The German Basketball Association (DBB) has found a successor for national coach Lisa Thomaidis in Olaf Lange. The 53-year-old was most recently assistant coach of the New York Liberty (WNBA) and is expected to lead the DBB women to the 2026 home World Cup in Berlin. Thomaidis resigned from her position last week at her own request.
“Olaf Lange had an outstanding career as a coach and was among the absolute best in the world. He knows the top international level and many German players“, said association president Ingo Weiss. Lange had already been women’s national coach in 1998 and from 2001 to 2003.
“After many years abroad, it is something special for me to return to Germany and be part of this exciting development in German women’s basketball“, said the 53-year-old: “I feel great enthusiasm and anticipation for the tasks ahead and for working with a talented, committed and hungry team.“
National coach Thomaidis quit voluntarily
The DBB announced the early termination of the contract with the Canadian Thomaidis last Friday – eleven months before the start of the World Cup. The reason for this is her professional workload as a coach at the University of Saskatchewan in her home country, which is not compatible with the extensive World Cup preparations, the association said in its statement.
The fact that Thomaidis continued to work at the college in addition to her national coaching duties had been criticized in the recent past. “We still don’t have a full-time national coach in the senior squad,” national player Leonie Fiebich told the Süddeutsche Zeitung in the summer: “She’s in office for the long term, but she also works at college in Canada and doesn’t manage to come and see us players. She doesn’t have the capacity that Gordie (Gordon Herbert, men’s world champion coach/ed.) had.” Under such circumstances, be it “Continues to be difficult for us as a DBB team, also with a view to the home World Cup in 2026”.
DBB women have recently been on the rise
Under Thomaidis, the national team was on the rise. After finishing sixth at the 2023 European Championships, the DBB team qualified for the Olympics for the first time last year and made it to the quarter-finals in Paris. At the European Championships this year, the Germans achieved their best European Championship placement since bronze in 1997 with fifth place.