Ratiopharm Ulm Takes a Leap—Right Into the NBA!
Well, folks, it looks like Ratiopharm Ulm has decided to spice up their basketball season with a little trip across the pond—to the good ol’ US of A! Can you imagine? Almost 16,000 kilometers just for a friendly game. I’d say that’s commitment, or maybe they’re just really bad at reading road maps. Either way, they’re about to make history as the first German basketball team to dribble on NBA soil. What’s next? A Bundesliga team playing rugby at Twickenham?
From Bamberg to Portland—The Journey!
Now, let’s talk logistics. Six away games in 15 days?! That’s enough to make any coach’s head spin faster than a basketball in a toddler’s hands. And it all culminates in Portland—because, of course, one could only dream of playing their heart out in a city known more for grunge music and artisanal coffee than basketball. And let’s not forget the nine-hour time difference. Just what every athlete craves in the middle of a season: jet lag! Can you hear the sound of players snoring in the locker room while Oldenburg is warming up? It’s music to my ears!
Ulm’s sports director, Thorsten Leibenath, admitted they feel flattered by the invitation. Flattered? More like ‘pinch me, I might still be dreaming!’ But come on, if the Trail Blazers say, “Hey, want to play with us?” you don’t just reply with an “I’d love to, but I’ve got plans.” You clear your calendar faster than a bad date! And for Ulm, the risk of a dropped match-up is on the table. All because they said “yes” to a little preseason adventure!
The Big Honor—and the Bigger Excuses
Leibenath goes on to talk about balancing the excitement with the practicalities—old school coach’s dilemma: “We might lose our next game because of this trip.” Well, buddy, if your players come back so tired they could be mistaken for walking zombies, then you better start incorporating the phrase “run away” into your game plan. And let’s face it, nobody wants a blurry photograph with an NBA team. They pattern themselves after the pros, but with less sleep and more caffeine!
And, can we just talk about how they received this invite? A WhatsApp message. That’s right. We’re living in the future, and that future is sending sports invitations in a group chat! I can just picture it: “@UlmBasketball, you up for a game? 😂🏀” Who knew that the fate of basketball diplomacy would hinge on emojis!
The Dream Team?
Meanwhile, as Ulm prepares for their big US debut, all eyes will be on their younger talents who are likely to catch a few scouting eyes. Because, let’s be honest, getting noticed by NBA scouts might just ‘up’ your Instagram followers like nobody’s business. Hats off to them for making it to the City of Roses, even if the Blazers haven’t been able to appreciate the beauty of flowers and basketball in many seasons.
In the end, it seems like Ratiopharm Ulm is playing a long game—pun absolutely intended. Every time they step onto the court, they’re not just playing for the scoreboard; they’re building an identity. And who knows? Maybe they’ll come back from this NBA adventure with more than just memories and luggage filled with waffle mix. Maybe they’ll return with the knowledge that they can play with the big boys after all… just, maybe not while sleepwalking.
Final Thoughts
So, as Ulm gets ready for this whirlwind tour with a schedule that looks like a travel agent’s nightmare, let’s raise a glass (filled with pre-game Gatorade, I hope!) to their courage, talent, and sheer audacity to take on the NBA. Here’s hoping for a slam dunk—as long as they remember which team they’re on when the buzzer goes off!
Ratiopharm Ulm travels almost 16,000 kilometers and a nine-hour time difference in the middle of the season – for a test match. The reason: The 2023 champions are the first German basketball team to take part in the NBA preseason on US soil. The Portland Trail Blazers have invited Ulm to the game on Thursday night (October 17th, 4 a.m. CEST).
Vilnius, Bamberg, Istanbul, Portland, Oldenburg and Gran Canaria. The Ulm road trip with six away games in 15 days reaches its climax with the test match in the States.
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“We feel very flattered,” said Ulm’s sports director Thorsten Leibenath recently about the unexpected invitation from Portland and emphasized: “If you have the chance to play against an NBA team, then you do it – even during the season.” Leibenath added that the postponed trip to the USA in the middle of an already strenuous phase of the season could come “at the expense of a possible win” next Saturday in the Bundesliga against Oldenburg.
“Alternative was not an alternative”
Ulm will stay for almost 60 hours before crossing the Atlantic after the final siren – and returning to everyday Bundesliga life in Oldenburg on Saturday evening. “Long journeys are exhausting,” said the Ulm sports director, “and our players will return from the USA tired, of course.” Nevertheless, the alternative of canceling the guest game with the Portland Trail Blazers was not a real alternative. Under certain circumstances, younger, more rested players should be used against Oldenburg.
All six previous duels between German teams and NBA teams, including Alba Berlin’s sensational victory against the then champion San Antonio Spurs almost exactly ten years ago, took place on German soil.
“As far as I know, it is a first for a game like this to take place on American soil, in an NBA arena,” said Ulm’s sports director Thorsten Leibenath. The request from Portland arrived “as simply as it was completely surprising,” via WhatsApp.
“We see it as a great honor for all of us that we were even asked,” said Thorsten Leibenath. A standing that the club and its players have achieved in recent years. “Ratiopharm Ulm stands for making things like this possible for its players. In this respect, I think it would be fatal not to do everything possible,” added Leibenath.
“We pulled out all the stops”
“I would be very reluctant to stand in front of the team and explain to Karim Jallow: We could play against the NBA team in Portland, but the organization is too complex for us, sorry. This also applies to all other players in the squad. That’s why we pulled out all the stops to make it work.”
Leibenath had already spoken of “a great honor” in July, when he was able to tell the players the good news of the upcoming trip across the Atlantic, and assumed that the invitation had “something to do with the fact that we have gained an internationally renowned reputation Because Ulm is considered a hotbed of talent: In the last five years, four talents from Swabia have been selected by NBA teams in the draft, and the training center is, according to the company, the most modern in Europe.
The Israeli Ben Saraf (18) and the Frenchman Noa Essengue (17) are currently attracting the interest of NBA scouts. And for the other players, the NBA dream will also come true, at least for a short time. Although spectator interest is neither enormous in Portland, the worst team of the previous season in the Western Conference, nor in the preseason, the “Moda Center” with 20,500 seats will still make an impression. For comparison: The newly opened “SAP Garden” in Munich has a capacity of 11,500 fans, while the Ratiopharm Arena in Ulm can accommodate just under 6,000 spectators.
