| Yannick Franke | |
| Position: | Shooting guard |
| Height Ft: | 6 |
| Height In: | 5 |
| Weight Lb: | 185 |
| League: | Basketbol Süper Ligi |
| Team: | ONVO Büyükçekmece |
| Number: | 5 |
| Birth Date: | 1996 5, mf=yes |
| Birth Place: | Haarlem, Netherlands |
| Nationality: | Dutch |
| Draft Year: | 2018 |
| Career Start: | 2013 |
| Years1: | 2013 |
| Team1: | ZZ Leiden |
| Years2: | 2013–2015 |
| Team2: | Rotterdam |
| Years3: | 2015–2016 |
| Team3: | Donar |
| Years4: | 2016 |
| Team4: | Bisons Loimaa |
| Years5: | 2017 |
| Team5: | Zadar |
| Years6: | 2017–2018 |
| Team6: | Aquila Trento |
| Years7: | 2018–2019 |
| Team7: | Pieno žvaigždės |
| Years8: | 2019–2020 |
| Team8: | Hamburg Towers |
| Years9: | 2020 |
| Team9: | SLUC Nancy |
| Years10: | 2020–2021 |
| Team10: | Start Lublin |
| Years11: | 2021 |
| Team11: | Pieno žvaigždės |
| Years12: | 2021–2022 |
| Team12: | Trefl Sopot |
| Years13: | 2022 |
| Team13: | Andorra |
| Years14: | 2022–2023 |
| Team14: | PAOK Thessaloniki |
| Years15: | 2023–2024 |
| Team15: | Palencia |
| Years16: | 2024–present |
| Team16: | Büyükçekmece Basketbol |
| Highlights: | |
Yannick Ayrton Franke (born May 21, 1996) is a Dutch professional basketball player for ONVO Büyükçekmece of the Basketbol Süper Ligi (BSL). He also represents the Netherlands national basketball team in international competition. Franke mainly plays at the shooting guard position.
Franke started his professional career with the Dutch powerhouse ZZ Leiden in the 2013–14 season. In December he transferred to lower-ranked Challenge Sports Rotterdam, where he could get more playing time.
In the 2014–15 season, Franke had a break-out year. He was the youngest scoring champion in the history of the Dutch DBL, after he recorded 19.6 points per game at age 19.[1] He also won the DBL MVP Under 23 and DBL Most Improved Player Awards.
For the 2015–16 season, Franke signed with Donar Groningen.[2] On 15 February 2016, Franke left Donar.[3]
On February 29, 2016, he signed for the remainder of the season with Bisons Loimaa in Finland.[4]
On September 20, 2016, Franke signed with Promitheas Patras in Greece,[5] but left the team without appearing in a single game. On October 16, 2016, he signed a three-year contract with AEK Athens in Greece,[6] but was released on November 25, without appearing in an official game of the team.[7]
On January 11, 2017, he signed with Croatian club Zadar.[8] On March 31, 2017, he left Zadar after averaging 6 points and 2 rebounds per game in the ABA League.[9]
On August 11, 2017, Franke signed a two-year deal with Italian club Aquila Basket Trento.[10] In the 2017–18 LBA season, Franke reached the finals with Trento, where it lost to Olimpia Milano.
In October 2018, Franke signed with Pieno žvaigždės of the Lithuanian LKL.[11]
On July 12, 2019, Franke signed a one-year contract with Hamburg Towers of the German Basketball Bundesliga (BBL).[12]
On August 8, 2020, Franke signed with SLUC Nancy of the French LNB Pro B.[13]
On December 17, 2020, Franke signed with Start Lublin.[14]
On August 2, 2021, he signed with Trefl Sopot of the Polish Basketball League.[15]
On March 2, 2022, he signed with MoraBanc Andorra of the Spanish Liga ACB.[16]
On July 11, 2022, Franke signed with PAOK of the Greek Basket League and the Basketball Champions League.[17] In 31 domestic league games, he averaged 15.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.5 turnovers, playing around 27 minutes per contest.
On July 27, 2023, Franke signed with Palencia of the Liga ACB.[18] [19]
On February 29, 2024, he signed with ONVO Büyükçekmece of the Basketbol Süper Ligi (BSL).[20]
Franke made his debut for the Dutch national basketball team on 31 July 2015 in a 55–59 loss against Germany.[21] Franke was a member of the Dutch team that played at EuroBasket 2015, where the team had a 1–4 record. Franke played in one game, a 72–78 loss against Croatia, and he scored 3 points in the match.[22]
Franke comes from a much-lauded basketball family. Father Rolf Franke was eight times Dutch basketball champion in the 1990s, played 60 international matches for the Netherlands [23] and was the coach of ZZ Leiden from 2018 to 2020. Grandfather Wim Franke was regarded as one of the best basketball players in the country in the 1960s and made 47 international appearances. [24]