On Thursday afternoon, Bayern Munich’s basketball director Marko Pesic and new coach Pablo Laso hosted a discussion in a hotel in Munich-Neuperlach. They talked a little about the Germans’ World Cup gold rush, to which the three Munich residents Andreas Obst, Isaac Bonga and Niels Giffey also contributed their part. They talked about their strong preparation tournament this weekend in Munich’s BMW Park, as their hall has been called since this summer. And they also said a few words about the next official addition: Dino Radoncic, a brave 24-year-old power forward who has already played a few seasons at Real Madrid, the current Euroleague champion and Laso’s former club.
However, they spoke about one man in monosyllables: Serge Ibaka, 2.13 meter long and 107 kilogram center, 919 games in the NBA for the Oklahoma City Thunder, Orlando Magic and Los Angeles Clippers, Toronto Raptors and Milwaukee Bucks. Ibaka, 33, played in the best league in the world for 13 years, and in 2019 he won the NBA title with Toronto. Now the giant, who was born in Brazzaville, Congo, is about to move to FC Bayern. This was first reported by the renowned basketball journalist Marc Mundet. Bayern did not want to confirm the transfer on Thursday, but did not deny it either. Sports director Marko Pesic made a telling statement: “There is no update from our side, let’s see what happens. But one thing is clear: we will We’ll definitely have to sign another player in big positions.”
There is also a connection to the new Spanish Bayern coach Laso: Ibaka played twelve games for Real Madrid under coach Laso in 2011. At the time, the NBA season was delayed due to unsuccessful collective bargaining negotiations, and Ibaka was staying fit in Europe. Laso himself said on Thursday that he doesn’t have much contact with Ibaka and writes to him every now and then. But this connection fits like another piece of the puzzle in the upcoming commitment.
Often on the red carpet: Serge Ibaka and his partner Cindy Bruna.
(Photo: Abacapress/Imago)
Ibaka has not yet arrived in Munich, the final formalities still need to be completed. But if he actually appears at Bayern soon, he will probably be the biggest name that has ever graced the floor for Munich – even bigger than Greg Monroe, the 646-time NBA player who did so in the 2019/20 season Wearing FC Bayern jersey. Ibaka would then also be one of the best-known names that have enriched the Basketball Bundesliga so far. And certainly one of the most dazzling.
His life story is more than tragic
Not just because of his tragic life story, which Basketball Magazine reported Five once traced: Born into a family of basketball players as the third youngest of 18 children; fled the Congo War; lost his mother when he was eight years old; raised by his grandmother in a house without electricity or running water; the father, a dock worker, was also in prison for a time. As a teenager, Ibaka moved to Spain and took on citizenship there. With the Spanish national team he became European champion in 2011 and won the silver medal at the Olympics in London a year later.
Thanks to his many years in the NBA, Ibaka is now a multimillionaire and is in a relationship with top model Cindy Bruna, with whom he strolls on all sorts of red carpets. Ibaka, who turns 34 on Monday, no longer has the class he once had, in the title season with Toronto or during the times with Kevin Durant in Oklahoma. His NBA playing minutes have recently shrunk, the Indiana Pacers terminated his contract and he was recently without a club. He may have remembered Laso again during this time – and Laso remembered him.