For a basketball professional who pursues his profession in this country, the so-called stade time does not exist. Between the years, as the period from Christmas to Epiphany is often referred to, things are anything but quiet in the professional basketball leagues. FC Bayern, for example, has been able to compete five times in the Bundesliga (BBL) and Euroleague during this time, and on Wednesday the Spanish Euroleague club Vitoria-Gasteiz (8.30 p.m.) will be playing in Munich’s SAP Garden, before the game at Olympiakos Piraeus just two days later.
There were other reasons why things were particularly turbulent for the German champions between the years. First, world champion coach Gordon Herbert’s career came to an early end shortly before Christmas; after eight, sometimes heavy, defeats in the European elite league, the Munich team parted ways with the 66-year-old. Herbert won the title with FCB 2025 and moved into the play-ins of the Euroleague, but in the cup his team surprisingly failed in the semi-finals at the MBC. Most recently, the Canadian was missing for several weeks due to corona illness and ongoing consequences, and his team slipped into a series of defeats under assistant coach TJ Parker (who has since returned to his home country of France).
Under the new coach Svetislav Pesic, the disastrous series of defeats was ended – without Dinwiddie
In order to quickly spark a spirit of optimism, a coach was installed in Svetislav Pesic who knows the club and its surroundings like no other. With success: On January 2nd, the disastrous series of nine defeats in a row against Maccabi Tel Aviv was stopped, after an almost “perfect performance,” as veteran Pesic happily noted. From now on, however, he will have to make do without his most prominent and supposedly best player, which represents the latest upheaval in the already troubled squad. Spencer Dinwiddie flew to the USA shortly before Christmas due to a serious family illness in consultation with the club’s sporting management. Now it is clear that he will not return. The player and club terminated the contract, which was valid until the end of the season, by mutual agreement.
:The old one goes into extra time again
The FC Bayern basketball players are bringing Svetislav Pesic, 76, back as coach – while son Marko is quitting as managing director after 14 years. About a special kind of family business.
Dinwiddie, of all people, decorated with 631 NBA games for various prominent clubs and an average of 13 points: The 32-year-old’s commitment was the league’s attraction. The Munich team was able to lure the guard to the Isar against several competitors in Europe because he did not receive an offer from the NBA that was appealing to him. He completed the preseason for the Charlotte Hornets, so he arrived in excellent physical condition. But the spectacle didn’t really take off: Dinwiddie was undoubtedly one of the most eye-catching players straight away, but he was unable to live up to the immense expectations in such a short time, especially in the European elite league, in which many former NBA players are involved. Especially since the US guard came in the current season and ultimately only played 16 games for Bayern. Dinwiddie scored an average of double figures straight away in the Euroleague (11.7) and BBL (12.6), but he didn’t seem to be really integrated into the Munich team game. Coach Herbert also felt responsible for this, admitting that he had not found the right role for his top signing – a statement that sporting director Dragan Tarlac did not like.
Successor Pesic will not be able to continue this search, but his club has already made a replacement available: combo guard Nenad Dimitrijevic has signed a contract until the end of the season with the option of another year. The 27-year-old North Macedonian international comes from Zenit St. Petersburg, where he moved from Olimpia Milan in the summer. He won the title of most valuable player in the Eastern European VTB League in 2024, and now sports director Tarlac is hoping for “dynamism, energy and a lot of experience” from the 27-year-old.
In the BBL, Bayern remain the measure of all things even without Dinwiddie; However, it seems very questionable whether there will be enough to catch up in the Euroleague after the turbulence under Pesic. One thing could come to FC Bayern: a little more calm.
