The BBL starts the new season on Wednesday. In the obligatory tip-off meeting, those responsible commented on the coming season. Of course they want to make use of the World Cup momentum.
As is well known, the German basketball players sensationally won the title at the World Cup and made history. So the BBL is now the league of world champions. “It’s fun, but somehow it’s still surreal,” even BBL Managing Director Dr. Stefan Holz has to admit. But clearly it is also a success for the league, all twelve players have played BBL or still play there. “That logically gives a boost and tailwind,” Holz knows.
The next few months will show how much of a boost it will be. Alexander Reil, President of BBL AG, does not expect twice as many spectators now either. Success, provided it has a certain sustainability, can of course help to achieve the ambitious goals. The important thing will be to “close a lot of white spots in Germany”, says Reil, who also hopes to win more children, young people and their parents for the sport of basketball. The World Cup title helps, but “the work remains there”.
BBL Cup this weekend – watch on Dyn
There are a lot of new things in the BBL next season, such as the mode of the BBL Cup, which also starts with second-division teams next weekend. “The cup has reserves, we are trying to make it more attractive. There can be surprises and that’s what the cup lives on,” Holz said. Eight teams from the second division will meet the teams that finished ninth to 16th in the BBL in the first round. After that, there is a free draw, “there can be a deep run by a second-division team. The cup really has its appeal,” Holz adds.
Just like the BBL, this competition will be shown on the streaming service Dyn from next season and no longer on MagentaSport. “I believe that with Dyn we can take the next step with the BBL,” says Reil. “We are ready for the BBL,” assures Andreas Heyden, the Dyn CEO. “Nobody is perfect when they start, but the main thing is that we have a clear plan to close the gaps.”
Some new additions to the BBL
And even away from the streaming provider, some things are new in the upcoming season. For example, there is the so-called play-in tournament for the play-offs. The teams in seventh to tenth place will play out the remaining two play-off participants. The top six teams are safe in the postseason. “The play-ins have a high level of drama. That will be a real turbo, I’m really looking forward to it,” Holz is already looking forward to the do-or-die games.
Also new is that the instant replay will be more transparent. “It’s got a bit out of hand. It’s actually supposed to be used when it matters, is supposed to increase equity. We felt it was being used a bit much. We discussed with all 18 clubs and the result is that we want to take it out of the referees’ hands a bit. Main use case is ‘Upgrade/Downgrade Foul’ only in the last second minutes. More than 50 per cent of the cases in crunch time,” Holz said.
When the referees then discuss, the sound will be heard. It will also be faded in to show what is going on, so that the fans in the hall will be in the picture at all times.
Bavaria as big favourites
And then, of course, everyone is hoping for an interesting season in terms of sport. After the activities in the summer, the Bavarians with the new coach Pablo Laso as well as top newcomer Serge Ibaka go into the race as big favourites for the title. Also because the other teams like Alba Berlin, champion Ulm as well as finalist Bonn have lost very important players.
“We knew that the top performers would be in demand. We are happy to give new players the opportunity,” said Ulm’s sports director and former coach Thorsten Leibenath. “We always take a slightly bigger risk than other clubs because otherwise we can’t keep up with the top teams. For example, we sign players who don’t yet have European experience – we deliberately take these risks. That’s the only way we can play a certain role in the concert of the greats.”
And in Bonn, too, the looks are positive towards the new season. “We coped very well with the sell-out, we knew about it early on. The players were very honest and open. We are very happy to be able to sign Roel Moors,” said Savo Milovic, sporting director of the Bonn team.
