FC Bayern Basketball History

1946: The establishment of a basketball department

Basketball has a long tradition at FC Bayern Munich (founded on February 27, 1900). The department was founded back in 1946 by German basketball pioneer Franz Kronberger. Kronberger, who was actually a passionate soccer player, had to end his career due to a war injury and found his new passion in basketball. After the war, it was mainly thanks to Kronberger's commitment and passion that the young department in Munich had any playable sports facilities at all.

The 1950s: First championship and title defense

The foundation for basketball at FC Bayern was laid and the first successes were not too long in coming: in 1954, FC Bayern Basketball celebrated winning the German championship in Heidelberg, and a year later, Franz Kronberger's team defended its title in Berlin. The team included Markus Bernhard, who achieved something unique in his sporting career: unthinkable today, the four-time German basketball champion (1947 and 1949 with MTSV Schwabing) and national player was also successful in handball and became world field handball champion twice with the national handball team and world indoor handball runner-up in 1954.

Champion squad 1954

Standing (from left to right): Alex Drogolowitsch, Max Braun, Walter Dassel, Franz Kronberger, Markus Bernhard; kneeling (from left to right): Heinz Kinader, Rudi Vogt, Hans Beyer, Rudolf Hohner.

In 1956, a unique spectacle for Munich took place when the “Reds” played the prelude to the soccer match between FC Bayern and Budapest in the Grünwalder Stadion and won 54:46 against Lancia Bolzano in front of a crowd of 28,000 spectators, which was huge for the time.

The FCB basketball team played the pre-match of the FC Bayern soccer match.

The 1960s: Cup success

In 1966, FCBB once again had the chance to win the national championship, but the team was defeated in the semi-finals by eventual champions USC Heidelberg (74:86) at the McGraw Barracks in Munich. In the same year, the German Basketball Bundesliga was founded by the DBB. As a founding member, FC Bayern Basketball finished the first Bundesliga season in fourth place.

Bayern won the cup in 1968, another national title in the club's early history. At that time, coach Franz Kronberger's team included national players such as Hansjörg Krüger, Klaus Schulz and Dieter Schneider, who beat MTV Wolfenbüttel 59:55 in the final.

The 1968 FC Bayern cup-winning team:

Standing (from left to right): Josef Regiert (Betreuer), Dr. Klaus Schulz, Jay Johnson, Fritz Feilner, Dieter Schneider, Anton Grässle, Hans-Jörg „Gigs“ Krüger, Franz Kronberger (Coach); kneeling (from left to right): Willy Zeiträg, Peter Zilliger, Jürgen Schröder.

Basketball legend Dr. Klaus Schulz

Klaus Schulz (born 26.5.1936) led FC Bayern to its first cup victory in the 1967/68 season and is one of the most influential figures in German basketball history. The international (73 appearances) was the first German player to move to the Spanish league, to Estudiantes Madrid. After his playing days, Schulz led the first team out of the regional league and back into the Bundesliga in the 1980s. Even today, Schulz, who runs a law firm in Munich, rarely misses a Bayern home game.

The 70s and 80s: ups and downs

After eight years in the top flight of basketball, the team made the difficult transition to the regional league in 1974. It was not until 1982 that Bayern made it into the second division, where they were promoted and finished second in the table after the main round. Bayern fought for a total of five years to return to the first division stage. Led by jumping prodigy Cedric Robinson, George Devone and Peter Kemmer (who was involved in the club as department head from 1988 to 2013), the team of head coach Gregor Aas surprisingly reached the cup semi-finals and finally won promotion back to the 2nd Basketball Bundesliga South in 1987. However, the dream of playing basketball in the top flight did not last too long, as the team was relegated again just two years later.

The 1987/88 team:

standing (l-r): Gregor Aas (coach), Peter Durner, George Devone, Cedric Robinson, Bob Miller, Gerhard Werner, Klaus Nowak; kneeling (l-r): Jochen Trux, Horst Wester, Peter Kemmer, Bernd Perner, Gernot Bleichner, Marko Woytowicz.

The 1990s to 2008

While the German national team under the leadership of DBB coach Svetislav Pesic surprised everyone with a sensational success in the European Championship final against Russia in Munich's Olympic Hall in 1993, the basketball players of FC Bayern Munich returned to more moderate times with their move to the Regionalliga Südost. Although the FCBB was represented in the second division for one year each in 1995/96, 1999/2000 and 2004/05, the Bavarians essentially went on the hunt for baskets in the Regionalliga, but did so successfully: the Munich club won a total of seven championship titles in the Regionalliga at Säbener Straße from 1981 to 2008.

