Founded in 1905, Galatasaray is one of the oldest sports clubs in the world and takes its name from Galatasaray Lycee, a school that dates back to 1481. A teacher at the school brought basketball to Turkey in 1911. The club's basketball section opened in the early 1930s and found instant success with three consecutive Istanbul League titles from 1933 to 1936. Once World War II ended, Galatasaray continued dominating Turkish basketball with 16 Istanbul League titles and 11 Turkish championship trophies between 1940 and 1966. The club also competed well continentally, reaching the EuroLeague eighthfinals in 1961 and 1964. Another Turkish League triumph in 1969 was followed by a 15-year drought until Galatasaray had its last run of dominance with three more national titles between 1985 and 1990. The club made eight consecutive Korac Cup appearances between 1993 and 2001, but its current resurgence started in 2008 when Galatasaray reached the ULEB Cup semifinals. Three years later, Galatasaray advanced to the Turkish League finals and earned its way into the 2011-12 EuroLeague by dancing through the qualifying rounds. With Jamon Gordon and Jaka Lakovic among its top performers, Galatasaray got all the way to the Top 16 and the Turkish League semifinals. A year later, Galatasaray reached the Turkish Cup final and finished atop the table with just three regular-season losses. Then it lost only once in 10 postseason games as it defeated Banvit Bandirma in the finals to claim the 2013 Turkish championship. Galatasaray's star continued to shine next the season in the EuroLeague. Led by Carlos Arroyo and Coach Ergin Ataman, Galatasaray advanced to the EuroLeague Playoffs for the first time in club history before being ousted by FC Barcelona. The following season, Galatasaray wrote its name in the history books by winning the 7DAYS EuroCup, the first continental trophy for the club. Stephane Lasme, chosen as the 2016 EuroCup Finals MVP, led a history-making team that also featured Sinan Guler, 2015-16 EuroCup MVP Errick McCollum, Blake Schilb and Vladimir Micov. It was the club's last title to date, too. Galatasaray returned to the 2016-17 EuroLeague, but placed 12th with an 11-19 record, and has not reached the EuroCup playoffs in the last two seasons. With its thousands of diehard fans support Galatasaray both at home and on the road, it will be a force to be reckoned with in the EuroCup once again.
Trophy Case
| Eurocup: 2016 |
| Turkish National League: 1968-69, 1984-85, 1985-86, 1989-90, 2012-13 |
| Turkish Basketball Championship: 1946-47, 1947-48, 1948-49, 1949-50, 1952-53, 1954-55, 1955-56, 1959-60, 1962-63, 1963-64, 1965-66 |
| Turkish National Cup: 1970, 1972, 1995 |
| Turkish President's Cup: 1985, 2011 |