Rivers Hoopers Explained

Rivers Hoopers
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Nickname:	The KingsMen
Leagues:	Nigerian Premier League
Conference:	Atlantic
Founded:	2005
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History:	Royal Hoopers (2005–2016) Rivers Hoopers (2016–present)
Arena:	Rivers State Basketball Complex
Capacity:	2,000
Location:	Port Harcourt, Rivers, Nigeria
Colors:	Blue, White, Orange
Current:	2024 Rivers Hoopers season
Media:	Queen John-Moseph https://www.linkedin.com/in/queen-john-moseph-469243162/?originalSubdomain=ng
Gm:	Ifie Ozaka
Coach:	Ogoh Odaudu
Ownership:	Government of Rivers State
Championships:	5 (2011, 2012, 2019, 2021, 2023)
Season:	2024 Rivers Hooper season
Website:	https://rivershoopers.com/
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Rivers Hoopers is a Nigerian professional basketball team based in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. The team plays in the Nigerian Premier League (NPL) and currently in the Basketball Africa League (BAL).

Established in 2005 as Royal Hoopers,^[1] the team began to play in the NPL in 2019 and changed to their current name after the management of the team was taken over by the Government of Rivers State. The Hoopers have played in the Premier League since its inception and won the national championship five times, with titles in 2011, 2012, 2019, 2021 and 2023.

At the continental level, Rivers Hoopers has played in the FIBA Africa Club Champions Cup three times, and has played in the Basketball Africa League (BAL) twice, in the 2021 and 2024 seasons.

History

The club was established in 2005 as Royal Hoopers, with former Nigeria national team player Ogoh Odaudu at the reins as head coach. In the club's first four years, they organised annual "classics" tournaments. The Hoopers entered the Nigerian Premier League (NPL) in 2009.

The Hoopers won their first NPL championship in 2011. They repeated as champions in 2012, behind star player Azuoma Dike who was named the league's MVP.^[2]

Following one year in the Division One that was followed by a promotion back to the NPL, management of the team was taken over by the Government of Rivers State in March 2016, and subsequently the team name was changed to Rivers Hoopers.^[3]

In December 2018, Hoopers played in the FIBA Africa Zone 3 Championship and won all five games to emerge as its Champions and went on to play in the 2019 Africa Basketball League in March. On 17 November 2019, the Hoopers won its third Nigerian title when it beat Raptors in the final. With this achievement, the team qualified directly for the inaugural season of Basketball Africa League (BAL).^[4]

To strengthen the team for the inaugural BAL season, the Hoopers acquired former NBA-players Ben Uzoh and Festus Ezeli.^[5] Ezeli, however, got injured before the season and did not join. Hoopers finished third in Group A of the BAL, beating only GNBC from Madagascar. Uzoh led the team in scoring with 14.7 points.^[6]

In the 2021 season, the Hoopers won the Premier League for a fourth time after edging Gombe Bulls in the final.^[7] Anaiye Johnson was named the league's MVP and Victor Anthony Koko was named final MVP. However, the Hoopers were denied to play in the BAL by FIBA Africa, because the league was organised by the Nigerian Ministry of Youth and Sports instead of the official administrator Nigeria Basketball Federation.^[8]

The KingsMen won the Crown Elite Championship in 2022 and won the second edition of the Louis Edem Invitational Basketball Championship on 2 September 2023 in Lagos after beating Spintex Knights of Ghana in the final.

The Hoopers won their 5th national title on 25 November 2023, following the Final Four which was hosted in Port Harcourt. They finished with an undefeated 13–0 record and qualified for the 2024 BAL season, where they will be making their second appearance.^[9] In the BAL, the Hoopers won the Sahara Conference title and qualified for the playoffs as the fourth seed, eventually finishing in third place.^[10] ^[11] Three Rivers players, Devine Eke, Kelvin Amayo and Will Perry, were named to the All-BAL Teams.^[12] ^[13]