History

Caja de Ronda, original name of Unicaja, was founded in 1977 as Sociedad Deportiva Caja de Ronda. It took only four seasons for the team to reach the top division of Spanish basketball in the 1980-81 season.

The team had two stints in the elite. The first lasted four seasons until 1983-84, followed by two seasons (1985-86 and 1986-87) in the First Division B. In the 1987-88 season, it returned to the ACB league, thus beginning its second stint, in which it has never left the top flight of Spanish basketball.

Mayoral Maristas, he other Malaga club that gave rise to Baloncesto Málaga, was founded in 1953 under the name Ademar Basket Club. It changed its name in 1972 to Club Baloncesto Maristas de Málaga. It was promoted to the ACB League in 1988, remaining there for four seasons until it merged with Caja de Ronda in 1992.

Then known as Baloncesto Málaga S.A.D., the club that emerged from the merger, achieved its most important successes, winning a total of 10 trophies.

In the 2000/01 season, it won its first title, the Korac Cup, which was the first European title for an Andalusian team in any sport.

In the 2004/05 season, the team established itself as a major force in Spanish basketball by winning the Copa del Rey in Zaragoza against Real Madrid, and a year later, in 2005/06, it won the ACB league title, one of the greatest successes in Andalusian sport, against Tau Cerámica (3-0).

The following season, 2006/2007, the team achieved its best Euroleague ranking by participating in the Final Four, which was held in Athens that year, and in which Unicaja finished third by winning the consolation final against Tau Cerámica, an achievement that can be considered almost as good as a title.

After 10 consecutive seasons in the Euroleague, following the restructuring of the competition, Unicaja moved to the Eurocup in the 2016/17 season and in its first year in this European league won the title, defeating Valencia Basket in an epic final that was decided in the third game of the series, at the Fuente de San Luis, the Valencia team's home court, and in which Alberto Díaz was named MVP.

The 2022/23 season marks the beginning of a new golden era for the Club, which has won six titles to date.

This dream began in 2023 in the Copa del Rey in Badalona, where Unicaja faced a tough road determined by the draw, which pitted them against Barça in the first round. With all bets in favor of the Catalonians, the Malaga team managed to win in the quarterfinals, only to face the other great team in the competition, Real Madrid, in the semifinals. Unicaja caused another upset by beating the Whites with authority and, in the final, completed the feat by defeating Tenerife to win their second Copa del Rey.

That season, they also qualified for the Final Four of the Basketball Champions League, which was held in Malaga, in their first season in the FIBA competition, although on this occasion they were unable to win the title.

However, this experience enabled them to approach the following season in the BCL with greater effort and intensity, and they managed to repeat their presence in the Final Four in Belgrade, where, this time, they did manage to win the competition, after defeating Tenerife again in the final.

nd so Unicaja entered the 2024/25 season, the most productive in terms of titles in its history. Thanks to winning the 2024 Basketball Champions League, Unicaja participated as the European representative in the 2024 FIBA Intercontinental, held in Singapore. The Malaga team won this global title after defeating the NBA G League United of the United States 75-60 in the final.

Following its success in Singapore, the start of the 2024-25 season continued with a new milestone. The Malaga team won the Endesa Super Cup held in Murcia after defeating UCAM, the tournament host, 78-84, and Real Madrid (80-90) in the final, which had won the last six Super Cups in a row.

In February, the 2025 Copa del Rey was held in Las Palmas, where Unicaja once again lifted the championship trophy, winning its third title in this competition. In May, it reached the BCL Final Four for the third consecutive time and won the title in Athens, where it defeated Turkish side Galatasaray. Unicaja thus won its second Basketball Champions League title, also consecutively, something that only San Pablo Burgos had achieved to date.

Fundación Bancaria Unicaja is the owner of the Club and Unicaja has been its main sponsor since the Club was founded, in a relationship of unparalleled longevity in European sport.

The Club is legally composed of two entities:

Baloncesto Málaga SAD: In compliance with the Sports Law, a public limited sports company was created, which is solely responsible for the professional team.
Unicaja Sociedad Deportiva: This company is responsible for the senior womens team and all the youth teams.