Des Moines Dragons
Founded	1997
Folded	2001
City	Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the US state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857...
League	International Basketball Association International Basketball Association The International Basketball Association was founded by Alexandria, Minnesota entrepreneur Thomas Anderson in 1995. Anderson traveled the Upper Midwest searching for franchise owners for a couple of years before the league began play with five teams in the 1995-1996 season...
Team History	Des Moines Dragons (1997-2001)
Arena	Veterans Auditorium
Team Colors	Green and White
Championships	1 (2000)
Conference Titles	2 (2000, 2001)
Division Titles	2 (2000, 2001)
Owner	Dick Giesen
Head Coach	Glenn Duhon 1997-2000 Michael Born 2000-2001

The Des Moines Dragons were a minor league

Minor league

Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities. This term is used in North America with regard to several organizations competing in...

 basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

 team in the International Basketball Association

International Basketball Association

The International Basketball Association was founded by Alexandria, Minnesota entrepreneur Thomas Anderson in 1995. Anderson traveled the Upper Midwest searching for franchise owners for a couple of years before the league began play with five teams in the 1995-1996 season...

. They were located in Des Moines, Iowa

Des Moines, Iowa

Des Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the US state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857...

, and played at the Iowa Veterans Memorial Auditorium. The Dragons was owned by Paul Miller and Dick Giesen. The Des Moines Dragons were the International Basketball Association champions in 2000 and the runner-up in 2001 to the Dakota Wizards

Dakota Wizards

The Dakota Wizards are an American basketball team in the NBA Development League, based in Bismarck, North Dakota. Home games are played at the Bismarck Civic Center.-Beginnings in IBA:...

. They played in the IBA

International Basketball Association

The International Basketball Association was founded by Alexandria, Minnesota entrepreneur Thomas Anderson in 1995. Anderson traveled the Upper Midwest searching for franchise owners for a couple of years before the league began play with five teams in the 1995-1996 season...

 from the 1997-1998 season until the end of the 2000-2001 season. The Dragons were coached by Glenn Duhan from 1997 through 2000 and Michael Born from 2000 through 2001. The Dragons played their home games at Veterans Auditorium from 1997 through 2001. In 2000 Lonnie Cooper received the IBA Playoffs MVP. Lonnie Cooper of the Dragons received the 2001 IBA MVP as well as the IBA Finals MVP award. Also in 2001 Michael Born was named the Coach of the year in the IBA along with Dave Joerger of the Dakota Wizards. The Dragons were the IBA organization of the year in all four years of their existence.

Playoffs

In 1998 the Dragons were swept 2-0 by the Fargo-Moorhead Beez

Fargo-Moorhead Beez

The Fargo-Moorhead Beez was a professional basketball club based in Fargo, North Dakota that competed in the International Basketball Association beginning in the 1995-1996 season. They were the 1995-1996 and the 1997-1998 International Basketball Association champions...

 in the IBA Semifinals. The Dragons swept Rochester

Rochester Skeeters

The Rochester Skeeters was a professional basketball club based in Rochester, Minnesota that competed in the International Basketball Association beginning in the 1998-1999 season. The team folded after the 1999-2000 season....

 2-0 in the 1999 IBA Semifinals before losing to Mansfield

Mansfield Hawks

The Mansfield Hawks were an International Basketball Association professional basketball team that existed for exactly two basketball seasons in 1998-99 and 1999-2000. After a successful inaugural season, the Hawks won the IBA championship in their second, and final, season of existence. They...

 1-2 in the IBA Division Finals. In 2000 the Dragons had better luck in the playoffs, they started out by sweeping Billings

Billings RimRockers

The Billings RimRockers was a professional basketball club based in Billings, Montana that competed in the International Basketball Association beginning in the 1998-1999 season. The team folded along with the IBA after the 2000-2001 season...

 2-0 in the IBA Division Semifinals and Fargo-Moorhead

Fargo-Moorhead Beez

The Fargo-Moorhead Beez was a professional basketball club based in Fargo, North Dakota that competed in the International Basketball Association beginning in the 1995-1996 season. They were the 1995-1996 and the 1997-1998 International Basketball Association champions...

 3-0 in the IBA Division Finals before going on to defeat the Magic City Snowbears

Magic City Snowbears

The Magic City Snowbears was a professional basketball club based in Minot, North Dakota that competed in the International Basketball Association beginning in the 1996-1997 season. The team was contracted when the IBA, IBL, and CBA merged for the 2001-2002 season...