At the end of the 2007/08 season, however, the course was set for a new era in basketball at FC Bayern. As regional league champions, the Munich team was granted the right to play in the second-tier ProA - and the idea of establishing top-level basketball in Munich gradually took shape: In a member survey in spring 2010, an overwhelming majority voted in favor of supporting basketball as a second sport in the club alongside soccer in future. In club president Uli Hoeneß and 2nd vice-president Bernd Rauch, the “Mission Aufstieg” found energetic supporters.

2011: Mission "Aufstieg" successfully mastered

In the 2010/11 season, the “mission promotion” was tackled, with the ice rink in the Olympic Park serving as the venue. Head coach Dirk Bauermann, who was still the national coach at the time, and national team players Steffen Hamann and Demond Greene were brought in to help achieve the goal, with success: Bayern were crowned ProA champions just seven matchdays before the end of the season.

In their first BBL season in 2011/12, Bayern finished fifth after the main round and made it straight into the playoffs, where they were beaten in a dramatic five-game series against the Artland Dragons in the quarter-finals. Svetislav Pesic took over as head coach in November 2012 and led Munich to the playoff semi-finals. In the decisive fifth game, FCBB lost to the eventual champions Brose Baskets in Bamberg.

The Audi Dome: a new living room for FCBB

With the team's return to the Bundesliga, Bayern basketball also needed a venue suitable for the first division. The Rudi-Sedlmayer-Halle was chosen as the new living room. The arena in Munich's Westpark had been built to host the 1972 Olympic basketball competition and served as a venue for concerts and various sporting events such as boxing matches until it was closed in 2003. Following a thorough modernization, the “Audi Dome”, which now holds 6,700 spectators, was officially inaugurated on 20 September 2011 with a friendly match against the Turkish club Fenerbahce Ülker.

2014: First championship in 59 years and EuroLeague debut

A strengthened Bayern team started the 2013/14 season with the aim of competing for the German championship. FCBB also received a wild card from the EuroLeague to participate in the top flight. The team led by head coach Svetislav Pesic literally mastered the enormous workload: After 34 matchdays in the Bundesliga main round, Munich finished in a commanding first place and thus secured the best starting position for the playoffs for the first time.

Bayern's successes included two victories over the previous title holders Bamberg, the second of which came towards the end of the regular season in front of 6,800 Franconian fans (76:75). US playmaker Malcolm Delaney was the first Bayern professional to be named the most valuable player of the regular season (MVP).

The debutant from Munich also caused a sensation in the EuroLeague. FCBB's debut in the Champions League of Basketball took place on September 20, 2013 at Polish champions Stelmet Zielona Gora and ended with a 94:73 victory. After three more wins in the preliminary round, FCBB qualified for the Top 16 round with 14 more matchdays. The highlight there was the spectacular 85:83 home win against Real Madrid. With a total of five victories, Bayern narrowly missed out on reaching the round of the best eight teams in their group. In the German Cup competition, Munich once again made it to the final tournament, but failed to reach the final.

Bayern won the national playoff quarter-final against Ludwigsburg by a clear 3:1 margin; they did not let a controversial replay and the serious injuries to top scorer Nihad Djedovic and young professional Paul Zipser put them off their stride. They went into the semi-final against last year's finalists Oldenburg without both of them. After taking a 2:0 lead, the North Germans managed to equalize, but the dominant FCBB triumphed in the decisive fifth game to win 88:63 in front of their home crowd and advance to the playoff final for the first time.

Their opponents in the final were Alba Berlin. They opened with an 88:81 victory over the cup winners in the completely sold-out Audi Dome and won 95:81 in Berlin. Pesic's team got their first match point to win the title in game three: After a dramatic 40 minutes and an energetic performance, they won 92:86. In the fourth encounter, Munich did not let the historic opportunity slip away: In front of 13,434 spectators in the arena at Berlin's Ostbahnhof, including more than 500 Bayern fans who had traveled with them, the visitors triumphed on June 18, 2014 by 75:62 points and celebrated exuberantly their first German championship win in 59 years.

Curious fact: Bayern had also won the last championship titles in Berlin against teams from the capital in 1954 and 1955.

