Quick Facts
Biography
Yannick Ayrton Franke (born May 21, 1996) is a Dutch professional basketball player who plays for Hamburg Towers of the Basketball Bundesliga. Franke usually plays as shooting guard and occasionally as point guard.
Professional career
Franke started his professional career with the Dutch powerhouse ZZ Leiden in the 2013–14 season. In December he transferred to lower-ranked Challenge Sports Rotterdam, where he could get more playing time.
In the 2014–15 season, Franke had a break-out year. He was the youngest scoring champion in the history of the Dutch DBL, after he recorded 19.6 points per game at age 19. He also won the DBL MVP Under 23 and DBL Most Improved Player Awards.
For the 2015–16 season, Franke signed with Donar Groningen. On 15 February 2016, Franke left Donar.
On February 29, 2016, he signed for the remainder of the season with Bisons Loimaa in Finland.
On September 20, 2016, Franke signed with Promitheas Patras in Greece, but left the team without appearing in a single game. On October 16, 2016, he signed a three-year contract with AEK Athens in Greece, but was released on November 25, without appearing in an official game of the team. On January 11, 2017, he signed with Croatian club Zadar. On March 31, 2017, he left Zadar after averaging 6 points and 2 rebounds per game in the ABA League.
On August 11, 2017, Franke signed a two-year deal with Italian club Aquila Basket Trento. In the 2017–18 LBA season, Franke reached the finals with Trento, where it lost to Olimpia Milano.
In October 2018, Franke signed with Pieno žvaigždės of the Lithuanian LKL.
On July 12, 2019, Franke signed a one-year contract with Hamburg Towers of the German Basketball Bundesliga (BBL).
International career
Franke made his debut for the Dutch national basketball team on 31 July 2015 in a 55–59 loss against Germany. Franke was a member of the Dutch team that played at EuroBasket 2015, where the team had a 1–4 record. Franke played in one game, a 72–78 loss against Croatia, and he scored 3 points in the match.
Honours
Individual
- DBL All-Rookie Team: 2014–15
- DBL Most Improved Player: 2014–15
- DBL MVP Under 23: 2014–15
- DBL All-Star: 2015
- DBL scoring champion: 2014–15
