Former television bachelor and professional basketball player Andrej Mangold is returning to the court at age 39, signing a contract with the TSV Tropics Oberhaching to play in the BARMER 2. Basketball-Bundesliga ProB through the end of the season, muenchen.t-online.de reported. Mangold, who stepped away from professional basketball seven years ago following his appearance on the reality television show, plans to make his debut for the Munich-suburb club on October 11 during a home match against BBC Coburg, according to muenchen.t-online.de.
Andrej Mangold Signs with Oberhaching Tropics for the ProB Season
The 39-year-old athlete confirmed his return on Instagram, stating that what began as an effort to maintain his fitness on a high level quickly transformed into a competitive comeback once he resumed team training. “Actually, I just wanted to keep myself fit at a high level. But after just a few sessions, the ambition gripped me again,” Mangold said in his social media announcement, as cited by tag24.de. He added that he aims to measure himself against top players once more and pass his experience on to younger teammates.
Mario Matic, the sporting director for the Oberhaching Tropics, welcomed the addition of the veteran, noting that Mangold brings extensive experience to a young roster. “With Andrej, we are getting a veteran who has seen and knows everything in basketball,” Matic stated, according to muenchen.t-online.de. The club noted that because of ongoing professional commitments outside of sports, Mangold will not be available for every fixture and will manage a partial playing schedule.
Two Decades of Professional Basketball Experience
Mangold’s career in German basketball spans multiple tiers and decades. Before achieving mainstream celebrity status in 2019 as the lead in the RTL reality series Der Bachelor, he established himself as a fixture in the Basketball-Bundesliga (BBL). Between 2010 and 2019, he logged 206 appearances in Germany’s top flight and represented the German national team in five international matches, muenchen.t-online.de reported. His professional journey began in the Munich area two decades ago, where he played his inaugural Bundesliga game in the Bavarian capital.
Following his television exposure, Mangold continued playing basketball on a semiprofessional basis. From 2019 through 2024, he competed for the RheinStars Köln in both the fourth-tier Regionalliga and the third-tier ProB before pausing his athletic career, muenchen.t-online.de noted. His return to Oberhaching brings his playing career full circle in the region where he started, following early stints with München Basket and an injury-interrupted period within the FC Bayern Munich organization.
Business Duties Limit Mangold's Availability for Tropics
While Mangold has committed to the Tropics through the conclusion of the current season, his availability remains tied to his business responsibilities outside of basketball. Both the player and club management emphasized that these obligations limit his participation to a selected portion of the team’s schedule. In his statements to supporters, Mangold expressed gratitude toward the organization for accommodating his professional workload while granting him the chance to compete at the third-tier level.
“Thank you to the entire club for the trust and for giving me this opportunity despite my professional commitments,” Mangold said, as reported by tag24.de.
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