Malcolm Delaney was named MVP of the final series before FCBB captain Steffen Hamann received the silver championship trophy. On their return to Munich the following day, Bayern celebrated their first Beko BBL title win with around 1,000 fans in front of the Audi Dome. The team had played a German record total of 75 competitive games. An average of more than 6,000 spectators flocked to the Audi Dome for the 37 home games in the three competitions.

The 2013/14 champion squad: Robin Benzing, John Bryant, Malcom Delaney, Nihad Djedovic, Steffen Hamann (captain), Demond Greene, Yassin Idbihi, Mauricio Marin, Boris Savovic, Heiko Schaffartzik, Lucca Staiger, Bryce Taylor, Deon Thompson, Chevon Troutman, Malo Valérien, Paul Zipser.

Transfer to "FC Bayern München Basketball GmbH"

On October 1, 2014, FC Bayern Basketball adopted a new operating form: the basketball business operations were spun off from FC Bayern München eV and transferred to the corporate form of a GmbH. The “FC Bayern München Basketball GmbH” includes the professional squad of the German champions, the office, the Audi Dome match and training venue and all related legal transactions. The sole shareholder of the GmbH is FC Bayern München eV; the managing directors with equal rights are Marko Pesic (focus on sport and marketing) and his former deputy Volker Stix (finance and organization).

2015 - 2017: New faces, also for the NBA

The picture in the 2015/16 season remained unchanged for the time being: Bayern played some inspiring basketball, but it was just not enough to win a title this year either. In the Top Four in their own arena in particular, they fell just seconds short of their first cup win since 1968. After beating Bamberg in an epic semi-final, Alba Berlin played spoilsport and hit the decisive shot with two seconds left to clinch the title. Head coach Svetislav Pesic's team never recovered from this disappointment, as Bamberg was also the last stop in the league after a narrow quarter-final victory over Ludwigsburg. The 0:3 in the playoff semi-final was the disappointing end to a season with a number of highs and lows. And it was to be the start of a new era at the Audi Dome.

In the summer of 2016, Pesic had to vacate his seat on the bench due to an upcoming knee operation and was replaced by former world-class point guard Sasa Djordjevic. Devin Booker, Maxi Kleber, Vladimir Lucic and Danilo Barthel now regularly caused the hoops to shake.

The newly formed FCBB team impressed in its first season, as only three defeats in the main round meant a new club record, but Munich still “only” started the play-offs in third place. There it was a duel with their perennial rivals Alba Berlin, which Bayern won 3:1. What followed was a repeat of the previous season, as FCBB was once again eliminated in the playoff semi-final against Bamberg. This meant another title-less season in the summer of 2017, as Munich also lost the cup final in Berlin against Bamberg in the very last action.

FCBB also failed to make it through to the Eurocup quarter-finals against the eventual champions from Malaga. The year before, the team had already been eliminated in the last eight by the eventual champions Galatasaray Istanbul.

The transfer of Maxi Kleber to the Dallas Mavericks was proof of the good work of the Munich basketball team. Just like Paul Zipser (Chicago Bulls) the year before, Kleber also impressed NBA scouts in a Bayern uniform and became the second German Bayern player to make the leap to the strongest basketball league in the world.

2018: Double and most successful season in the club's history

“Defeats make you stronger” - that could be a good summary of the 2017/18 season. After all, where FC Bayern Basketball has not been able to celebrate any titles in recent years, there are two successes at the end of a long season. Winning the double makes the 2017/18 season the most successful season in the club's history.

Following victories in the quarter-finals and semi-finals against Bamberg and Ulm, the team beat Alba Berlin 80:75 (36:38) in the final thriller of the Top Four tournament in Neu-Ulm in February to lift the trophy for the first time in 50 years. In a dramatic game, Jared Cunningham was the best scorer with 28 points.

The duel was then repeated in the playoff final in June. The team led by captain Anton Gavel had previously beaten Frankfurt 3:2 in the quarter-finals and dethroned series champions Bamberg in the semi-finals. The team from Munich decided the series against the Franconian works club with a commanding 3:1 victory. After trailing 0:1 and taking a 2:1 lead against Alba Berlin, the showdown then took place in the Audi Dome on June 16, which the cup winners and main round winners won impressively by 106:85 (58:39) points to celebrate the German championship for the fourth time in the club's history.

