What a thrilling end to the 2024-25 easyCredit BBL regular season as the final standings feature two four-way ties while FC Bayern Munich grabbed the top seed with a dramatic comeback in the waning seconds and MLP Academics Heidelberg reached the post-season for the first time since 1979. The final week of action also saw Karsten Tadda take over as the all-time games played leader and Jhivvan Jackson of FIT/One Würzburg Baskets was named as the Most Valuable Player with season awards being announced.
In this section, we break out our English language skills and inform you about the latest news from the German easyCredit Basketball Bundesliga. If you’re short on time but still want your fill of Germany’s top basketball league then you are in the right place. Every week David Hein (Taking The Charge) brings you up-to-date in German basketball – the easyCredit BBL short and sweet:
Unprecedented drama: Two four-way ties, Bayern win regular season in final seconds
The 2024-25 easyCredit BBL regular season could not have ended with any more drama as 12 teams were still in the running for the play-ins or higher in the standings on the final day of the season. The regular season title was decided in the waning seconds by FC Bayern Munich while the final standings featured two (!!!) four-way ties - places 4th-7th and 9th-12th. That had never happened before even once. There were three-way ties in the standings 12 times in league history since 1966-67.
Post-season picture set - Bayern top seed
After 34 rounds of games, the post-season picture is set.
FC Bayern Munich, ratiopharm ulm, Basketball Löwen Braunschweig and NINERS Chemnitz all captured home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Braunschweig will face FIT/One Würzburg Baskets and Chemnitz will take on MLP Academics Heidelberg. Ulm will play the winner of the 7-8 Play-Ins between ALBA BERLIN and SYNTAINICS MBC. Bayern will have to wait to see who comes out of the game between the 7-8 loser and the winner of the 9-10 Play-Ins - EWE Baskets Oldenburg and ROSTOCK SEAWOLVES.
Jhivvan Jackson named MVP, another Würzburg guard wins title
Jhivvan Jackson was named the Most Valuable Player of the easyCredit BBL 2024-25 with the FIT/One Würzburg Baskets ace finishing ahead of Carsen Edwards of FC Bayern Munich and MLP Academics Heidelberg’s Ryan Mikesell in the voting - 36.1% to 15.3% and 13.9%. Jackson, who was voted as top player by the team captains, assistant coaches, media representatives and former BBL professionals, is the second straight Würzburg player to take the award following Otis Livingston in 2023-24. Just like Livingston came from Bayreuth, the 26-year-old Jackson also arrived in Würzburg from a relegated team, Tübingen.
Braunschweig’s Jesus Ramirez named Coach of the Year
Jesus Ramirez was announced as the easyCredit BBL Coach of the Year for leading one of the top surprises of the year, Basketball Löwen Braunschweig. The 45-year-old Spaniard received 30.6% of the votes from team captains, assistant coaches, media representatives and former BBL professionals, to finish ahead of Danny Jansson of MLP Academics Heidelberg (27.8%) and SYNTAINICS MBC’s Janis Gailitis (18.1%). Ramirez has been with Braunschweig since 2021 and extended his contract to 2027.
Jhivvan Jackson top offensive player, Nick Weiler-Babb top defender
Jhivvan Jackson and Nick Weiler-Babb received recognition for their outstanding seasons as FIT/One Würzburg Baskets’ Jackson was named the Offensive Player of the Year and the Bayern star Weiler-Babb the Defensive Player of the Year. Jackson received 44.4% of the votes from team captains, assistant coaches, media representatives and former BBL professionals while EWE Baskets Oldenburg’s Justin Jaworski was second at 18.1% followed by Bayern’s Carsen Edwards at 11.1%. Weiler-Babb grabbed 38.9% of the vote followed by Michael Weathers of MLP Academics Heidelberg (12.5%) and Veolia Towers Hamburg’s Kur Kuath (9.7%).
Sananda Fru top U22 German player
Sananda Fru has been named the Top U22 German Player for his outstanding season with Basketball Löwen Braunschweig. The 21-year-old finished the season as the most efficient player in the entire league with 17.4 efficiency as he collected 12.3 points and 6.2 rebounds. Fru won the vote of BBL assistant coaches and three full-time German federation DBB coaches Alex Mumbru, Dirk Bauermann and Alan Ibrahimagic. Fru collected 63.2% of the vote followed by Hannes Steinbach of FIT/One Würzburg Baskets (31.6%) and RASTA Vechta’s Johann Grünloh (5.2%).
