FC Bayern Munich and ratiopharm ulm both proved too strong for title challengers Basketball Löwen Braunschweig and NINERS Chemnitz, respectively, as the top two teams in the league are set to clash on Tuesday in Ulm. The week saw Bayern extend their deal with world champ Niels Giffey and add former NBA champion Jack White. And the Name Image and Likeness (NIL) money at NCAA colleges lured away two more top German youngsters as Hannes Steinbach and Jacob Patrick will head to the United States next season.
In this section, we break out our English language skills and inform you about the latest news from the German easyCredit Basketball Bundesliga. If you’re short on time but still want your fill of Germany’s top basketball league then you are in the right place. Every week David Hein (Taking The Charge) brings you up-to-date in German basketball – the easyCredit BBL short and sweet:
Ulm show Chemnitz who's top title contender with home blowout
ratiopharm ulm wasted little time in making the supposed top showdown of the week into a blowout as they breezed past NINERS Chemnitz 117-87 at home. Ulm led 33-4 after 9 minutes and rebounded in fine fashion from their loss last week at ROSTOCK SEAWOLVES. Ulm, who have a big showdown on Tuesday at home against league leaders FC Bayern Munich, moved to 18-8 with their seventh straight home win - and fourth in a row with at least 101 points. Ben Saraf shined with 24 points and 5 assists while Alfonso Plummer drained 5 three-pointers for 18 points as two of seven Ulm players in double figures. At the other end, Jonas Richter scored a season high 19 points but could not stop Chemnitz from falling to 14-10 after having won three straight road games.
Bayern too much for short-handed Braunschweig
FC Bayern Munich started an important week with a convincing 94-72 home victory over Basketball Löwen Braunschweig. Bayern took the second quarter 31-18 after were never challenged again by Braunschweig, who had only 8 players get onto the court. Bayern face a tough matchup on Tuesday at ratiopharm ulm before the massively important final regular season game against Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul on Thursday. Bayern have won four straight games in the league for a 19-6 record while Braunschweig dropped to 15-11, losing after they snapped a longer losing skid last week. Shabazz Napier came off the bench for 16 points to lead Bayern.
Bayern extend contract with world champion Giffey until 2027
FC Bayern Munich have locked up the services of veteran world champion Niels Giffey for two more seasons until 2027. The 33-year-old Giffey has played with Bayern since 2022 and helped the club to one league title and two German Cup crowns. He was part of the Germany team that won the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 and took third place at the FIBA EuroBasket 2022. Giffey ended up playing for Germany for the last time last summer at the 2024 Olympics, announcing his retirement from the national team during this season.
Bayern add NBA champion Jack White
FC Bayern Munich made a late addition to their roster for the rest of the season as they brought in former NBA champion Jack White. The 27-year-old Australian is only eligible for the Bundesliga as the transfer window for the EuroLeague has already passed. Bayern hope White will help the team at the forward positions. White was a member of the Denver Nuggets team that won the NBA title in 2023. He played this season with Melbourne United in his homeland Australia, losing in the finals against Illawarra in five games.
Berlin finally win again, blow past Vechta to snap 6-game skid
ALBA BERLIN finally returned to the winning column as they beat RASTA Vechta 83-58 at home to snap a six-game losing streak - including four straight in the EuroLeague. Berlin allowed only 7 points in the first quarter to improve their record to 12-13. Vechta have now dropped four straight games and fell to 14-12 - still in seventh place but only two wins ahead of 14th-placed Berlin. Matt Thomas led the way with 18 points and Martin Hermannsson chipped in 15 points and 7 assists for Berlin.
Ivey scores 14 points in final 5 minutes, Hamburg roll on
Brae Ivey continued his push for MVP consideration with a monster showing in crunch time as Veolia Towers Hamburg rolled on by beating MLP Academics Heidelberg 88-81 at home. Ivey scored 14 of his 28 points in the final 4:30 including a big three-pointer and two free throws as Hamburg closed the game with a 7-0 run. That gave the hosts a 13-12 record after three straight wins and Hamburg have won six straight games at home. Heidelberg fell to 14-10 after having their three game winning streak snapped.