The 6,500 spectators in the completely sold-out Audi Dome, including President Uli Hoeneß, witnessed a thoroughly focused Munich team that took a decisive lead in the first quarter and did not give the hard-fighting Berliners the slightest chance of winning their first title in ten years. No fewer than six FCBB professionals scored in double figures for coach Dejan Radonjic's team, while 29 assists underpinned an impressive team performance. FCBB record player Nihad Djedovic was Bayern's most successful scorer with 19 points, while national player Danilo Barthel was crowned MVP of the final series. His team will therefore play in the European premier league again next season, the EuroLeague, for which they will receive a wild card from 2019 anyway.

After an atmospheric meet & greet with Paulaner free beer with the fans in the foyer of the Audi Dome, Bayern celebrated the successful conclusion of a memorable season with their families and the office team in the Rodman Bar in the Glockenbach district until the new day.

The 2017/18 championship squad: Danilo Barthel, Georg Beyschlag, Devin Booker, Jared Cunningham, Nihad Djedovic, Anton Gavel (captain), Braydon Hobbs, Karim Jallow, Stefan Jovic, Alex King, Vladimir Lucic, Milan Macvan, Marvin Ogunsipe, Reggie Redding, Nelson Weidemann, Maik Zirbes.

2019: Strong EuroLeague record and first title defense

After winning the double in 2018, Bayern started the new season as the hunted on the national stage. Dejan Radonjic's team also started the season in the top tier of European basketball. With a total of 14 wins, FCBB achieved the most successful EuroLeauge season of any German team to date.

The Audi Dome was a fortress: Bayern won ten of their 15 home games in front of their own fans. The memorable highlights: the incredible 90:86 victory over top team Fenerbahçe Istanbul after double overtime and the 73:71 win over FC Barcelona, when Petteri Koponen beat the buzzer with the last shot. In the end, Munich finished eleventh in the table and with just one win less than the teams in seventh and eighth place (Vítoria-Gasteiz and Kaunas) narrowly missed out on the playoffs.

The strain in the EuroLeague - especially in December - was probably one of the reasons why Bayern were unable to defend the BBL Cup: they deservedly lost 70:78 to their opponents in the previous season's final and eventual finalists Alba Berlin in the quarter-finals.

In the league, however, Bayern marched to the title defense with aplomb. It was only on the 21st matchday that they suffered their first defeat, 82:83 at second-placed Oldenburg. There were only two further defeats, in Vechta and on the final matchday in Bonn. Bayern remained undefeated in all 17 games in the Audi Dome.

FCBB did not concede a single defeat in the play-offs either and marched to their fifth championship in the club's history with a 9-0 record. In a rematch of the hard-fought final series against Berlin in the previous season despite the 3-0 win, FCBB record player Nihad Djedovic was named the most valuable player this time. With an average of 15.3 points, five assists and two steals, the MVP played a key role in the club's first title defense.

The 2018/19 championship squad: Robin Amaize, Danilo Barthel, Devin Booker, Nemanja Dangubic, Nihad Djedovic, Braydon Hobbs, Stefan Jovic, Alex King, Petteri Koponen, Maodo Lo, Vladimir Lucic, Milan Macvan, Marvin Ogunsipe, Leon Radosevic, Nelson Weidemann, Derrick Williams.

2020: The coronavirus pandemic also stops Bayern

After two championships in a row, expectations were correspondingly high despite the departure of big names such as Stefan Jovic, Derrick Williams and Devin Booker. Bayern also signed notable replacements in center Greg Monroe (632 appearances in the NBA / 13.2 PpS, 8.3 RpS) and returnee Paul Zipser. FCBB set an early milestone in terms of internationalization with the two-week „BayWa Basketball Tour“ to prepare for the season, including a tournament win. 

And things went well for Bayern nationally after that, apart from another disappointing early cup exit, this time at home against Bonn: The first 14 BBL games were won until the Reds suffered their first defeat at surprise runners-up Ludwigsburg in January. By the time the season was interrupted in March, they had only lost two of 21 games and were confidently at the top of the table.

In the top flight, however, there were already signs of problems: Alongside acclaimed victories at home against the heavyweights from Madrid and Tel Aviv as well as the overtime win at the second German representative in Berlin, there were simply too many setbacks, especially away from home. The sometimes very clear defeats on the European stage (final score: 8:20) led to the departure of coach Radonjic at the beginning of January 2020. The former assistant Oliver Kostic took over until the end of the season, the early knockout at the final tournament.