 3-1 in the IBA Finals for the Dragons only championship. During the Dragons final season they swept Fargo-Moorhead 2-0 in the IBA Semifinals as well as sweeping Souixland

Siouxland Bombers

The Siouxland Bombers was a professional basketball club based in Sioux City, Iowa that competed in the International Basketball Association beginning in the 1999-2000 season. The team folded along with the IBA after the 2000-2001 season....

 2-0 in the Division Finals. The Dragons took a 2-0 IBA Finals lead against the Dakota Wizards before losing three straight to lose the finals 3-2.

Dragons Logos

Year-by-year record

Year	GP	W	L	Pct.	Finish	Playoffs	Results
1997-1998	34	22	12	.647	2nd, East	Lost Semifinals	Fargo-Moorhead Fargo-Moorhead Beez The Fargo-Moorhead Beez was a professional basketball club based in Fargo, North Dakota that competed in the International Basketball Association beginning in the 1995-1996 season. They were the 1995-1996 and the 1997-1998 International Basketball Association champions...  2, Des Moines 0
1998-1999	34	18	16	.529	2nd, East	Won Division Semifinals Lost Divisional Finals	Des Moines 2, Rochester Rochester Skeeters The Rochester Skeeters was a professional basketball club based in Rochester, Minnesota that competed in the International Basketball Association beginning in the 1998-1999 season. The team folded after the 1999-2000 season....  0 Mansfield Mansfield Hawks The Mansfield Hawks were an International Basketball Association professional basketball team that existed for exactly two basketball seasons in 1998-99 and 1999-2000. After a successful inaugural season, the Hawks won the IBA championship in their second, and final, season of existence. They...  2, Des Moines 1
1999-2000	36	25	11	.694	1st, East	Won Division Semifinals Won Divisional Finals Won IBA Finals	Des Moines 2, Billings Billings RimRockers The Billings RimRockers was a professional basketball club based in Billings, Montana that competed in the International Basketball Association beginning in the 1998-1999 season. The team folded along with the IBA after the 2000-2001 season...  0 Des Moines 3, Fargo-Moorhead 0 Des Moines 3, Magic City Magic City Snowbears The Magic City Snowbears was a professional basketball club based in Minot, North Dakota that competed in the International Basketball Association beginning in the 1996-1997 season. The team was contracted when the IBA, IBL, and CBA merged for the 2001-2002 season...  1
2000-2001	40	28	12	.700	1st, East	Won Division Semifinals Won Divisional Finals Lost IBA Finals	Des Moines 2, Fargo-Moorhead 0 Des Moines 2, Souixland Siouxland Bombers The Siouxland Bombers was a professional basketball club based in Sioux City, Iowa that competed in the International Basketball Association beginning in the 1999-2000 season. The team folded along with the IBA after the 2000-2001 season....  0 Dakota Dakota Wizards The Dakota Wizards are an American basketball team in the NBA Development League, based in Bismarck, North Dakota. Home games are played at the Bismarck Civic Center.-Beginnings in IBA:...  3, Des Moines 2
Totals	144	93	51	.646	N/A	N/A	N/A
Playoffs	25	17	8	.680	N/A	1 Championship	Des Moines 6, Opponents 3

Former Dragon players

• Tyrone Barksdale
• Michael Born
• Kris Bruton
• Ron Bayless
• Lonnie Cooper
• Ben Ebong
• Rosell Ellis
  Rosell Ellis
  Rosell Ellis in an American basketball player.-Career:Rosell Ellis was a former Washington state player of the year for Rainier Beach High School. His high school coach, Michael Bethea, remembers him as "domineering and overpowering" player...
  
  
• Chad Faulkner
• Tye Fields
• Kirk Ford
• Jason Avis
• Edward Johnson
• Greg Jones
• Richmond McIver
• Roland Miller
• Michael Nurse
• Carl Pickett
• Kevin Sams
• Curt Smith
• Larry Thompson
• Johnny Tyson
• Jason Williams
• Justin Wimmer
• Jason Winningham

External links

• Des Moines Dragons official website
• IBA Standings and Statistics
• Des Moines Dragons OurSportsCentral homepage
• Des Moines Dragons fold, decline CBA's offer from The Des Moines Register
• Dragons resume playoffs minus one from The Des Moines Register
• (April 1, 1998) Dragons' GM on fire from Iowa State Daily
  Iowa State Daily
  The Iowa State Daily is an independent student newspaper serving Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa, that is published in print and online. It was founded in 1890, and is largely funded by advertising revenues...
  
  
• (January 22, 1998) Player Is Suspended After Choking Ref from New York Times
• Iowa House Resolution 116 on Des Moines Dragons
• Des Moines Dragons Tryout Press Release
• Des Moines Dragons Box Score