Hamburg give Bundesliga license to top 2006-born talent Martin
Veolia Towers Hamburg made a last-minute personnel move by giving a Bundesliga license to their star 2006-born talent Nelson Martin. The 18-year-old has played this season for Hamburg’s cooperation partner SC Rist Wedel in the third division ProB but he has already practiced with the Hamburg pro team.
Weißenfels still rolling - grab seventh straight home win
SYNTAINICS MBC remained a force at home by winning their seventh straight game in front of their home fans with an 85-72 victory over SKYLINERS. The hosts took control of the game with a 14-0 run spanning the middle two quarters. Wolves improved to 14-11 after their third straight win and seventh in the last eight games including the German Cup title. Frankfurt have dropped three in a row for a 6-18 record. Eddy Edigin paced five Wolves players in double figures with 15 points. At the other end, Jacob Knauf scored a career high 18 points for Frankfurt in the loss.
Frankfurt make Duke Deen final addition of season
SKYKLINERS have made their final addition of the season as they signed Duke Deen after an injury to guard Trey Calvin. The 23-year-old Deen played this past season for Bradley in college basketball and signed a contract for the rest of the season plus an option for next season.
Rostock prevail in fierce battle of playoff contenders, Ludwigsburg hold onto tiebreaker
ROSTOCK SEAWOLVES showed their class in the fight for the playoffs as they fended off MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg 94-89 at home, confirming their win last week over ratiopharm ulm. Rostock wasted a 14-point lead but out-scored the guests 9-3 in the final 114 seconds to improve to 13-12 with seven wins in the last eight home games. Bryce Hamilton paced six Rostock players in double figures with 19 points. Ludwigsburg fell to 12-13 but they did hold onto the tiebreaker as they beat Rostock 70-64 at home in Round 3. It was the team's first loss under new head coach Lars Masell. Hunter Maldonado scored 24 points and fellow reserve Booker Coplin added 20 points.
WoBo moves into tie for second place in career blocks
MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg’s loss to ROSTOCK SEAWOLVES saw Jonas Wohlfarth-Bottermann pick up two blocks to move to 249 in his career - tying him for second place in the league's all-time charts since the start of digital data collection in 1998. WoBo pulled even with Daniel Theis and remains only behind John Bryant, who sits atop the leaderboard with 451 blocks.
Bonn grab big win over direct post-season contender Oldenburg
Telekom Baskets Bonn grabbed an important victory as they try to stay in the race for the playoffs with an 81-76 win over EWE Baskets Oldenburg. Bonn took over the game with a 26-16 second quarter in going to 12-13 with three wins in the last four games. Oldenburg have now dropped back-to-back games for a 12-13 mark - but behind Bonn who won both games to hold the tiebreaker. Phlandrous Fleming did a bit of everything for Bonn with 15 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists and Till Pape picked up 15 points and 11 rebounds for his first double-double in the Bundesliga. Norris Agbakoko, at the other, end tied his career high with 22 points.
Würzburg bench scores 60 points in blowout of Göttingen
FIT/One Würzburg Baskets avoided a slip-up as they fight to stay in the race for the playoffs by rolling past last-placed BG Göttingen 97-80 on the road. Würzburg took control in the first quarter and never looked back in moving to 13-12 after having lost three of their last four games. Davion Mintz was Würzburg’s main weapon with 21 points and Aubrey Dawkins led a major output from the bench with 20 points. Würzburg's reserves ended up scoring 60 points in the game. Göttingen meanwhile are still waiting for the second win in losing their 16th straight game for a 1-23 record despite Tra Holder scoring 16 points.
