Śląsk Wrocław (basketball)

WKS Śląsk Wrocław is a Polish professional basketball club based in Wrocław. Founded in 1948, Śląsk is the most decorated Polish basketball club, with 18 Polish League and 14 Polish cup championships. The club plays in the Polish Basketball League (PLK), the highest-tier level in Polish men's basketball. The home court is Hala Orbita, but many games are played in Centennial Hall.

WKS Śląsk Wrocław
WKS Śląsk Wrocław logo
NicknameWKS
Wojskowi (Military)
LeaguesPolish Basketball League
EuroCup
Founded1948 (1948)
HistoryŚląsk Wrocław
(1948–present)
ArenaHala Orbita,
Centennial Hall
Capacity3,000,
5,800
LocationWrocław, Poland
Team colorsGreen, white, red
     
PresidentMichał Lizak
Head coachOliver Vidin
Team captainArtsiom Parakhouski
Championships18 Polish Championships
14 Polish Cups
2 Polish Supercups
Websitewks-slask.eu
Active departments of Śląsk Wrocław
Basketball
(men's)		Football
(men's)		Handball
(men's)
AthleticsFootball
(women's)		Handball
(women's)
OrienteeringShootingSwimming
WeightliftingClassic
wrestling		Freestyle
wrestling
BoxingJudoTaekwondo

History

Since the basketball section was founded in 1948, Śląsk Wrocław has been the most decorated and most recognizable club in Polish basketball. The team has won the Polish league championships 18 times so far. Most recognized period of Śląsk's history is the "Great Śląsk Era" when the team won five championship titles in a row (1998-2002).

Most of those successes where achieved with coach Andrej Urlep. The notable players playing for Śląsk Wrocław over the years were: Mieczysław Łopatka (1960s), Edward Jurkiewicz (1970s and 1980s), Jerzy Binkowski (1980s, 1990s), Dariusz Zelig (1980s, 1990s), Maciej Zieliński (1980s, 1990s, 2000s), Adam Wójcik and Dominik Tomczyk.

In 2008 the club has gone into serious financial difficulties, which resulted in withdrawing the team from Polish Basketball League. After years of rebuilding attempts, the club is now back playing in the Polish Basketball League top division.[1][2]

In the 2020–21 PLK season, the team finished third. Śląsk defeated Legia Warszawa 86:85 in overtime of the decisive game 3 of the bronze medal series. The result exceeded expectations as it was the club's first league podium finish in 11 years. Key players of that team included Aleksander Dziewa, Kyle Gibson, Elijah Stewart and Strahinja Jovanović.[3]

The following season the club returned to the top of the domestic competition becoming Polish champions, twenty years after the last championship won in 2002. Travis Trice won MVP awards for both the regular season and the finals.

Season by season (since 1990)
Season Tier League Pos. Polish Cup European competitions
1990–91 1 PLK Champion 2 FIBA European Cup Winners' Cup
T16
0-2
1991–92 1 PLK Champion Winner 1 FIBA European League / 2 European Cup
R3
1-3
1992–93 1 PLK Champion 1 FIBA EuroLeague
R2
2-2
1993–94 1 PLK Champion 1 FIBA EuroLeague
R1
0-2
1994–95 1 PLK 5th 1 FIBA EuroLeague
R1
0-2
1995–96 1 PLK Champion 3 FIBA Korać Cup
R1
1-1
1996–97 1 PLK 4th Winner 2 FIBA EuroCup
QF
9-7
1997–98 1 PLK Champion 2 FIBA EuroCup
QF
9-6
1998–99 1 PLK Champion 2 FIBA Saporta Cup
R32
5-7
1999–00 1 PLK Champion 2 FIBA Saporta Cup
QF
10-6
2000–01 1 PLK Champion 1 FIBA SuproLeague
T16
7-13
2001–02 1 PLK Champion 1 Euroleague
RS
4–10
2002–03 1 PLK 3nd 1 Euroleague
RS
5–9
2003–04 1 PLK 2nd Winner 1 Euroleague
RS
6–8
2004–05 1 PLK 5th Winner 2 ULEB Cup
T16
6–6
2005–06 1 PLK 5th 3 FIBA EuroCup
T16
6–6
2006–07 1 PLK 3rd
2007–08 1 PLK 3rd[lower-alpha 1] Runner-up 2 ULEB Cup
T32
5–7
2008–09 3 II Liga 11th
2009–10 3 II Liga 12th
2010–11 3 II Liga 12th
2011–12 3 II Liga 1st
2012–13 2 I Liga 1st
2013–14 1 PLK 9th Winner
2014–15 1 PLK 5th Quarterfinalist
2015–16 1 PLK 14th[lower-alpha 2] 3 FIBA Europe Cup
R32
4–8
2016–17 3 II Liga 1st
2017–18 2 I Liga 9th
2018–19 2 I Liga 2nd
2019–20 1 PLK 7th[lower-alpha 3]
2020–21 1 PLK 3rd Quarterfinalist
2021–22 1 PLK Champion Semifinalist 2 EuroCup
T16
3–14
2022–23 1 PLK 2nd Quarterfinalist 2 EuroCup
RS
1–17
  1. Withdrew from the PLK after bankruptcy.
  2. Withdrew from the PLK due to financial problems.
  3. Season shortened due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Players
Hala Orbita