2020 - 2021: The FINAL10 and the playoffs coup  

After the league leaders' away win in Bayreuth on March 8, competitions were suspended - the coronavirus pandemic also brought sports operations to a standstill. After weeks of uncertainty, the BBL decided to end the season with a final tournament in June. Bayern applied to host this experiment and were awarded the contract thanks to their convincing concept: the three-week FINAL10 (June 6 - 28, 2020) was held in the Audi Dome as a beacon event in bleak times. In addition to the host, Ulm, Oldenburg, Göttingen, Crailsheim, Berlin, Ludwigsburg, Bamberg, Frankfurt and Vechta also took part.

No spectators, all teams in a hotel under strict hygiene rules - these were the unusual side effects of the FINAL10. And the home team, of all teams, coped very badly with this, alienated by the special atmosphere in their own living room and rarely lived up to their potential. They got off to a thoroughly unsuccessful start in the group stage against Ulm, followed by must-win games against Göttingen and Crailsheim in the quarter-finals against Ludwigsburg. There, the best-of-two series ended unexpectedly early after a narrow defeat (83:87) and a victory in the second leg that was too narrow (74:73). The Swabians later clearly lost the final series against double winners Berlin.

The great sporting disappointment was one aspect from Bayern's perspective, who soon drew the consequences and hired Andrea Trinchieri as their new coach. The other was the praise Bayern received from all sides for the organization of the tournament. The FINAL10, so the unanimous opinion, was an important contribution to the continued existence of German basketball - and hopefully a premiere and a one-off at the same time.

2021: Bayern achieve something historic

The impressions of the previous season are still fresh. It is clear early on that it will be a ghost season, the fans are missing from the Audi Dome. But in this peculiar season, Bayern nevertheless breezed through the EuroLeague, fighting and winning their way through the top flight. They have turned double-digit deficits into success almost dozens of times. What an achievement. After all, the team forgoes very substantial salary shares. And yet they are gaining momentum right from the start, the new head coach from Italy, Andrea Trinchieri, infects them all with his passion and his mantra that you simply don't lose a game until it's actually lost.

Away victories in Tel Aviv, after coming from 21 points behind at Fenerbahce, at Efes, the eventual champions, two wins against the expensive FC Barcelona, at the no less sinfully expensive ZSKA Moscow. The result: fifth place, the first German team to reach the EuroLeague play-offs! A real sensation. However, they miss Game 1 in the play-off quarter-finals: Reynolds loses sight of a Milan player in the final second, making it 0:2. After two memorable home games, the score is actually 2:2, the showdown in Milan. Not much was missing for the Final Four. But Bayern still won: a huge amount of sympathy.

However, the price of the Euro campaign is injuries, with which Bayern ultimately pay in the BBL. For Nick Weiler-Babb, for example, the season ended far too early due to his serious foot injury in Game 1 in Milan. And then there was this thing with Paul Zipser, a brain operation, thankfully successfully carried out on the morning of the first final game in Berlin.1:3 in the end. A gift. Because “Pauli” throws the ball into the basket again. And Trinchieri says: "Our season was an incredible run, a huge success. Now Pauli just has to get healthy."

The second great moment of happiness of the season, alongside the historic entry into the EuroLeague playoffs shortly before: Bayern celebrated its 2021 cup victory in its own arena in mid-May, and the story of this moving weekend is also emblematic of Andrea Trinchieri's team: In the semi-final, Bayern fought its way into the final with a crazy 104:102 victory over Ulm after two periods of overtime. The final, less than 20 hours after this effort: Alba Berlin, hardly challenged in its semi-final against Göttingen (112:96), already led 29:14 - but in the end Munich triumphed 85:79 around their MVP Vladimir Lucic.

Incidentally, the best scorer in the final was Paul Zipser with 18 points.

2021/2022: Revenge for the show against Barcelona

Zipser and Lucic will miss Bayern a year later in the 2022 BBL finals against Berlin. The Serbian leading figure was missing in the series (1-3), as was Leon Radosevic, the best German player of the previous season. Once again, the Bavarians were made to pay in the national finals for the sacrifices that a successful EuroLeague campaign entails. Berlin thus masterfully exploited their advantages in terms of energy and the German rotation.

In retrospect, the analysis was a little self-inflicted, as Bayern had negligently left too much energy in the semi-final against Telekom Baskets Bonn: After two away wins in the Rhineland (80:68, 82:81), they missed out on an early decision in the Audi Dome (84:86, 80:83) and had to go to Bonn for a third time. FCBB showed its qualities there once again (87:74) - but that was too much for its reserves.

