Limoges Cercle Saint-Pierre, commonly referred to as Limoges CSP or CSP, is a French professional basketball club based in the city of Limoges.

History

The club was founded in 1929, but its peak was during the 1980s and 1990s, when they became the first French club to win a major European-wide title in a team sport, by winning the FIBA European League (EuroLeague) in 1993. In the 1999–2000 season, Limoges won its 9th top-tier level French League title, but it was relegated to the French second division LNB Pro B, after winning it, because of financial problems. The club didn't get back to its old state for a long time, as it spent the next 3 years in the Pro A, but was relegated again in 2004 after finishing dead last. Starting with the 2004–05 season, Limoges played in the NM1, the French third division, due to continued financial problems. It took the club six seasons to eventually return to the Pro A. In the 2013–14 season, Limoges returned to its old glory, as the team captured its 10th French League national championship, by beating Strasbourg IG 0–3 in the French League Finals. Alex Acker was named Finals MVP. The club thus qualified for the 2014–15 EuroLeague by winning the French League championship, which would be their first appearance in the top European-wide league in 17 seasons. In the EuroLeague, Limoges lost 8 out of 10 games, managing to win against UNICS and Cedevita, before being relegated to the European-wide second tier level EuroCup. In the EuroCup Round of 32, Limoges was eliminated, after finishing 3rd in Group J. In the French Pro A, Limoges once again had a successful season. In the regular season, Limoges finished in 3rd place behind JSF Nanterre and Strasbourg IG, but in the French League playoffs, they made up for that. In the French League Finals, Limoges beat Strasbourg 1–3, to win back-to-back French League titles. Ousmane Camara was named Finals MVP.

Arena

Limoges plays its home games at the Palais des Sports de Beaublanc, which has a seating capacity of 6,500 people.

Roster

Retired numbers

Current roster

Honours

Domestic competitions

European competitions

Worldwide competitions

Other competitions

Individual club awards

Successive shirts

Supporters and rivalries

The club has a large fan-base, with a dedicated ultras group called Ultras Green. Their biggest rival is another legendary French club Pau-Orthez, and they have been trading blows with one another for national supremacy on the hardwood, both figuratively and literally, since the early 1980s. In the 22 seasons between 1983 and 2004, the two clubs combined for 18 French League championships, and multiple games between the two teams resulted in fights among the players, including one that ended in a brawl between Élan supporters and Limoges players, at the old Orthez venue, La Moutète.

Season by season

Season by season results of the club in national league, national cup and European-wide competitions.

International record

In European and worldwide competitions

The road to the European Cup victories

1981–82 FIBA Korać Cup 1982–83 FIBA Korać Cup 1987–88 FIBA European Cup Winners' Cup 1992–93 FIBA European League 1999–00 FIBA Korać Cup

Notable players

Head coaches

• 🇫🇷 André Buffière: (1980–83) • 🇫🇷 Pierre Dao: (1983–86) • 🇫🇷 Michel Gomez: (1986–90) • Božidar Maljković: (1992–95) • 🇮🇱 Zvi Sherf: (1995–96) • Bogdan Tanjević: (1996–97) • Duško Ivanović: (1999–00) • Panagiotis Giannakis: (2012–13) • 🇫🇷 Jean-Marc Dupraz: (2013–2015) • 🇫🇷 Philippe Hervé: (2015–2016) • 🇷🇸 Duško Vujošević: (2016–2017) • 🇫🇷 Kyle Milling: (2017–2018) • 🇫🇷 François Peronnet: (2018–2019) • Alfred Julbe: (2019) • 🇫🇷 Mehdy Mary: (2019–2021) • 🇮🇹 Massimo Cancellieri: (2021–2023) • Ilias Kantzouris: (2023–2024) • 🇫🇷 Jean-Marc Dupraz: (2024–present)