Giffey delivers for Bayern, reigning champs crowned regular season winners
FC Bayern Munich rallied from 21 points down to beat MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg 73-72 thanks to a late game-winner from Niels Giffey to lock up first place in the regular season. That was the close to an adventuresome week for the reigning champions, who first battled a resilient Telekom Baskets Bonn before collecting a 90-86 road win. Giffey poured in 21 points and Andi Obst added 14 points. In the regular season finale, Bayern reeled off 14 straight points in the fourth quarter before Giffey’s heroic corner three-pointer with 8.8 seconds left. Bayern secured the top seed with a 24-8 record having won the last four games. Bayern must wait to see who their opponent in the playoffs will be.
Ulm take care of business, pressure on Bayern not enough, finish second
ratiopharm ulm will enter the playoffs as the No. 2 seed and a hot team as they finished the regular season with four straight wins, including two comfortable victories in the final week. Ulm spoilt the history-making 639th game for Karsten Tadda in a 92-77 home win over Bamberg Baskets with Karim Jallow scoring 19 points. Ulm completed the regular season with a 23-9 record after knocking off Veolia Towers Hamburg 79-64 on the road. Noa Essengue led the way with 12 points. Ulm would have taken first place had FC Bayern Munich dropped their final game. In the first round of the playoffs, Ulm will face the winner of the first play-in game between ALBA BERLIN and SYNTAINICS MBC.
Braunschweig finish best ever regular season in third with 20 wins
Basketball Löwen Braunschweig finished off their best-ever regular season as they will have home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs after grabbing third place with 20 wins. Braunschweig picked up wins over two post-season teams in the final week, including a massive showdown with FIT/One Würzburg Baskets. Braunschweig first took care of business on the road with a convincing 67-48 win at ROSTOCK SEAWOLVES, allowing only 17 points combined in the middle two quarters. Sananda Fru collected 16 points, 11 rebounds and 3 blocks in the win. Würzburg were hoping for home court advantage and came back from one double-digit Braunschweig lead and were up early in the fourth quarter. But Braunschweig finished the game with a 12-1 run for an 86-72 win. Tre Mitchell paced the winners with 16 points off the bench. Braunschweig and Würzburg will move into the next chapter of the showdown as they face off in the first round of the playoffs.
Four-way tie No. 1: Chemnitz grab home court advantage followed by Heidelberg, Würzburg and Berlin
The drama in the final round of the regular season couldn’t have been any greater and in the end, four teams tied with 18-14 for places 4th to 7th. NINERS Chemnitz grabbed the final home court advantage spot thanks to a 4-2 record in games among the other teams. MLP Academics Heidelberg (first post-season since 1979) were fifth with a 3-3 mark and tiebreaker over FIT/One Würzburg Baskets and ALBA BERLIN finished seventh with a 2-4 record.
Chemnitz split their two games - winning 93-88 at Veolia Towers Hamburg before losing 104-94 at EWE Baskets Oldenburg. Heidelberg came into the final week with four straight losses but DJ Horne stepped up with 28 points in a 102-85 win at Würzburg. Horne followed that with 28 points and Michael Weathers added 15 points, 6 rebounds, 11 assists, 5 steals and 2 blocks in a wild 84-75 overtime win over SKYLINERS.
Würzburg meanwhile stumbled at the end with two losses, falling 102-85 at home to Heidelberg and 86-72 at Basketball Löwen Braunschweig - two games with playoffs atmosphere and implications. Berlin meanwhile only had won game and that was on Thursday as they comfortably beat BG Göttingen 101-69 at home. Chemnitz and Heidelberg will face off in the first round of the playoffs while Würzburg will take on Braunschweig and Berlin hosts the 7-8 Play-Ins game against SYNTAINICS MBC.
