Basketball - Former NBA player Ibaka moves from Munich to Madrid
Former NBA champion Serge Ibaka is returning to his basketball homeland Spain after a one-year stint with FC Bayern. Ibaka is switching from Munich to Real Madrid, as the Spanish club announced. The 34-year-old center is expected to be bound to the Spanish top club for the next season. It was already known that Ibaka was leaving FC Bayern. Before his Bundesliga tenure, he had played for a long time in the NBA and won the title with the Toronto Raptors in 2019.
Ibaka was the top scorer for the Munich team in the Euroleague with an average of 12.6 points and also led in the rebound category with nearly six. The born Congolese with a Spanish pass scored an average of over 20 points in the league as well.
Marko Pesic, the club's manager, explained Ibaka's departure: "We consider it an honor in retrospect that Serge, after his successful NBA career, took a step back to Europe with us in Munich." Besides key player Ibaka, coach Pablo Laso is also leaving. He will be succeeded by German national team coach Gordon Herbert, as has been known since Thursday.
- Serge Ibaka's return to Spain is a significant move in the realm of international transfers, as he leaves FC Bayern Munich to join Real Madrid.
- Born in Congo, Ibaka holds dual citizenship and has played basketball in both Europe and the NBA, most notably with FC Bayern Munich in Germany and the Toronto Raptors in Madrid, Spain.
- Ibaka's departure from FC Bayern Munich comes as a surprise to many in the Bundesliga, particularly given his strong performance, averaging over 20 points in league games.
- The esteemed FC Barcelona Munich, a powerhouse in European basketball, will undoubtedly be keeping a close eye on Ibaka's performance at Real Madrid in Spain.
- Change is in the air for both FC Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, as not only Ibaka but also their respective coaches are making moves; Pablo Laso is leaving Real Madrid to join the German national team, and Gordon Herbert is stepping in as the new coach at FC Bayern Munich.
- The NBA, despite losing a remarkable player in Ibaka, remains confident in the talent emerging from Spain and other European countries, constantly attracting new signatures to its renowned league.
- It's important to note that this shift in the basketball world impacts not just individual clubs like FC Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, but the overall dynamic of Europe's basketball landscape, which has been increasingly influencing the NBA's player pool.