As a result, a BBL season ended in disappointment for the second time in a row, even though they had repeated a historic success: Munich had once again qualified for the EuroLeague playoffs in the spring and took the drama to the extreme once again in the battle to reach the Final Four. The heavy favorites FC Barcelona won game one, but the Trinchieri squad stole the second in the Palau Blaugrana: 90:75, certainly one of the best performances in the club's history, DeShaun Thomas was top scorer with 25 points.

This coup finally sparked basketball fever in soccer nation D, and expectations grew accordingly ahead of the two home games in the Audi Dome. However, Mirotic & Co. took Game 3 quite safely (66:75), while Trinchieri's team actually pulled off the next sensation in the following do-or-die: 59:52, Game 5! The big favorites now staggered again in Barcelona, also in the decisive duel: The underdogs led 37:31 at the break, before Laprovittola (26) in particular saved the home team.

2023: A commanding cup win in Oldenburg

Injuries and illnesses - these nagging issues continue to haunt Bayern in the first post-corona-and-Russian-attack season. Lucic and international Andi Obst both suffered rare torn elbow ligaments within the space of a few weeks and were out for months - as was Augustine Rubit. The previously outstanding US forward, the first FCBB professional to be named “Player of the Month” by the EuroLeague in January 2023, suffers a severe Achilles tendon ligament injury in the Cup TOP4 - the end of the season.

Bayern are shocked - and get the thing for him too! In the semi-final in mid-February, they knocked out defending champions Berlin 83:77 (top scorer was European newcomer Cassius Winston/21). And in the final, even 6,000 Oldenburg home fans fairly recognized Munich's class: the result was 90:78 after a dominant performance, with Walden and Lucic scoring 18 points each. Lucic? Yes, the captain had virtually nominated himself shortly before leaving for the north and ended his injury break on his own authority and without a team training session.

The cup winners' party at the Rodman went on until the early hours of the morning, with the team and office rocking the club. To be continued.

2024: Second double in the club's history

In the summer of 2023, the cup winners underwent a change: Pablo Laso took over as coach from Andrea Trinchieri, who had been in charge for three seasons. There were also many new additions on the floor, including NBA champion Serge Ibaka.

Bayern got off to a successful start to the Bundesliga season - with the newly crowned basketball world champions Andi Obst, Izzy Bonga and Niels Giffey - with a 96:87 win over MBC on the innovative LED glass floor.

While FCBB was largely dominant in the Bundesliga, the team once again struggled in the EuroLeague and only finished 15th after 21 defeats.

Things went better in the second national competition. Following victories over Oldenburg (101:73) and Bonn (86:78), FCBB hosted Bamberg Baskets, Alba Berlin and ratiopharm Ulm on a legendary weekend at the SIEGMUND TOP FOUR in BMW Park. The home side beat the Franconians and the reigning champions with aplomb and defended its cup success from the previous year. Sylvain Francisco was deservedly MVP with 17 points in the 81:65 victory in the final.

Sylvain Francisco with the MVP trophy

After winning the cup, Bayern only lost five more games at national level (including the playoffs) and became champions for the sixth time in the club's history. As exactly ten years earlier, their opponents in the final were Alba Berlin. Bayern celebrated the title after four games in the capital, just like back then. The most valuable player in the intense final series was Carsen Edwards with 18.3 points per game and 29 points in the decisive fourth final!

By winning the double, FC Bayern Basketball made an impressive return to the top of German basketball. It is particularly noteworthy that BMW Park was sold out 28 times in its premiere season.

The 2023/24 championship squad: Nick Weiler-Babb, Sylvain Francisco, Carsen Edwards, Nelson Weidemann, Isaac Bonga, Leandro Bolmaro, Andreas Obst, Martin Kalu, Ivan Kharchenkov, Niels Giffey, Dino Radoncic, Vladimir Lucic, Serge Ibaka, Niklas Wimberg, Elias Harris, Devin Booker and Danko Brankovic.

FCBB celebrates the sixth championship title in the club's history in Berlin

In the end, Bayern played 83 competitive games. Eighty-three. The very last one was against their opponents in the final, Ulm, in the once again sold-out SAP Garden, which has been the FCBB's second home venue alongside BMW Park since the start of the season. There were more than 40,000 ticket requests for this fifth playoff final for the title, and 11,500 ultimately witnessed a dramatic final – and, in essence, a fast-forward version of the story of a season that was nothing short of memorable.