Göttingen let center Wiggins leave for Spain, collect transfer fee
BG Göttingen made their fight against relegation tougher by letting their star center Demajeo Wiggins leave the club, collecting a much-needed significant transfer fee. The 27-year-old American moved to Spanish ACB side Hiopos Lleida. Göttingen, who have managed only one victory this season, brought in Wiggins from Hungary last season and he was one of the best big men in the league. The club will not bring in a replacement.
Steinbach, Jacob Patrick college bound - heading to Washington, Loyola-Chicago
Two more of Germany’s top young talents - Hannes Steinbach of FIT/One Würzburg Baskets and MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg’s Jacob Patrick - will be leaving the Bundesliga this off-season and head to the United States to play college basketball. Steinbach, who has shined in his first season in professional basketball in Würzburg, will be attending the University of Washington. He follows in the footsteps of four other Germans to play for the Huskies: Detlef Schrempf, Chris Welp, Patrick Femerling and Martin Breunig. Patrick meanwhile will be playing next season for University of Loyola at Chicago. Other young Germans to head to college basketball - and the allure of the Name, Image, Likeness money - are Basketball Löwen Braunschweig’s Sananda Fru, who is believed to be Louisville bound; and Patrick’s Ludwigsburg teammate Dominates Pletka, who will be going to Iowa.
Player of the Week
The Player of the Week honors for Round 27 go to Brae Ivey for his outstanding performance in getting Veolia Towers Hamburg past MLP Academics Heidelberg. Ivey scored 28 points on 8 of 14 shooting (4/10 threes) and 8 of 10 free throws to go with 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 6 steals for an efficiency of 32. Ivey scored 14 points in the final 5 minutes of the win.
German Top Five of the Week
F: Jonas Richter, NINERS Chemnitz
This week’s German Top Five is even bigger than last week, starting off with Richter, who collected 19 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals in a blowout loss to ratiopharm ulm. The 19 points were a season high for Richter, 10 more than his previous best this year and just one point fewer than his combined scoring output in the last five games.
C: Eddy Edigin, SYNTAINICS MBC
Edigin continues to play well since his move to Weißenfels as he tallied 15 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist and 3 steals in a win over SKYLINERS.
C: Till Pape, Telekom Baskets Bonn
Pape played a major role in the team’s win over EWE Baskets Oldenburg with 15 points and 11 rebounds - the center's first double-double in his Bundesliga career.
C: Jacob Knauf, SKYLINERS
Knauf came off the bench to lead the team in scoring with a career high 18 points on 5 of 5 shots (3/3 threes) and 5 of 5 free throws as well as 1 assist in 12 minutes against SYNTAINICS MBC. He had scored 10 points twice this season.
C: Norris Agbakoko, EWE Baskets Oldenburg
Agbakoko tied his career high of 22 points on 10 of 12 shots and 2 of 3 free throws and grabbed 5 rebounds in a loss to Telekom Baskets Bonn.
Young Guns
Hannes Steinbach, 18, PF, FIT/One Würzburg Baskets
Steinbach deserved considerations for the German Top Five but the 18-year-old slots in with the Young Guns for his strong showing against BG Göttingen. He played 19:06 minutes off the bench and scored 17 points to go with 6 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal.
Janis Jünemann, 19, C, BG Göttingen
Göttingen's 19-year-old center Jünemann started his second game of the season after the departure of star big man Demajeo Wiggins. The youngster scored a career high 11 points while also picking up 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 1 block in just 12:29 minutes.
Sanada Fru, 21 PF, Basketball Löwen Braunschweig
Fru continued his rock solid season with 13 points on 5 of 7 shots (1/3 threes) and 2 of 2 free throws, 9 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal in 28:39 minutes against league leaders FC Bayern Munich.
Germans Abroad
Eric Reibe will become the fifth German to participated in the famed Nike Hoop Summit on April 12 in Portland. The big man will be attending University of Connecticut next season. The other four Germans who have played in the annual showcase game are: Dirk Nowitzki, Dennis Schröder, Kostja Mushidi and Isaiah Hartenstein.
