Appointment dispute around the BBL playoffs: unfair debate on the back of two teenagers

In the final series of the basketball Bundesliga (BBL) between Munich and Ulm, in addition to the title, the title is also about an appointment dispute. At the center of this Zwist: Teenager Noa Essengue and Ben Saraf who play for Ulm. This is not fair, says SWR Sport Reporter David Luding.

“How about if the players don’t just let their team down” or “The final should be higher”. Such statements are currently found in the comment columns of social networks. It is about the schedule of schedule between NBA draft and BBL final In a possible fourth and fifth game.

“The players” mean Noa Essengue (18 years) and Ben Saraf (19). The Frenchman Essengue and the Israeli Saraf are the top performers of the Ulm basketball players despite their young age and will most likely play in the NBA from autumn, the best basketball league in the world.

Before that, however, the so -called draft is still pending for the two Ulm. There, Essengue and Saraf are expected to be selected by an NBA club and may already receive a contract that runs over several years and contains a content of several million US dollars.

Participation in the draft no obligation, but tradition

First of all: the two Ulmer have to do the draft in New York not be on site. If you do without the trip to the USA, it would probably not have direct negative consequences for your own career. So actually quite uncomplicated.

In my opinion, breaking down the whole thing is not fair. In the United States, the draft is almost celebrated as the Oscar ceremony and broadcast live on TV for hours. There are pictures that appear in every career review. For many basketball players, it is one of the most memorable days of the entire career. If your own name is announced, a childhood dream is usually fulfilled. Usually the players are on site, enjoy this special day with friends and family.

Two teenagers under great pressure

Noa Essengue and Ben Saraf have almost been dreaming of the draft, and have been working hard for years. I don’t want to presume that the two should settle the BBL final higher and otherwise let their team down. The two teenagers are faced with a decision that – as far as I know – no basketball player in a comparable situation and which is certainly not easy.

I can imagine that this situation exerts extremely pressure on the two teenagers. In the first final game that the Ulm 66:82 lost, Essengue and Saraf played bad for their standards. The fact that the whole discussion about the two influence on it is only speculation, but also obvious.

Opinion: The league is to blame for this dilemma

An 18- and 19-year-old are now facing a large dilemma. In my opinion, the league is to blame for the fact that it has come so far. Because that Essengue and Saraf are hot candidates in the NBA draft is no surprise. And that with Ulm the champions from 2023 is in the final, nor. The schedule was foreseeable, but there was obviously no real plan B.

In a statement on Monday published on the part of the league, it says that the Ulm had already made an application in April to shorten the schedule. So there would have been no schedule for Essengue and Saraf. However, according to the league, this application was rejected by a clear majority of the 17 BBL clubs. No surprise for me, because apart from Ulm, no team has an advantage if NBA draft and BBL did not collide with each other.

The league should have reacted earlier

The game plan Causa now throws a very bad light on the league itself. The final series, self-explanatory, the highlight of the entire basketball season could take place in the decisive games without two Ulm top performers. In my opinion, the league should have reacted earlier and change the game plan.

After all, the BBL has announced that the NBA draft will be discussed in the game planning. You can learn from mistakes, but this does not help the ulcers for this final series. If there is a fourth or possibly even fifth final game, it will be interesting what Noa Essengue and Ben Saraf will choose.

I hope that you will settle the final in the BBL higher, do without your trip to the USA and be offered to the neutral viewer as high-class final games as possible. If both or one of them decide differently, they should not be blamed. The two teenagers are in a dilemma, but are not to blame.

Prize on Tuesday, June 17, 2025 3:00 p.m., SWR Currently in the afternoon, SWR Aktuell