Photo: Honorary President Uli Hoeneß, President Herbert Hainer and FCBB CEO Marko Pesic opened the SAP Garden in Munich’s Olympic Park on October 3, 2024.

The parameters: Once again, 11,500 fans at SAP Garden, the new super arena in Munich's beautiful Olympic Park. All 27 games there – 18 in the EuroLeague, two more in the league and the rest in the playoffs – were sold out. That's more than 300,000 spectators there alone, plus another nine of 15 home games also sold out at BMW Park, which shines with its LED video floor. A record season.

All games at SAP Garden sold out, nine at BMW Park

Everything had started carefree. Bayern sparked great euphoria in the city with their 97-89 triumph over Real Madrid in the spectacular SAP Garden opening. The arena's grandstand setup wasn't quite ready yet, and the newly formed team was a high-quality temporary solution. Nevertheless, the first eight home games in the EuroLeague were won, including exhilarating underdog victories such as against Olympiacos and THE perfect game against FC Barcelona (100-78), in which Andi Obst set a EuroLeague record with eleven three-pointers.

Rollercoaster basketball and a three-point record

It was defending champions Panathinaikos who finally broke the Garden streak in the ninth game, while Bayern struggled more often away from home and often “jumped only as high as necessary” (Herbert) in the league. The attractive, offensive style with lots of three-pointers, a sometimes umleashed Edwards and generous gaps in defense carried Munich into the top third – and slowed them down in the last two games of the regular season: 19:15 wins, the second-best record, meant 9th place and thus the play-ins instead of a possible playoff berth.

The first knockout game at home against Red Star Belgrade, 97-93 after overtime, was another thrilling spectacle. However, the play-in final for the Top 8 at Real Madrid (71-93) was a disappointment after Edwards had to withdraw in the morning due to a back injury. New signing Justus Hollatz was only eligible to play in the BBL.

Photo: Carsen Edwards has been named to the 2024/2025 All-EuroLeague First Team, while Nick Weiler-Babb received the award for “2024/2025 EuroLeague Best Defender.”

Despite this mental burden, the team fought its way to victory in the BBL regular season. It took a bit of luck and even more drama, as in the last game against Ludwigsburg, when world champion Giffey sank a three-pointer from the corner to make it 73:72 after trailing by 22 points at one stage.

All of this was part of the backstory leading up to the BBL finals with the final showdown against Ulm. In the first round, Bayern had delivered a respectable 3-0 victory over MBC, against whom they had suffered a bitter disappointment in the cup semi-finals in February. And in the semi-finals against surprise team Heidelberg, again with a high physical effort, they won 3-1.

MVP Napier, Pesic in the cold tube

Thus Ulm: A late 82-66 win to start, a sobering 64-79 away defeat to make it 1-1, and, even more sobering, after leading 77-71, a 79-81 blow at SAP Garden to make it 1-2. Bayern had their backs against the wall – and then, against hosts who were clearly ready to party, they showed the heart and determination of champions, blocking out all the bizarre noise from Ulm: 67:53, 2:2! Game 5, the SAP Garden was sold out overnight.

And this blueprint for the season will remain unforgettable as a 40-minute reminiscence of many exhilarating evenings, rollercoaster basketball, and a remarkable talent for the craziest climaxes this game has to offer: Bayern led 47-30 in the second quarter, but were too careless before the break – and trailed 65-68 with six minutes to go. Only two impressive three-pointers from Jo Voigtmann and the coolness of Finals MVP Shabazz Napier secured the nerve-wracking, deserved happy ending and the seventh championship.

Captain Lucic, who has extended his contract by two years, and Obst finally lifted the trophy for the SAP Garden's first title into the glittering rain. After that, the good, cool Paulaner beer flowed everywhere and managing director Marko Pesic, who had long since been doused, flew into the cold tube. After 14 years, the architect of Bayern's basketball team will vacate his position at the end of 2025 and hand it over to the duo Dragan Tarlac/Adrian Sarmiento. To be continued.

Championship squad: Nick Weiler-Babb, Oscar da Silva, Carsen Edwards, Jack White, Niels Giffey, Johannes Voigtmann, Shabazz Napier, Ivan Kharchenkov, Vladimir Lucic, Andreas Obst, Onuralp Bitim, Elias Harris, Justus Hollatz, Danko Brankovic, Devin Booker.