Current roster

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationality not displayed.

Śląsk Wrocław roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.Nat.Name
PG 0 United States Evans, Jawun 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) 27 – (1996-07-26)26 July 1996
G 2 Poland Wiśniewski, Aleksander 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) 20 – (2003-01-13)13 January 2003
PG 3 United States Gravett, Hassani 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) 27 – (1996-07-16)16 July 1996
G/F 5 Poland Zębski, Mateusz 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) 31 – (1992-05-13)13 May 1992
G/F 6 Poland Gołębiowski, Daniel   1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) 25 – (1998-02-06)6 February 1998
C 7 Belarus Parakhouski, Artsiom (C) 2.11 m (6 ft 11 in) 36 – (1987-10-06)6 October 1987
PF 8 Poland Nowicki, Szymon 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) 18 – (2005-06-02)2 June 2005
PG 10 Poland Kolenda, Łukasz 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) 24 – (1999-07-28)28 July 1999
C 11 Serbia Miletić, Dušan 2.13 m (7 ft 0 in) 25 – (1998-07-30)30 July 1998
F 12 Lithuania Kulvietis, Saulius 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) 32 – (1991-02-14)14 February 1991
PG 17 United States Ferrari, Frankie 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) 27 – (1995-12-20)20 December 1995
PF 19 Poland Adamczak, Mikołaj 2.04 m (6 ft 8 in) 20 – (2002-12-18)18 December 2002
F 22 Poland Sitnik, Michał 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) 23 – (2000-09-15)15 September 2000
F 35 Poland Nizioł, Jakub 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) 27 – (1996-05-08)8 May 1996
Head coach
  • Serbia Oliver Vidin
Assistant coach(es)
  • Poland Wojciech Walich
  • Poland Adrian Mroczek-Truskowski
  • Poland Maksym Papacz
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • Injured Injured
Updated: October 15, 2023

Retired numbers
Śląsk Wrocław retired numbers
N° Nat. Player Position Tenure
9PolandMaciej ZielińskiF1987–1992, 1995–2006

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.

Achievements
  • Polish League (18):
    • Winner (18): 1965, 1970, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1987, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2022
    • Runners-up (7): 1963, 1964, 1972, 1978, 1989, 2004, 2023
    • Third place (15): 1960, 1966, 1967, 1969, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1982, 1985, 1986, 1990, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2021
  • 1 Liga (1):
    • Winner (1): 2012–13
  • Polish Cup (14):
    • 1957, 1959, 1972, 1973, 1977, 1980, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1997, 2004, 2005, 2014
  • Polish Supercup (2):
    • 1999, 2000

See also

References
  1. "Jak to było?" (in Polish). WKS Śląsk Wrocław. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  2. "Slask Wroclaw". 7DAYS EuroCup. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  3. EBL: Aleksander Dziewa: To nieopisana radość. Nikt w Polsce na nas nie stawiał Mariusz Hawryszczuk (Polsat Sport), 25 April 2021. Accessed 20 May 2021.(in Polish)
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