Football team
Bakken Bears Aarhus
Club · Denmark · Basketligaen
«Bears»
The fiercest date on the Bakken Bears calendar has nothing to do with Europe: it is the Jutland derby against Horsens IC, a rivalry that gives the season its edge whatever else is on the table. Everything else in Danish basketball tends to be measured against Aarhus anyway, since no club in the country has won more. The current run alone tells the story — 24 Basketligaen titles.
The club did not start out as Bakken Bears. It was founded in 1953 as Aarhus Basketball Forening, became Skovbakken Basketball in 1962 after joining the multi-sport club IK Skovbakken, and only took its present name around 1999–2000, when the senior elite squad broke off to run as its own professional operation.
Europe took longer to arrive. Bakken Bears reached FIBA Europe Cup semi-finals in 2018 and 2022 without going further, then won the first-ever European North Basketball League in 2024, beating CSO Voluntari 85–81. Attendances at their own Vejlby-Risskov base rarely reflect nights like that — the ground holds 1,800 — but the club has filled far bigger rooms when it mattered: 4,816 people watched a league semi-final at Aarhus Arena in March 2009.
DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell, who later played in the NBA with the Denver Nuggets, took the Basketligaen MVP award in 2017 during a Aarhus side already accustomed to winning. Horsens waiting, as always, to spoil it.
Latest results
Fixtures and results| 18 Oct | Basketligaen |
Vaerlose BBK
A
|
123:82 | W |
| 14 Oct | FIBA Europe Cup |
Geneva Lions
A
|
78:73 | W |
| 10 Oct | Basketligaen |
Randers Cimbria
H
|
103:86 | W |
| 7 Oct | FIBA Europe Cup |
Benfica Lisbon
H
|
81:91 | L |
| 30 Sep | Basketligaen |
Gladsaxe
H
|
112:75 | W |
| 27 Sep | Basketligaen |
Bears Academy
A
|
108:84 | W |
Standing
FIBA Europe CupGroup stage · Group G
| # | Team | M | W | L | Goals | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
 BC Prievidza
|
2 | 1 | 1 | 177:167 | 0 |
| 2 |
Geneva Lions
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 105:83 | 0 |
| 3 |
 Absheron Lions
|
2 | 0 | 2 | 167:213 | 0 |
| 4 |
 Denizli Basket
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 83:69 | 0 |
| 5 |
Benfica Lisbon
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 91:81 | 0 |
| 6 |
 Bakken Bears Aarhus
|
1 | 0 | 1 | 81:91 | 0 |
Team statistics
matches counted in total: 320| Metric | Total | Home | Away |
|---|---|---|---|
| Matches | 320 | 164 | 156 |
| Scored | 30157 | 15903 | 14254 |
| Conceded | 25567 | 13115 | 12452 |
| Average per match | 94.2 | 97.0 | 91.4 |
| Conceded per game | 79.9 | 80.0 | 79.8 |
| Difference | +4590 | +2788 | +1802 |
Fixtures of Bakken Bears Aarhus
-
21 Oct · 17:30
Absheron Lions
H
FIBA Europe Cup
-
24 Oct · 13:00
Bms Herlev
H
Basketligaen
-
27 Oct · 18:00
BC Prievidza
A
FIBA Europe Cup
-
30 Oct · 18:00
Holbaek
A
Basketligaen
-
18 Oct
Vaerlose BBK
A
123:82
W
-
14 Oct
Geneva Lions
A
78:73
W
-
10 Oct
Randers Cimbria
H
103:86
W
-
7 Oct
Benfica Lisbon
H
81:91
L
-
30 Sep
Gladsaxe
H
112:75
W
-
27 Sep
Bears Academy
A
108:84
W
-
24 Sep
Horsens IC
H
83:64
W
-
18 Sep
Salon Vilpas Vikings
A
72:90
L
Honours of Bakken Bears Aarhus
- Danish League Championships (Basketligaen) 1958, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 23
- Danish Cup 1999, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2023 15
- European North Basketball League (ENBL) 2024 1