Similarly to the Real Madrid athleticassociation football club, the basketball team has been the most successful of its peers in both Spain and Europe.[4] Real Madrid CF is the only European sports club to have become the European champions in bothfootball andbasketball in the same season.[5]
In March 1931, Ángel Cabrera, one of the earliest promotors of basketball in Spain, placed and advertisement in the newspaperABC to recruit players for a new basketball team.[6] The first team existed of Eric Hermes, Luis Hoyos, Emilio Gutiérrez Bringas, Juan Castellví, Jenaro Olives, Máximo Arnáiz, Juan Negrín, Midel, Delgado, Llano, and German player Midelman. The squad was officially formed on 22 March 1931, and was officially named Real Madrid Baloncesto.
As theReal Madrid club already had a firm presence with itsfootball section, PresidentLuis Usera wanted to expand the number of sports the club was playing to expand its reach.
In the debut season, Real Madrid won the Copa Chapultepec and played in theCastilla regional league. The first official game was played on 22 March 1931, against Dumping BC, and was lost by 19–5, despite Cabrera's 5 points. One month later, Real inaugurated its new home court in theChamartín district.
The 1930s saw the first regional title in 1933, as well as the establishment of thewomen's team. The following years Real Madrid would dominate the regional league, and as such gained access to the national level. They played their first top-level game against Iluro, being defeated 21–17. The following years, the team saw an influx of international talent from Spanish colonies, includingFreddy Borás,Rafael Deliz,Johnny Báez, among others, which led the team to their first three Spanish national championships, in 1957, 1958 and 1960.
For at least half a century, Madrid has been a standard-bearer in European basketball, accumulating a record ten continental titles, based on its dominance in the 1960s. Its early dominance in Spain has resulted in another untouchable cache of 38 national domestic league and 29 national cup trophies. And almost every time that Madrid did not play in Europe's top-tier level competition, it won a different continental trophy – fourSaporta Cups, aKorać Cup, and aULEB Cup – as a stepping-stone back to the big time.
Real Madrid won the 1992Saporta Cup trophy againstPAOK, on a buzzer-beating jumper byRickey Brown. It was not until Sabonis arrived in Madrid, when Real won its eighthEuroLeague title in 1995, by beatingOlympiacosin the final. Madrid next won the 1997 Saporta Cup title againstVerona, but no more European-wide trophies came for the club in the next decade.
Madrid still found success at home, winningSpanish League titles in 2000 and 2005. It all changed in 2007, whenJoan Plaza was promoted to the club'shead coach position. With the help of players likeLouis Bullock,Felipe Reyes, andÁlex Mumbrú, Madrid added a new trophy to its roll of honours, theULEB Cup, as it won 12 of its last 13 games and downedLietuvos Rytas by a score of 75–87 in the 2007 ULEB Cup Final. Moreover, Madrid finished in 2nd place in the 2006–07 Spanish League regular season, and stayed strong in its play inPalacio Vistalegre during the Spanish league playoffs; they lifted the club's 30th national league trophy by besting their arch-rivals,Winterthur FC Barcelona, 3–1 in the Spanish League title series in 2007.
On 17 May 2015, after waiting 20 years to win another EuroLeague championship, Real Madrid won the2015 EuroLeague championship againstOlympiacos. Madrid'sAndrés Nocioni was named theFinal Four MVP. This title was calledLa Novena.[8] Following the EuroLeague title, the2014–15 ACB season's championship was also won by Real. Because Real also won the national Spanish Cup and the national Spanish Supercup that season, the club won its first "Quadruble crown".[9]
On 27 September 2015, 34 years after their lastFIBA Intercontinental Cup title, Real Madrid won their fifth FIBA Intercontinental Cup trophy, after defeating theBrazilian League clubBauru.Sergio Llull was namedthe MVP of the tournament. Real Madrid thus made it a record five FIBA Intercontinental Cup titles won, and with the Intercontinental Cup title.
