In 1973, Iraklio was promoted to the Greek B Basket League, where it kept playing for 5 straight seasons, until 1978, when it was relegated to the local Cretan Championship.

[1] Iraklio lived its glory days during the mid 90s, when the club was promoted to the A1 Greek Basket League.

Despite being relegated in its inaugural season in the league, the club instantly returned to top-flight after winning the 1996–97 A2 Championship.

They beat traditional Greek basketball powerhouse Aris in both games of their first round playoff series, thus finishing seventh overall in the league, which to this day still remains the best season performance in the history of the club.

To accomplish this feat, Iraklio had one of the most impressive home records (13–2) at the end of the 1997–98 season, which propelled them towards their first ever European competition appearance.

Vassilis Rallis Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events.