As if there had been a script, the world champion was the first to step into the spotlight: Johannes Thiemann turned on his own axis, let his opponent Paul Zipser run into space and put the ball into the Heidelberg basket for a 2-0 lead – as he did had recently demonstrated so often in the Okinawa Arena in Japan or the Mall of Asia in Manila at the Basketball World Cup.
On Thursday evening, however, his opponents were not Luka Doncic or Anthony Edwards, both of whom play in the NBA, but Zipser and Mike McGuirl, who play for the MLP Academics Heidelberg in the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL). Thiemann, 29, has obviously transferred his World Cup form into everyday league life despite the lack of preparation with Alba: He showed a top performance with 14 points, ten rebounds and four assists and was a guarantee for the 90:81 victory in the university city.
Despite world champion support, the start of the season was not a gala performance; coordination problems on both sides were obvious. The Berliners lost the ball 20 times, but the only reason they didn’t matter was because their squad had better quality – thanks to the new captain Thiemann and the American Matt Thomas, top scorer with 21 points. The 29-year-old has an NBA past (Toronto, Utah, Chicago) and is a seasoned Euroleague player. He experienced “a frustrating season” with low playing times at his most recent employer, Panathinaikos Athens, and he is expected to take on a leadership role at Alba.
Berlin invests in breadth and talent – which is sometimes ridiculed as “social romanticism”.
Because the champions from 2020 to 2022 have lost all of their leading players. Key players like Luke Sikma, 34, (at Olympiacos Piraeus) and world champion Maodo Lo, 30, (Armani Milan) are looking for another adventure at a top Euroleague club in the autumn of their careers, which is also the case for Jaleen Smith, 28, (Virtus Bologna). applies. The Israeli national players Tamir Blatt, 26, (Maccabi Tel Aviv) and Yovel Zoosman, 25, (Hapoel Jerusalem) are back with the industry leaders at home, and the American Ben Lammers, 27, has another leading player Alba (for the Eurocup -winner Gran Canaria).
The Berliners would have liked to keep Lo, Sikma and Smith, as managing director Marco Baldi admits, but the club was only anticipating the necessary rejuvenation. Especially since the concept hasn’t worked recently: “For the first time since Bayern opened,” Baldi tells the SZ, given the completely cohesive squad and strengthened in certain areas, they were favorites for the title last season – but lost to the eventual champions in the quarter-finals Ulm.
Now we are returning to “our focus,” says Baldi, and Berlin’s DNA is to develop highly talented people into top players. For this he is sometimes ridiculed as a “social romantic,” says Baldi, but a lot is invested in the breadth “in order to develop it for the top.” With a budget of 13 million euros, the scope is also tiny given the competition, which is what Baldi is referring to the Euroleague. Thanks to budgets that are sometimes three times higher, numerous clubs there have strengthened themselves to a breathtaking extent with NBA stars or top Euroleague players. He therefore expects a “tough season” in the European premier class.
In the BBL, Berlin is still one of the favorites, only Munich are far ahead
In the BBL, Berlin is one of the favorites despite the personnel loss and the goal is the playoff final. Which brings us back to a successful start to the season, as there was no adequate preparation. The Italian World Cup players Matteo Spagnolo, 20, and Gabriele Procida, 21, like Thiemann, joined the squad late, as did the Slovenian Ziga Samar, 22. All players who are believed to have a great future, not only in Berlin, but for which they need time ; which also applies to the German colleagues Malte Delow, 22, Jonas Mattisseck, 23, and Elias Rapieque, 19. In view of this, players like Louis Olinde and Tim Schneider are expected to take the next development step due to their comparatively mature age of 25 and 26 respectively. The team will be led in the tried and tested manner by the Spanish talent developer Israel Gonzalez, who, as Baldi emphasizes, has “the youngest of all squads” not only in the Euroleague. In any case, he will give his coach the time he needs – which is what he also hopes from fans and those around him.
Baldi believes that the question of who is the favorite can be avoided because what FC Bayern brings to the floor is “impressive”. By which he doesn’t just mean world champions Andi Obst, Niels Giffey and Isaac Bonga or NBA signing Serge Ibaka. But Baldi also sees Ulm and Bonn in a good position: clubs that, like Berlin, scout for the future, plan conceptually – and have to cope with a major upheaval.
