbing directly back to the top-flight, and in the 2013-14 season they narrowly missed out on qualifying for the playoffs for the first time since 2006. With club-legendDidier Gadou entrenched as the General Manager, and former title-winning head-coachClaude Bergeaud back at the helm on the sideline, the future is bright once-again for this proud club. They remain in a tussle for a playoff berth halfway through the2014-15 season.

In 2008, the club underwent a minor name-change for the second time in their history, becoming theÉlan Béarnais Pau-Lacq-Orthez. The city ofLacq's inclusion in the name and entrance onto the director's board strengthened the club's Béarn identity. For their part, Lacq, located just north-west ofPau, now provides funding to the club.

Pau-Orthez play their home games at thePalais des Sports de Pau since 1991, which has aseating capacity of 7,707 people.

At Orthez, the club played their home games atLa Moutète.

The Élan Béarnais' biggest rival isLimoges CSP, another legendary French club, and they have been trading blows with one another for national supremacy on the hardwood, both figuratively and literally, since the early 1980s. In the 22 seasons between 1983 and 2004, the two clubs combined for 18 championships, and multiple games between the two teams resulted in fights amongst the players, including one that ended in a brawl between Élan supporters and Limoges players at their old Orthez venue, La Moutète.ASVEL is also a fierce rival of the Élan Béarnais, and games against both of these teams are referred to as the "Clasicos" of French basketball, receiving tremendous hype from the media and fans.

Élan Béarnais Pau-Lacq-Orthez retired numbers
No.	Nat.	Player	Position	Tenure
10		Didier Gadou	F	1982–2002

Élan Béarnais Pau-Orthez roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Ht. Wt. Age F 3 Munnings, Travis 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) 91 kg (201 lb) 30 –(1994-09-14)14 September 1994 SF 5 Affo Mama, Dylan 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) 25 –(1999-07-22)22 July 1999 C 32 Sané, Landing 2.07 m (6 ft 9 in) 100 kg (220 lb) 34 –(1990-10-19)19 October 1990	Head coach Eric Bartecheky Assistant coach(es) Jimmy Vérove Jimmy Durand Team manager Nicolas Pradelle Legend (C) Team captain Injured Roster Updated: January 8, 2024

Élan Béarnais Hall of Famers
Players
No.	Nat.	Name	Position	Tenure	Inducted
11		Antoine Rigaudeau	G	1995–1997	2015[4]

Total titles: 19

• French League

Winners (9): 1985–86, 1986–87, 1991–92, 1995–96, 1997–98, 1998–99, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2003–04

Runners-up (4): 1988–89, 1992–93, 1994–95, 2001–02

• French Cup

Winners (4): 2001–02, 2002–03, 2006–07, 2021-22

Runners-up (2): 2000–01, 2003–04

• Leaders Cup

Winners (4): 1990–91, 1991–92, 1992–93, 2002-03

• French Super Cup

Winners (1): 2007

• EuroLeague

3rd place (1):1986–87

• FIBA Korać Cup(defunct)

Winners (1):1983–84

Semifinalists (1):1994–95

• European Super Cup(semi-official, defunct)

Runners-up (1):1984

Round Team   Home     Away   2nd round AEK 81–61 77–83 Top 16 Star Varese 92–82 77–75 Zadar 90–77 93–106 PAOK 73–58 78–83 Semi-finals Olympique Antibes 75–68 69–71 Final Crvena zvezda 97–73

2017-2021:PEAK^[5]
2021-2022:Adidas
2022-:Hummel

In 2022 the club were embroiled in a scandal afterTaqwa Pinero, a former player who had been appointed as General Manager of the club, was dismissed on the basis of his religious faith.^[6] According to theSud-Ouest newspaper, Pinero was notified in early August of his dismissal of his duties atElan Béarnais “for having displayed hisMuslim faith on the social networks”.^[7] According to the same source, the mayor of PauFrançois Bayrou, was alleged to have pressured the owners of the club to oust Pinero.^[8]

• Official website

• Basketball teams established in 1931
• Basketball teams in France
• Sport in Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques
• 1931 establishments in France

• CS1 French-language sources (fr)
• CS1 errors: missing title
• CS1 errors: bare URL
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Pages with French IPA