Who can stop Bayern Munich on the way to the next totel? The most important information about the decisive and most exciting phase in the basketball Bundesliga, the BBL playoffs.
Playoff mode: Only the first six teams qualified directly
The BBL adapted the format for playoff participation last season and also introduced play-ins, as also in the NBA and be played in the Euroleague. The six best teams of the regular season reach the quarter-final playoffs. The two remaining places are played in the play-ins, in which the teams take part in places 7 to 10. The higher -placed teams of the regular season each have home rights.
Alba Berlin, the seventh place of the regular season, will play in the first Play-in duel on Tuesday (May 13, 2025) against the eight-placed, Cup winner Syntainics MBC. In the second play-in, also on Tuesday, the EWE Baskets Oldenburg (9th place) will meet Rostock Seawolves (10th).
The winner of the first duel (Berlin or MBC) meets Ratiopharm Ulm in the playoff quarter-finals, the second place in the regular season. The loser of the first Play-In will play the last playoff ticket against the winner of the second play-in (Oldenburg or Rostock) on Thursday (May 15, 2025). Opponent in the quarter -finals will then become the main round FC Bayern Munich.
Play -ins and final series – the appointments
The playoffs will be played in the best-of-five mode from the quarterfinals, until the final series: the team, which is the first to be three victories, wins the German championship.
The quarter -finals begin on Saturday, May 17th, the semi -finals on June 1st and the final series on June 15th. The master should be certain on June 26 at the latest.
Free of play on the last match day – special role for Alba
The race for the final placement and the associated playoff spots was as exciting as it has not been for a long time. And even more confusing because only 17 instead of 18 teams played in the BBL this season. Alba Berlin was free of play at the season finale – and, due to the results of the competition, slipped out of the direct playoff ranks.
The Berliners were one of four teams who completed the season with a record of 18 wins and 14 defeats. The complicated direct comparison between all teams threw the Berliners back to Play-in-Platz seven in the final table, behind Chemnitz (4th place), Heidelberg (5th) and Würzburg (6th).
In positions 9 to 12 of the table, four teams with identical record also landed: Oldenburg, Rostock, Ludwigsburg and Vechta each had 16 wins and 16 defeats. Oldenburg (9th) and Rostock (10th) won the four-man comparison and grabbed the last two play-in places.
The last match day for Ludwigsburg was particularly bitter:, despite the meantime, the last throw against Bayern, despite the meantime, lost the game against FC Bayern and thus eliminated the playoff race. The Munich team secured first place and home rights, right down to a possible finale.
Who plays against whom? The Playoff pairings
FC Bayern Munich (1st) winner Play -in 2 |
Ratiopharm Ulm (2nd) – winner Play -in 1 |
Basketball Löwen Braunschweig (3rd) – Würzburg Baskets (6th) |
Niners Chemnitz (4th) – MLP Academics Heidelberg (5th) |
After the quarter-finals, the playoff tree continues as follows: In the semifinals, the winner of the duel plays first place/8th place against the winner from 4th place. The team, which is better placed in the main round, begins the series at home and also explains a possible decisive fifth duel in their own hall.
The favorites – who can stop Bayern?
Defending champion FC Bayern is also the clear favorite in these playoffs, especially since the Munich team is freed from the appointment stress of the exhausting Euroleague. This also applies to Alba Berlin, opponents in the final series last year. However, the Berliners have had a highly eventful season, including a change of coach. Only by catching up in the last weeks of the season did they secure participation, first to the play-ins. If you come to the quarter -finals, you have to expect the Berliners because of your experience alone.
Bayern coach Gordon Herbert, however, was prompted after the almost geared main round of the round in Ludwigsburg to shake his team awake, with hard words: “We play as if it were a free space on the beach. We are not a tough team, not physical.”
Ratiopharm Ulm, the champions from 2023, is certainly the first challenger for the Munich. In the quarter -finals it could go against Alba Berlin, anything but an easy opponent.
The two top seed teams could meet in the final at the earliest, it would be a final series that promises excitement.
TV broadcasts, Streams – Where are the BBL playoffs?
All games of the playoffs can be seen on the paid streaming platform “Dyn”. Selected playoff encounters run on “Welt TV” and “Bild.de”. The ARD shows summaries of the games on its digital channels.