Ulm is the first basketball club in America to be allowed to compete against an NBA team. The 2023 Bundesliga champions have earned a reputation in the USA as a springboard for future stars. The basis of success is a sophisticated youth system.
The invitation is a great honor. A team from the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) has never played against a team from the NBA in North America. Germany was simply not on the map for the clubs from the motherland of basketball. But at the beginning of the year, the Portland Trail Blazers came up with the idea of sending an invitation to a test game in Germany. However, they did not choose the industry giants Bayern Munich or Alba Berlin, but rather Ulm. The Swabians will now compete next Wednesday (October 16th) at the Moda Center in Portland.
“We feel very flattered,” says Ulm’s sports director Thorsten Leibenath, who received the request via WhatsApp message. “Bayern Munich, for example, is a much bigger brand in America than Ratiopharm Ulm because of the football club. Nevertheless, they decided in favor of us. But there are reasons for that.”
The main reason: Ulm has earned a reputation in America as a springboard for future NBA players. In recent years, several players from Ulm have been selected in the NBA draft. There the NBA teams secure the contract rights to the world’s best young players. “At our game in Portland, the Trail Blazers can take a close look at our next two candidates,” says Leibenath.
The Israeli point guard Ben Saraf (18) and the French power forward Noa Essengue (17) are the new super talents that Leibenath lured to Ulm. “Both definitely have the potential to play in the NBA one day,” he said. Ulm doesn’t have scouts. Leibenath, youth sports director Chris Ensminger (two champions as a player with Bamberg), head coach Ty Harrelson and managing director Thomas Stoll are looking at the European market themselves. And with great success.
Celebrate Ulmer in the NBA
In the past five years, four young players from Ulm have been drafted by an NBA team. The French American Killian Hayes plays for the Brooklyn Nets, the American Pole Jeremy Sochan plays for the San Antonio Spurs, and the Frenchman Pacôme Dadiet plays for the New York Knicks. And the Spaniard Juan Núñez currently plays for FC Barcelona, but the rights to him are held by the San Antonio Spurs. Spain should only be an intermediate step for him on the way to the NBA.
“The NBA scouts come and go from us,” says Leibenath. Last season, talent scouts from all 30 NBA teams attended Ulm games. This season, two general managers have even been to Ulm games in person. In preparation, Trajan Langdon from the Detroit Pistons stopped by, and last week in the EuroCup game against Badalona (87:83) Brad Stevens from the reigning NBA champion Boston Celtics stopped by.
Why do the super talents end up in Ulm and not in Munich or Berlin? “We are occupying a niche by not playing in the EuroLeague, but one league below in the EuroCup,” says Leibenath. “We give players playing time who are not yet ready for larger roles in the EuroLeague. That makes it easier for us to recruit such players.” And every player who makes it to the NBA from Ulm is a reference for the next talented newcomer.
The OrangeCampus, Europe’s most modern youth training center, which opened in Ulm in 2020, is also a magnet for talent. “Word has gotten around among players and agents about our reputation as an excellent training club,” says Leibenath. “Three or four years ago we worked hard to ensure that such players would even consider Ulm for a move. Now we have to turn down a lot of young players who really want to come to us. We only have so much space.”
Ulm with a small budget
Ulm has a season budget of around eight million euros – Bayern Munich’s is three times as large. “We are also taking more risks with the older players than other clubs by bringing in professionals without European experience,” says Leibenath. “It doesn’t always work out well, but a year ago it worked brilliantly.” Ulm sensationally won the first championship title in the club’s history.
The training of future NBA stars is only financially worthwhile for Ulm to a limited extent. As soon as a player signs an NBA contract, Ulm receives training compensation of up to 850,000 dollars (766,000 euros). “Compared to the players’ future salaries of millions, this is clearly not enough,” says Leibenath. “Nevertheless, we are proud to have earned this reputation as a contact point for promising talent.”
The team also accepts enormous travel demands for the Portland trip. The schedule for next week: Monday EuroCup game in Istanbul, Tuesday flight to Portland, Wednesday game against the Trail Blazers, Thursday to Friday flight to Hamburg, Saturday BBL game in Oldenburg. Leibenath: “It’s going to be a tough week. But everyone here is looking forward to it.”
The article was written for the Sports Competence Center (WELT, SPORT PICTURE, BILD) written and first published in SPORT BILD.