Declaration of intent lays the foundation for several years of cooperation / Focus is on player development, medialization, marketing and youth work / ALBA BERLIN’s U18 team will be visiting Japan in a few weeks / Statement from world and European champion Johannes Thiemann
The easyCredit Basketball Bundesliga and the highest Japanese basketball league B.LEAGUE have signed a memorandum of understanding in which both organizations officially confirm their cooperation. The aim of the cooperation is to gain important impulses and insights for the further dynamic and sustainable growth of both leagues in their respective markets along four fields. The four fields are: player development, medialization, marketing and youth work.
As part of the agreement, both leagues want to work together for a period of at least five years and develop joint projects in the four areas mentioned. Regular meetings are intended to ensure that the joint activities are continually evaluated, readjusted and further advanced.
With this collaboration, the easyCredit Basketball Bundesliga is laying another foundation for the central strategic goal of the league and its clubs: sustainable growth. The current international successes of the German national team are also increasingly bringing the easyCredit BBL into focus. The perspective on the league from abroad is clearly positive – not least because a significant part of these successes is anchored in the clubs and in the league’s training and development system. The recent European titles of Telekom Baskets Bonn (won Basketball Champions League 2023), NINERS Chemnitz (won FIBA Europe Cup 2024) and the sporting development of FC Bayern Basketball at the European level are also significant evidence of this.
Thanks to this expansion of its existing diverse international connections, the league positions itself as open and internationally oriented, actively takes up global developments in sports and sports business and transfers them specifically to its own market and growth activities.
The German Basketball Association (DBB) and the Japanese Basketball Association (JBA) have been in regular contact for several years. In October 2024, the DBB received a Japanese delegation in Munich, which also included representatives of the B.LEAGUE. During this visit, the delegation watched, among other things, the BBL game between FC Bayern Basketball and the FIT/One Würzburg Baskets in BMW Park on the ASB Glass Floor. The focus of the stay was an intensive exchange on the structure of the federal leagues, the development of basketball in Germany and the promotion of young talent. Stefan Holz presented the structures, strategic goals and visions of easyCredit BBL. Just a few months later, he continued the dialogue at the All-Star Game Weekend in Japan. As a result, the discussions were further intensified and ultimately resulted in the now agreed partnership between the easyCredit BBL and the B.LEAGUE. This was announced today in Japan as part of the All Star Game Weekend 2026 in Nagasaki Dr. Stefan Holz as managing director of easyCredit BBL and Shinji Shimada signed as President of the B.LEAGUE (photo above).
As a start to this cooperation, a U18 team from a BBL club will travel to Japan in just a few weeks, as in the previous two years – this year ALBA BERLIN. A BBL team will also take part in the B.LEAGUE Invitational format in the summer.
Dr. Stefan HolzManaging Director of the easyCredit BBL: “We are very pleased about the cooperation with the B.LEAGUE that has now been sealed. We really appreciate that the B.LEAGUE has chosen us as the first European league – and this exactly one year after the announcement of its cooperation with the NBA.” This intention was announced as part of the All-Star Game Weekend 2025 in Funabashi, which Holz was able to attend in person. “I was deeply impressed, not only by the staging of the event itself and the connection between sport and pop culture as well as the comparatively young and female fan base, but especially by the comprehensive and rapid development of professional basketball in Japan – sportingly, medially and economically,” continued Holz. “One thing is certain: The B.LEAGUE and we are pursuing very similar ambitions to sustainably develop and grow the sport of basketball in our respective countries. It is now up to us as a league and our clubs to draw important impulses from this cooperation for the further dynamic development of the easyCredit BBL.”
Shinji ShimadaPresident of B.LEAGUE: We are very pleased about the joint declaration of intent with the German Basketball Bundesliga. German basketball is one of the most competitive in the world, which is reflected in outstanding successes, including winning the 2023 Basketball World Cup and the FIBA EuroBasket 2025. The traditional Basketball Bundesliga, which is currently celebrating its 60th anniversary, has also achieved remarkable success in the development of young players. For the B.LEAGUE, which continues to advance toward its goal of producing five NBA players, this partnership provides valuable learning opportunities. In addition to the joint sporting activities, we are of course also striving for strong synergies in business operations and will work together on the further growth and development of our two leagues.
The German world and European champion Johannes Thiemann (Bamberg, Ludwigsburg and Berlin) knows both countries and leagues. Thiemann won the BBL Cup twice (2020 and 2022) and the German Championship three times (2020, 2021 and 2022) with ALBA BERLIN; For his third championship title in June 2022, he was also named MVP of the BBL finals. In July 2024, Thiemann took the step to Japan and moved to the B.LEAGUE, where he has played for the Gunma Crane Thunders ever since.
“The Japanese B.LEAGUE is a unique experience for me,” said Thiemann. “Due to its restrictive immigration regulations, it cannot yet keep up with the top European teams in terms of sport, but double match days and a total of 60 season games also ensure a high level of intensity. The German league may seem more balanced and competitive at first glance, but the B.LEAGUE impresses with its state-of-the-art arenas and, in particular, with its passionate and fair fans who support both teams. If you consider that the league was only founded in 2016 and has established itself both in terms of sport and society in such a short time, “This development is extremely impressive. Of course there are cultural differences, but that’s exactly why it’s exciting when both leagues can benefit from their respective strengths and learn from each other in order to pursue their growth goals. I’m happy to be the contact and mediator between both organizations and I’m really looking forward to that.”
B.LEAGUE:
The B.LEAGUE is Japan’s premier men’s professional basketball league and will celebrate its tenth anniversary in the 2025/26 season. With clubs in almost all of Japan’s 47 prefectures, the B.LEAGUE has a nationwide presence and is known for its world-class arena events and passionate fan base. It has established itself as a dominant force in Asia, winning the East Asia Super League (EASL) twice in a row and claiming the Basketball Champions League Asia 2025. With squads made up of top talent from a wide range of nationalities, the B.LEAGUE continues to be one of the fastest growing and most competitive leagues in the world.
easyCredit Basketball Bundesliga:
The easyCredit Basketball Bundesliga is the umbrella organization for all teams in the highest German basketball league and organizes the German championship and the BBL Cup. The operational business is managed by Basketball Bundesliga GmbH. She is responsible for the organizational management of the competitions and the game scheduling. BBL GmbH also regulates licensing and player transfers. The easyCredit BBL also creates the strategic framework for the clubs’ sporting and economic development and is responsible for the central marketing of, among other things, naming rights and media rights.
