Preliminary report
The FC Bayern Munich squad list reads like the “Who’s Who” of German basketball. Even though stars like Dennis Schröder, Franz Wagner and Maxi Kleber still call the US professional league NBA home, Bayern probably have the most well-known German rotation of all easyCredit BBL clubs:
With Andi Obst, Niels Giffey and Johannes Voigtmann, three reigning world champions are playing for Munich. In addition, world champion coach Gordon Herbert gave up his position as national coach in the summer to take up a position at FC Bayern. He is supported on the sidelines by, among others, son Daniel Herbert, former Euroleague head coach TJ Parker (brother of NBA legend Tony Parker) and Josep Maria Berrocal (most recently assistant coach at Maccabi Tel Aviv). Although Giffey will not be available to the double winner in the coming weeks due to a broken finger, the Bayern squad is rich in German alternatives: In addition to veteran Elias Harris (36 international matches) and Nick Weiler-Babb (22), he has been playing since then Euroleague-proven ex-Berlin Oscar da Silva (15) also wore the red jersey this season.
In addition, Kevin Yebo, one of the best German players of the last Bundesliga season, was lured from Chemnitz to the Isar, who recently won the FIBA Europe Cup with Chemnitz. NBA veteran Shabazz Napier (354 NBA games for the Minnesota Timberwolves, Portland Trailblazers and Orlando Magic), among others, joined as an import player. He played 25 in his first Euroleague appearance for Munich in the 97:89 win against Real Madrid points became the match winner. Also in the squad are point guard Carsen Edwards, the athletic center Devin Booker and long-time Munich player Valdimir Lucic, who is playing his ninth season for FC Bayern.
“With this team […] “We have a special constellation this year,” enthused FCBB managing director Marko Pesic before the start of the season. “There is a mood in the air, an atmosphere that I have never experienced here before. This is a very good prerequisite for a season in which we can achieve something outstanding together.”
Consequently, Munich started the new Euroleague season successfully with a 97:89 home win against Real Madrid. However, Gordon Herbert’s team lost the second game last Thursday with 79:94 against Panathinaikos Athens. In the Bundesliga, Bayern recently won two games in a row after their opening defeat against Ludwigsburg and are now in second place in the table.
Baskets head coach Roel Moors says: “FC Bayern has a lot of individual quality. To counter this we have to defend very physically. We should definitely rebound better than we did against Berlin last week. This is a challenge for us. In attack we need team leadership again, as we recently showed against Berlin. It is absolutely important that every player fulfills his role and therefore helps the team!”
