Landstede Hammers

Landstede Hammers is a Dutch basketball club based in Zwolle. The club plays in the BNXT League, the Dutch top tier division. The club was founded as Cees Lubbers The Hammers in 1995. In 1999, the club’s name was changed into Landstede Hammers. In 2001, the club received its current name Landstede Basketbal as the team became part of the same-named educational institution in Zwolle. The home games of the club are played in the Landstede Sportcentrum.

In its existence, Landstede won the DBL championship one time in 2019. In 2017, the club captured its first trophy when it won the Dutch Supercup.

History
The club was founded as Cees Lubbers/The Hammers and was based in Meppel in the first season of the club. The club played with the license of Red Giants Meppel, and moved to Zwolle, partly because arena 'Het Vledder' in Meppel diid not meet requirements. After a short time Landstede became the main sponsor of the club, that was named Landstede Hammers and later Landstede Basketbal. In the 2004–05 season Landstede reached the Dutch Finals for the first time in club history. It lost 4–0 to Amsterdam. In 2010 the club got a new arena in the Landstede Sportcentrum.

In 2017, Landstede won its first trophy in team history by winning the Dutch Supercup over Donar, winning 77–69.

In the 2018–19 season, Landstede finished in the second place in the regular season. The team had a 28–6 record in the regular season, and had All-DBL Team performers Noah Dahlman and Kaza Kajami-Keane on its roster. In the playoffs, Landstede defeated New Heroes Den Bosch 1–3 in the semi-finals. In the finals, Landstede beat defending champions Donar to win its first domestic championship.

On 22 September 2019, Hammers won its second Supercup trophy after beating ZZ Leiden 78–66 in its home arena. In the 2019–20 season, Landstede played in the FIBA Europe Cup, which marked the club's first European appearance in 19 years. On 19 August 2019, the club announced they returned to the name Landstede Hammers. In its first FIBA Europe Cup season, Landstede advanced past the regular season before losing six straight games in the second round.

Since the 2021–22 season, Hammers plays in the BNXT League, in which the national leagues of Belgium and the Netherlands have been merged.

The Hammers will join the European North Basketball League (ENBL) in the 2023-24 season, which makes them the first Dutch team to play in the league.

Club identity
When founded, the club was named Cees Lubbers The Hammers, named after main sponsor Cees Lubbers. The name Hammers stayed with the team through its supporters, who used its nickname for the following years. From 1996, the team was known as Landstede Hammers after new sponsor Landstede. In 1999, the club was named Landstede Basketbal, a name they kept for 20 years. On 19 August 2019, the club announced they returned to the name Landstede Hammers.

The team has a supporters' club which was founded in 2016 and is known as SV Hammers.

The mascot of the Hammers is the bird "Victory".

Domestic competitions

 * Dutch Basketball League
 * Winners (1): 2018–19
 * Runners-up (3): 2004–05, 2015–16, 2016–17
 * Dutch Cup
 * Runners-up (6): 2004–05, 2012–13, 2016–17, 2018–19, 2022–23, 2023–24
 * Dutch Supercup
 * Winners (2): 2017, 2019

Friendly competitions

 * Basketball Days
 * Winners (2): 2011, 2012

Notable players
• 🇨🇦 Kaza Kajami-Keane

• 🇨🇦 Tyson Hinz

• 🇺🇸 Noah Dahlman

• 🇺🇸 Grant Gibbs

• 🇺🇸 Robby Bostain

• 🇺🇸 Josh Magette

• 🇺🇸 Zack Novak

• 🇺🇸 Justin Stommes

• 🇺🇸 Clayton Vette

• 🇺🇸 J. T. Tiller

• 🇺🇸 Darryl Webb

• 🇺🇸 Joe Burton

• Alexandre De Sa

• Leon Williams

• Arno Bunnig

• Craig Osaikhwuwuomwan

• Jessey Voorn

• Nick Oudendag

• Rein van der Kamp

Individual awards
DBL Play-offs MVP
 * Kaza Kajami-Keane – 2019
 * All-DBL Team
 * Greg Stevenson – 2005
 * Darnell Hinson – 2006
 * Zack Novak – 2013
 * Joe Burton – 2015
 * Grant Gibbs – 2016
 * Tyson Hinz – 2016
 * J.T. Tiller – 2017
 * Clayton Vette – 2017
 * Noah Dahlman – 2018, 2019
 * Kaza Kajami-Keane – 2019

DBL Defensive Player of the Year
 * DBL Coach of the Year
 * Herman van den Belt – 2002, 2005, 2016
 * J.T. Tiller – 2017
 * DBL Rookie of the Year
 * Freek Vos – 2016
 * Olaf Schaftenaar – 2017
 * DBL MVP Under 23
 * Leon Williams – 2012
 * DBL Most Improved Player
 * Grant Gibbs – 2016
 * DBL Statistical Player of the Year
 * Joe Burton – 2015

Club records
Bold denotes still active with team. As of 14 April 2021:

European record

 * Notes

Head coaches
The Hammers have had four different head coaches in their history, with Herman van den Belt coaching the team the most seasons.