The Hague Royals

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
The Hague Royals logo
FoundedMay 2020
DissolvedSeptember 2023
HistoryThe Hague Royals
2020–2023
ArenaSportcampus Zuiderpark
Capacity3,500
LocationThe Hague, Netherlands
ChairmanMart Waterval
Head coachBert Samson
Team captainDeividas Kumelis
2021–22 positionBNXT League, 21nd of 21
Websitethehagueroyals.nl

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
The home arena Sportcampus Zuiderpark

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
The Royals playing Donar in the 2021–22 season

Final roster

The following was the Royals’ final roster in the 2021–22 season.

The Hague Royals roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.Nat.NameHt.Age
G 0 Netherlands Samson, Skip 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) 27 – (1995-12-31)31 December 1995
SG 3 Netherlands Lopes, Casey 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) 26 – (1997-01-30)30 January 1997
PF/C 4 United States Camaj, Arben 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in)
PG 9 Netherlands van der Salm, Rick 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) 23 – (2000-07-28)28 July 2000
PG 10 Lithuania Kumelis, Deividas 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) 28 – (1995-05-06)6 May 1995
PF 12 Netherlands Knepa, Marnexson 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) 27 – (1996-03-19)19 March 1996
PF 15 Netherlands Ackermans, Tom 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) 23 – (2000-08-05)5 August 2000
C 16 Netherlands Alkema, Vincent 2.16 m (7 ft 1 in) 23 – (2000-01-01)1 January 2000
SF 22 Poland Pandura, Piotr 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) 28 – (1995-02-15)15 February 1995
SG 27 Netherlands te Velde, Jens 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) 28 – (1995-02-15)15 February 1995
SG 33 Iceland Vignisson, Snorri 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in) 26 – (1997-04-22)22 April 1997
Head coach
  • Netherlands Bert Samson
Team manager
  • Netherlands Edgar da Costa
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • Injured Injured
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:

  • Set a club record or won an individual award while at the club
  • Played at least one official international match for their national team at any time
  • Played at least one official NBA match at any time.

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 Netherlands Bert Samson

References
  1. "Topsporthal" (in Dutch). Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  3. "Bericht van het bestuur: beroep Royals afgewezen". The Hague Royals (in Dutch). 20 June 2022. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
  4. "The Hague Royals plan DBL start next season". The Hague Royals. 20 May 2020. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  5. "Bert Samson first coach of The Hague Royals". The Hague Royals. 20 June 2020. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  6. "Sam van Dijk first Royals-player". The Hague Royals. 10 August 2020. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  7. "The Hague Royals en Almere Sailors gaan de DBL in" (in Dutch). Dutch Basketball League. 27 August 2020. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  8. "Aris begint seizoen met overwinning op The Hague Royals". Omroep Fryslân (in Dutch). 3 October 2020. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
  9. "Licenties BNXT League 2021–2022 toegekend". Basketball League (in Dutch). Retrieved 10 July 2021.
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