Iraklis B.C. is a Greek professional basketball club based in the city of Thessaloniki, Macedonia, Greece. Created in 1921, it serves as the professional men's basketball department of the multisports club of G.S. Iraklis Thessalonikis. The club's colors are blue and white, inspired by the flag of Greece. They play their home matches at Ivanofeio Sports Arena. As of 2025, the club competes in the first–tier level Greek Basketball League (GBL).
Iraklis Thessaloniki won the Greek National Championship in 1928 and 1935, and also reached the Greek Cup final three times. Some of the greatest players in Greek, European and worldwide basketball have played for Iraklis Thessaloniki over the years including: Lefteris Kakiousis, Jure Zdovc, James Donaldson, David Ancrum, Walter Berry, Xavier McDaniel, Roy Tarpley, Nikos Chatzivrettas, Vasily Karasev, Lazaros Papadopoulos, Dimitris Diamantidis and Sofoklis Schortsanitis.
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History
The parent sporting club of G.S. Iraklis Thessalonikis was founded on 29 November 1908, and initially featured football. The club was named after Heracles (or Hercules), the mythical Greek demigod. The basketball team of Iraklis was established in 1921.
Iraklis won the inaugural Greek League championship in 1928. To win the championship, Iraklis had to eliminate A.E.K. and Near East, before beating V.A.O. in the championship game. The team won its second Greek championship in 1935. Also in the team's history, Iraklis has thrice finished in second place in the Greek Championship (1936, 1962, and 1964), twice been a Greek Cup finalist (1981, 1994, and 1996), and twice made it to the semifinals of the European 2nd-tier level league Cup Winners Cup.
Iraklis reached the semifinals of the 1994–95 FIBA European Cup, where they competed against Taugrés. Iraklis won the first game 79–78, but lost the next two games, to be eliminated 2–1 in a best of three series. In 1996, an Iraklis team led by former N.B.A. players Xavier McDaniel and Roy Tarpley, reached the Greek Cup Final Four. By beating Apollon Patra in the semifinal, Iraklis reached the final, where it then lost 85–74 to Panathinaikos. Iraklis has also twice competed in the top European continental competitions. The club played in the European top-tier level European Champions Cup in the 1995–96 season, and also competed in the FIBA SuproLeague during the 2000–01 season.
In 2006, Iraklis was relegated to the Greek A2 Basket League, after finishing 13th in the first-tier Greek League. In 2010, after four seasons in the second-tier level A2 National Division, the team was promoted back up to the top-tier Greek League. After one season in the Greek top-tier level, Iraklis was again relegated down to the A2 National Division, with two matches left in the season. At the end of the season, Iraklis chose to play in the third-tier level of Greek basketball, the B National Division, in order to clear its debts. The club was promoted to the A2 National Division in 2013, after finishing 2nd in its group, and after Peristeri failed to receive financial clearance to participate in the league.
In the 2018–19 season, Iraklis won the promotion playoffs of the Greek A2 League, and was promoted up to the top level Greek League, for the first time in 8 years. During the 2019–20 season, Iraklis is taking part in the Greek League organized by the Hellenic Basketball Federation. The season started in October 2019 and was scheduled to end in June 2020. However, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the championship was terminated earlier. Iraklis took the 7th place with 29 points, having 9 wins and 11 losses in a total of 20 games. In the 2020–21 season, Iraklis returned to European competitions, taking part in the qualifying round of the Basketball Champions League and later on in the 2020–21 FIBA Europe Cup where the club reached the Top16 round having 3 wins and 1 loss. In the 2020–21 season Iraklis took the 10th place with 29 points, having 7 wins and 15 losses in a total of 22 games.
Home arena
Iraklis currently plays its home games in the Ivanofeio Sports Arena, an arena with a seating capacity of 2,580. The arena opened in 1987, and it was expanded to its current capacity in 2025. Ivanofeio is situated in the Thessaloniki city center, and it is owned by the multi-sport club G.S. Iraklis Thessaloniki.
Supporters
The most prominent supporters' club of the team is Aftonomi Thira 10 (meaning Autonomous Gate 10), a fan club with a total of 15 branches in Northern Greece. The fan club is known for holding an antiracist stance, as it participates in the Ultras Antiracist Festival. Other activities of the fan club include the publication of a magazine, and the conducting of an annual festival. Other minor supporters' clubs are SFISE, Blue Boys, A.P.A.T.S.I., and Iraklis Fan Club of Athens. In a 2013 opinion poll, Iraklis was ranked as the 6th most popular basketball club in Greece, gathering 2.8% of the participating supporters' votes.
Honours
European competitions
FIBA Saporta Cup
Semifinalists (2): 1994–95, 1996–97
Domestic competitions
Greek Championship
Champions (2): 1927–28, 1934–35
Runners-up (3): 1935–36, 1961–62, 1963–64
Greek Cup
Runners-up (3): 1980–81, 1993–94, 1995–96
Greek Second Division
Champions (2): 1974–75, 1977–78