Split enough for Weißenfels to reach play-ins date with Berlin
SYNTAINICS MBC grabbed a spot in the Play-Ins tucked in between the two four-way ties in the standings in eighth place with a 17-15 record. Weißenfels managed only a split in the final week and will take on ALBA BERLIN in the 7-8 Play-Ins game. Wolves lost 85-76 at MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg to start the week. The German Cup champions bounced back to beat Telekom Baskets Bonn 100-94, but only after wasting an 18-point lead as the game was tied in the fourth quarter. Michael Devoe scored 24 points and Eddy Edigin (18 points and 11 rebounds) and Charles Callison (16 points and 10 assists) both had double-doubles.
Four-way tie No. 2: Oldenburg, Rostock celebrate; season over for Ludwigsburg, Vechta
The second four-way tie in the standings was at 16-16 for places 9-12 and EWE Baskets Oldenburg will host ROSTOCK SEAWOLVES in the 9-10 Play-Ins game while MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg and RASTA Vechta saw their seasons end. Oldenburg finished strong with four straight wins, beating NINERS Chemnitz 104-94 at home in their only game. Len Schoormann had career highs of 26 points and 12 rebounds and Geno Crandall collected 15 points and 11 assists for Oldenburg, who like Rostock had a 4-2 record in the tiebreaker. Rostock stumbled to two losses - extended the losing streak to four games - as they fell to Basketball Löwen Braunschweig 67-48 and watched BG Göttingen beat them 88-85. The 48 points were the fewest scored this season by a home team while Rostock did see Robin Amaize return after three months for the Göttingen game - an important player as Rostock play at Oldenburg in the 9-10 Play-Ins.
Ludwigsburg beat SYNTAINICS MBC 85-76 but they ended up losing a 21-point lead to FC Bayern Munich and fell 73-72 in the closing seconds - ending their post-season hopes. Vechta still had chances in their sole game but Bamberg Baskets gave the retiring Karsten Tadda an 86-73 victory as his parting gift and the season was over for the guests.
Göttingen coach Riipenen moves to Ludwigsburg as new playcaller
MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg have found their head coach for next season as they brought in Mikko Riipinen, who will not move into the ProA with relegated side BG Göttingen. The 37-year-old Swede signed with Ludwigsburg until 2027 and will succeed Lars Masell, who finished this season after John Patrick’s departure. Riipinen arrived in Göttingen in January 2025 but could not keep the club from being relegated. Riipinen will retain his function as Swedish senior national team head coach.
Hamburg, Bonn eliminated with mid-week losses
There were only five teams who had no chances for reaching at least the Play-Ins going into the final round as Veolia Towers Hamburg and Telekom Baskets Bonn both lost in Round 33 to be eliminated. Hamburg could not hold a 22-point third quarter lead and lost 93-88 at home to NINERS Chemnitz while Bonn were defeated 90-86 at home to FC Bayern Munich. Hamburg dropped their final game 79-64 at home to ratiopharm ulm to end the season at 15-17 while Bonn dropped a 100-94 road game to SYNTAINICS MBC for a 14-18 record.
Bamberg bid farewell to Tadda
Bamberg Baskets went into the final week of action already eliminated from playoffs contention but there was one major storyline for the club - Karsten Tadda becoming the Bundesliga’s all-time leader in games played and then his farewell. Tadda took over sole possession of first place in Round 33 in Bamberg’s 92-77 loss at ratiopharm ulm. And the final round was a home game and Bamberg gave the 36-year-old a fitting farewell with an 86-73 victory over RASTA Vechta for a 12-20 record. After the game, the club celebrated their local hero who finished his career with 640 games played, 2,426 points, 1,069 rebounds, 931 assists and 389 steals.
NBBL MVP Crnjac debuts for Frankfurt
SKYLINERS have been out of the playoffs race and safe from relegation for weeks and they finished the season with an overtime road loss 84-75 against MLP Academics Heidelberg for an 8-24 record. One of the highlights of the game was the easyCredit BBL debut of the 18-year-old Ivan Crnjac, who was freshly crowned as the German U19 NBBL MVP. Crnjac scored 3 points in 4:06 minutes of action. Frankfurt’s 17-year-old talent Jamie Edoka scored a career-high 8 points after he was named the NBBL’s Rookie of the Year.
