AUDIO: Löwen Braunschweig want to stay in the BBL with a wildcard (6 min)
As of: June 3, 2026 5:25 p.m
The Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) has decided to fill the vacant spot with a wildcard. The first contenders are the Löwen Braunschweig. They want to take advantage, but first they have to get the money together.
The wild card costs 800,000 euros. Löwen managing director Nils Mittmann spoke of “significant economic requirements” and emphasized that the financing “will not be a sure-fire success”. But: “We want to take advantage of this opportunity.”
According to the BBL decision, there are now ten days left
The Braunschweig team finished the previous season in a disappointing 17th place in the table and were therefore relegated. But thanks to the 104:90 win against Chemnitz on the last matchday, they at least moved past Heidelberg in the table. And because the second division team Kirchheim Knights, which has been promoted, has not applied for a license for the first division, there is suddenly a place available again in the upper house.
There had already been speculation that this would be replaced by a wildcard. Now the shareholders’ meeting of BBL GmbH has officially announced this.
The Braunschweig-based company, where NBA star Dennis Schröder is the main shareholder, and other interested parties now have ten days to submit their application for the wildcard.
Mittmann: “Give Braunschweig a perspective”
Lions boss Mittmann explained: “The sporting relegation remains a great disappointment for all of us. The possibility of a wildcard that has now been opened up doesn’t change that. At the same time, it gives us the chance to remain part of the BBL.” But everything will be done “to take advantage of this opportunity and to give basketball in Braunschweig a sustainable, first-class perspective,”