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Den Helder Suns

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Den Helder Suns
Den Helder Suns logo
LeaguesBNXT League
Founded2016; 10 years ago (2016)[A]
ArenaSporthal Sportlaan
Capacity1,000
LocationDen Helder, Netherlands
Team colorsBlue, Black, White, Gold
       
PresidentJames Meijer
Head coachAtakan Yazıcı
2025–26 positionBNXT League, 13th of 21
Retired numbers1 (5)
Websitedenheldersuns.nl

The Den Helder Suns are a professional basketball club based in Den Helder, Netherlands. The club was founded in 2016 and currently plays in the BNXT League. The team has played at the highest domestic level since 10 years. The Suns play their home games in the Sporthal Sportlaan, which has a capacity of 1,000 people.

History

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After the bankruptcy of the Netherlands' professional BV Den Helder team during the 2013–14 season, a professional basketball representative team from Den Helder was missing for three seasons. In 2016, the Suns organisation was founded with the goal of making a return to the Dutch Basketball League (DBL). On June 30, 2017, Den Helder Suns announced it would return to the highest level in the 2017–18 season.[1] On July 14, 2017, the Suns announced "Peter van Noord head coach Den Helder Suns."[2]

In its first DBL season, Suns finished in the eight place of the regular season, above last-placed BAL. Captain Tjoe de Paula, who played for different clubs from Den Helder before, got his number retired on 19 April 2018.[3]

Since the 2021–22 season, the Suns play in the BNXT League, in which the national leagues of Belgium and the Netherlands have been merged.[4]

For the 2025-26 season, the clubs application for a license in the BNXT League was initially rejected due to uncertainties to meet their financial obligations throughout the season. The club reapplied for a license and was received one a month after the initial rejection.[5] The economic uncertainties for the club however persisted, leading the club to decide not to reapply for a license for the 2026-27 season. The club expected they were going to be unable to meet the requirement of a proper basketball floor and maintaining a salary for a general manager. They hope to participate in a new league of the NBB which would be ranked between the BNXT League and the Promotiedivisie. [6]

Season by season

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Season Tier League Pos. NBB Cup
Den Helder Suns
2017–18 1 DBL 8th Quarterfinals
2018–19 1 DBL 5th Eightfinals
2019–20 1 DBL 7th[a] Semifinalist
2020–21 1 DBL 6th First Round
2021–22 1 BNXT League NL 10th Quarterfinals
BNXT 20th
2022–23 1 BNXT League NL 9th Withdrew
BNXT 19th
2023–24 1 BNXT League NL 10th First Round
BNXT 20th
2024–25 1 BNXT League NL 5th Quarterfinals
BNXT 15th
2025–26 1 BNXT League NL 5th Semifinals
BNXT 13th
  1. ^ The 2019–20 season was cancelled in March because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Players

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Retired numbers

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On 19 April 2018, Suns retired its first number as Tjoe de Paula was honored, who played for BV Den Helder during the periods 2001–2003, 2004–2006, 2008–2009 and 2017–18.[3]

Den Helder Suns retired numbers
No Nat. Player Position Tenure Ceremony date
5 Dominican Republic Tjoe de Paula G 2017–2018 19 April 2018[3]

Current roster

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Den Helder Suns roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Ht. Age
G/F 0 United States Antoine, Bryan 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) 26 – (2000-04-26)26 April 2000
PG 1 United States Mesidor, Reggie 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) 26 – (2000-01-01)1 January 2000
G 2 Netherlands Uijtendaal, Siem 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) 25 – (2001-05-05)5 May 2001
G 3 Netherlands Beens, Thijs 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) 19 – (2006-11-19)19 November 2006
F 7 United States Gilmore, Carter 2.02 m (6 ft 8 in) 24 – (2001-12-12)12 December 2001
C 10 Netherlands Visser, Jonas 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) 25 – (2001-02-06)6 February 2001
SG 11 Netherlands De Haas, Ezra 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) 18 – (2008-03-22)22 March 2008
PF 12 Netherlands Post, Steven 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) 24 – (2002-02-11)11 February 2002
SG 22 Greece Rantonits, Balsa 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) 21 – (2004-10-30)30 October 2004
G 33 Netherlands Thran, Nick (C) 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) 26 – (2000-05-03)3 May 2000
F 42 United States Stover, Drew 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 24 – (2002-02-27)27 February 2002
F 77 Netherlands Van der Heiden, Noah 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) 26 – (1999-08-15)15 August 1999
Head coach
  • Netherlands Atakan Yazıcı
Team manager
  • Netherlands Marco Starrenburg
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Development player
  • (I) Import player
  • Injured Injured
Updated: June 13, 2026

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

Notable players

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Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities 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.

Individual awards

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BNXT League Dutch Rising Star of the Year

DBL Rookie of the Year

DBL MVP Under 23

DBL Most Improved Player

Top scorers by season

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The following players were the leading scorers for Den Helder in each DBL season:[7]

Season Name PPG
2017–18 Netherlands Tjoe de Paula 14.8
2018–19 Netherlands Boy van Vliet 14.4
2019–20 Netherlands Yarick Brussen 13.1
2020–21 Netherlands Boyd van der Vuurst de Vries 14.7
2021–22 Luxembourg Ben Kovac 16.3

Head coaches

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Period Name Honours
2017–2023 Netherlands Peter van Noord
2023–2024 Republic of Ireland Daniel Nelson
2024–2026 Belgium Paul Vervaeck
2026–present Netherlands Atakan Yazici

Notes

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  1. ^ The Den Helder Suns is the successor of Den Helder Kings which went bankrupt in 2014 and while it is a new organisation, it can be seen as a phoenix club.

References

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  1. ^ "Den Helder volgend seizoen terug in eredivisie basketbal! - Den Helder Actueel". www.DenHelderActueel.nl. Archived from the original on 5 March 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
  2. ^ "Peter van Noord Head Coach Den Helder Suns". Noordhollands Dagblad. 14 July 2017.
  3. ^ a b c "Tjoe de Paula voor altijd de Helderse nummer 5" (in Dutch). Denhelderactueel.nl. 19 April 2018. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  4. ^ "Licenties BNXT League 2021-2022 toegekend". Basketball League (in Dutch). Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  5. ^ "Reconstruction of a heavy month at Den Helder Suns" (in Dutch). 21 June 2025. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  6. ^ "Den Helder Suns does not apply for a license in the next BNXT season" (in Dutch). 19 March 2026. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
  7. ^ "Bright Kings Den Helder Stats - RealGM". basketball.realgm.com. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
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