On 20 May 2018, Real Madrid conquered again theEuroLeague, achieving theirtenth title ever. The considered major leader of the team that season would be a Slovenian guard/forward namedLuka Dončić, who became the designated MVP of the EuroLeague on all accounts at 19 years old.
On 5 June 2022, Pablo Laso suffered a heart attack.[10][11] Exactly one month later, Real Madrid parted ways with him citing "medical reasons exclusively" and adding that keeping him as a coach in his health condition would have been "a risk that this institution cannot assume".[12][13] Laso left Real Madrid as one of the greatest coaches in the club's history, having won 22 titles, which ties him withLolo Sainz in the second place for most trophies won with Real Madrid, only behindPedro Ferrándiz with 27. Laso is also the coach who has managed the most games for Madrid (860), having won 659 of them. He was succeeded at Real Madrid's helm by his assistantChus Mateo.[14]
In the following 2022–23 season,Chus Mateo became a new head coach for the team. They signed additional players includingPetr Cornelie,Mario Hezonja,Džanan Musa and withSergio Rodríguez returning for the team. The team ended third in EuroLeague standings. In the playoffs, the facePartizan in the quarterfinals. Madrid lost it first two games in home. In Game 2 of the quartefinals,in 1 minute and 40 seconds,Sergio Llull made aflagrant foul onKevin Punter and both teams, as well from the other players on the bench from their respective teams starting to go on the court to fight.Guerschon Yabusele slammedDanté Exum on the court, leading Exum to a injury to aruptured tendon in on his toe and an injured lip, he was also later seen leaving on crutches. The game ended out to a brawl. The EuroLeague gave suspensions toGabriel Deck andGuerschon Yabusele from the Real side and from Partizan side's Punter andMathias Lessort. The next three games, Madrid won the next 3 games and the first EuroLeague team to comeback with a 2–0 deficit in the playoffs to qualify to the2023 EuroLeague Final Four. In the semifinals, they beatBarcelona 66–78 in the semifinal.In the final, Real Madrid won their record–extending eleventh EuroLeague title beatingOlympiacos in thechampionship game after previously winning the title after 5 years. Real Madrid came back at the championship game after the previous season, they lost the championship game versusAnadolu Efes 57–58 in thefinal.Sergio Llull winning the cluch 2-point shot at 3.1 seconds, but Real Madrid beating Olympiacos 78–79 in the final. InLiga ACB, the team ended third in regular season but they lost Barcelona 3–0 in the finals, which was the rematch of the previous year's finals.
In the following2023–24 EuroLeague season, Real ended as a top seed during the regular season with a 27-7 which whom they defend the EuroLeague title again. In the Quarterfinals, they facedBaskonia with a perfect 3-0 which whom the first team to qualified to the2024 EuroLeague Final Four inBerlin. In the semifinals, they faced Olypiacos once again, which is the rematch of the previous year's final and Real won 87–76 in the semis. In the final they facedPanathinakos AKTOR. Despite an early start in the first quarter, Panathinakos returned a comeback in the next three quarters. In the third quarter, Real only scored 7 points. Then in the fourth quarter Panathinaikos went a massive game outscoring 31 points out of Real's 19 points in the fourth and final quarter and Real didn't comeback onwards which Panathinakos won with a big win 95-80 and won its first EuroLeague trophy after (which was the Panathinaikos seventh EuroLeague title) afterthirteen years. Despite that, they won the2023–24 ACB season beatingMurcia 3–1 in the finals.
^A homegrown player is a player that played for at least three years before the age of 20 on a Spanish team. InLiga ACB, the team must register at least four homegrown players in rosters of 10–12 players or at least three homegrown players in rosters of 8–9 players. InEuroLeague, the team did not have any limitations regarding the number of homegrown players.
^An overseas player is a player from outsideEEA,FIBA Europe orACP states. InLiga ACB, the team may register at most two overseas players. InEuroLeague, the team did not have any limitations regarding the number of overseas players.
^InLiga ACB, the team may register under-22 players linked to theyouth system. InEuroLeague, the team may register under-20 players linked to the youth system.