Head coach Pablo Laso and sports director Daniele Baiesi had already announced these personnel changes, and now they are official: The Bayern basketball team is recalling Nelson Weidemann and Danko Brankovic from their loaned player pool back to Munich. Both players will be part of the cup-winning team's squad in the upcoming season.
"After his solid development in the demanding Adriatic League, we warmly welcome Danko to our team. He has made significant improvements in terms of physicality and technique, and will provide an additional dimension to our frontcourt," says sports director Baiesi about center Brankovic. Regarding the return of Weidemann, he adds, "Nelson has deliberately completed several years at different clubs with the aim of eventually returning to us and enriching our team. We had planned his journey together, and this path has truly paid off. We are thrilled to have one of our guys back."
For Nelson Weidemann, it is indeed a return. The 24-year-old guard hails from the Bayern youth program and celebrated the German U19 championship as the Top4 MVP in 2017. After making his initial appearances in the German Basketball League (BBL) in Munich, he gained more playing time first in Bamberg in 2019, then in Göttingen the following year, and for the past two years in Chemnitz.
In late February 2023, Weidemann made his debut for the national team under head coach Gordon Herbert.
With Chemnitz, the athletic guard reached the BBL playoffs in both years and solidified himself as a key player for the Niners, averaging around 20 minutes of playing time, 8.8 points per game, and 2.8 assists. His contract with FCBB is valid until 2025.
Danko Brankovic was equipped with a long-term contract by Bayern Munich a year ago and immediately transferred on loan to the Belgrade developmental club KK Mega Basket. The 23-year-old Croatian, standing at 2.16 meters, came from Cibona Zagreb and recently had an impressive third professional season in the Adriatic League with Mega, a Serbian Cup finalist, averaging 12.7 points (63% field goal percentage) and six rebounds.
At Mega Basket, Brankovic was teammates with Matej Rudan, 22, who also comes from the FCBB youth program. The Croatian forward (12.8 PPG) is now making another loan move to the Spanish ACB league to join CB Breogán.
Sisko's fresh start in Spain
Zan Mark Sisko has just joined this Galician ACB club for the upcoming season. The 25-year-old playmaker from Slovenia, who has been under contract with Bayern Munich since December 2019, had been unavailable to FCBB since last November for personal reasons.
FC Bayern Basketball wishes "šile," who celebrated the 2021 cup victory with Bayern and played 77 BBL games for them, all the best for his future endeavors.