Pablo Laso tells why he chose Bayern as his next coaching destination / News - Basketnews.com

Laso said that the German basketball being on the rise played a role in his signing with Bayern. The coach wants to build on his legacy instead of relying on it to coach in the EuroLeague.

Credit: Mladen Lackovic/LakoPress - Scanpix Credit Mladen Lackovic/LakoPress - Scanpix

After leading Real Madrid for over a decade, Pablo Laso spent the 2022-23 season without a team. This offseason, he signed with FC Bayern Munich to begin a new chapter in his lengthy coaching career.

Real Madrid was a stacked team with several highest-level options in each position, a perennial EuroLeague contender. In Munich, Laso gets a team that's looking to get back to the playoffs after a one-year break.

The veteran specialist arrives following the 2023 FIBA World Cup, where the German national team took a historic gold.

"I've known Marko Pesic and his whole family for decades, and we have a very good relationship. From the first day I talked to him about Bayern, I felt like we had the same vision," Laso said in an interview with Bayern's website about the reasons why he joined the organization.

"Also, it seems like the ideal moment: German basketball is on the rise, not only because of the World Cup win but also because the league has improved significantly. It was as if something inside me said that I was making the right choice," the coach shared.

A winner of more than 20 trophies with Real Madrid, Laso comes in as one of the biggest names in European basketball. However, he doesn't feel that it should influence the players on the team in any way.

"I'm not the type of person who relies too much on the past. I try to think ahead. Let me share a little secret as an example. If you make 1,500 assists in the Spanish League, you receive a gift. I achieved that as a player," Laso began. "However, I have no idea what it is or what it looks like. It's probably with my mother in Vitoria, my Basque hometown."

"If I hold onto what I've done, I won't get a pass forward. If I were to tell my players, 'Hey, I'm Pablo Laso, the guy who won everything with Real Madrid,' what response do you think I would get? 'Okay, cool, but we are Bayern Munich. We want to win tomorrow. We don't care about what you did before.'"

Bayern start the EuroLeague season with a clash against a well-known opponent, as ALBA Berlin arrive in Munich on October 5th.

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