Göttingen head to ProA on a high
BG Göttingen bid adieu to the easyCredit BBL with on a high note as the relegated team finished the second with their third victory - an 88-85 home win over ROSTOCK SEAWOLVES. Göttingen started their final week in Bundesliga with a 101-69 loss at ALBA BERLIN but gave their home fans a reason to celebrate with a season-ending victory for a 3-29 record. Collin Welp scored 25 points and Tra Holder had 21 points.
ALBA BERLIN to play 2025-26 season in BCL
ALBA BERLIN have announced they will play the 2025-26 season in the Basketball Champions League. The 11-time German champion and 11-time German Cup winners had played the last 24 years in either the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague or the BKT EuroCup. Next season will be the 10th season of the BCL.
Player(s) of the Week(s)
The final week had two rounds of games so there are two Player of the Week awards. But Phlandrous Fleming took the honors for both Round 33 and 34 - both Telekom Baskets Bonn losses. In Round 33 at home to FC Bayern Munich, Fleming scored 27 points on 10 of 18 shots (4/8 threes) and 3 of 4 free throws, to go with 4 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 steals for an efficiency of 30. Fleming had another outstanding showing in Round 34 with an efficiency of 30 once against SYNTAINICS MBC. Fleming had 28 points on 11 of 177 shots (2/6 threes) and 4 of 4 free throws, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal and 1 block.
German Top Five of the Week
G: Len Schoormann, EWE Baskets Oldenburg
Schoormann put together a night to remember to keep Oldenburg alive with career highs of 26 points and 12 rebounds to go with 3 assists and 1 steal against NINERS Chemnitz.
F: Niels Giffey, FC Bayern Munich
The veteran Giffey came up big twice in the week. First, he poured in 21 points, 4 rebounds and 1 steal in a win over Telekom Baskets. Then he drained the game winning three-pointer among his 12 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 1 block against MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg.
C: Eddy Edigin, SYNTAINICS MBC
Edigin had two strong games for the German Cup winners. He collected 8 points, 13 rebounds and 1 assist against MHP RIESENBURG and then had 18 points, 11 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 block versus Telekom Baskets Bonn.
C: Marcel Keßen, MLP Academics Heidelberg
Keßen really excelled this week in two wins as he had 13 points, 5 rebounds and 1 assist against FIT/One Würzburg Baskets and collected 18 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 block versus SKYLINERS.
C: Filip Stanic, Bamberg Baskets
Stanic finished his season on a high note with two more strong games. He totaled 16 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal against ratiopharm ulm and then tallied 11 points, 15 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and 1 block in a win over RASTA Vechta.
Young Guns
Sananda Fru, 21, PF, Basketball Löwen Braunschweig
The freshly-crowned Top U22 German Player Fru could have gotten a spot in the Top Five but he will be slotted into the Young Guns as he had 16 points, 11 rebounds, 1 steal and 3 blocks versus ROSTOCK SEAWOLVES and then picked up 10 points, 4 rebounds and 1 assist against FIT/One Würzburg Baskets.
Adrian Petkovic, 20, PG, Bamberg Baskets
Petkovic continue his strong close to the season with two fine outings for already relegated Bamberg. He had 4 points on 1 of 3 shots (0/1 threes) and 2 of 2 free throws, 1 rebound and 4 assists in 11:40 minutes against ratiopharm ulm. The point guard ended the season with 8 points on 3 of 6 shots (2/4 threes), 2 rebounds and 3 assists in 14:36 minutes versus RASTA Vechta.
Dominykas Pleta, 20, SF, MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg
Pleta scored a career high 11 points on 3 of 7 shots (1/1 threes) and 4 of 7 free throws, 2 rebounds in 12:09 minutes against SYNTAINICS MBC. He then scored 4 points on 2 of 3 shooting (0/1 threes) with 1 rebound and 2 steals in 9:08 minutes agains FC Bayern Munich.
Germans Abroad
A second German player has entered the NBA playoffs picture as Ariel Hukporti returned to the New York Knicks in Game 3 against the Boston Celtics. He picked up 2 points and 2 rebounds in 2 minutes in his first game since the end of February. The Knicks are ahead of the reigning champs Boston 2-1 in the series. The other German in the playoffs is Isaiah Hartenstein, who had 8 points, 14 rebounds and 3 assists as Oklahoma City evened their series with the Denver Nuggets with a 92-87 win.
