In the words of Michael Jordan, aka the G.O.A.T.: I’m Back! – But of course, not just referring to myself 😉 but to our Airness himself. More on that in a moment.
The NBA is finally back and, from my perspective, louder than ever. It might be because this summer we managed to become reigning World Champions AND European Champions. And for a country like Germany, which hasn’t historically had much success in basketball, this has led to more and more people in Germany starting to take an interest in basketball – and consequently, the NBA.
Where we can really showcase something with our seven Germans in the NBA. And the upcoming 2025/26 Draft also looks like we could see even more Germans in the NBA next season. Names like Hannes Steinbach, Johann Grunloh, and Christian Anderson – you should remember them already.
But let’s go back briefly to give enough credit where it’s due. World Champion and European Champion – looking at it historically: Germany, with this double achievement, now stands in a pretty elite basketball galaxy. Only three others have done this before us: Spain, of course, the golden basketball nation with Pau Gasol and Ricky Rubio, which seems to have won everything possible. And then two that don’t even exist anymore: the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia. Both basketball giants of their time – long history, but forever legends in the sport.
Germany
• World Champion 2023
• European Champion 2025
Spain
• World Champion 2019, 2006
• European Champion 2009, 2011, 2015, 2022
Former Yugoslavia
• World Champion 1970, 1978, 1990, 2002
• European Champion 1973, 1975, 1977, 1989, 1991
Former Soviet Union
• World Champion 1967, 1974, 1982
• European Champion 1947, 1951, 1953, 1957, 1959, 1961, 1963, 1965, 1967, 1969, 1971, 1979,
1981, 1985, 1995, 1997, and 2001
This had to be mentioned here. Now, back to everyone’s favorite league.
I know I repeat myself every year when I say: We’ve never had this much talent in the league!!!
And how excited I am to see how some new team compositions will actually work out in practice. For me, the biggest change this season will be following the Houston Rockets games, which I will now watch in full – as well as my beloved Blazers, who can now put a team on the floor that might just have a small chance to fight for the last spot in the Play-In Tournament (with a bit of luck and my pink fan glasses). Not to mention how Luka on the Lakers and Jimmy on the Warriors have synced up over the summer – and whether they now have real title chances or it ends up beinganother first-round plaoyoff exit.
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October 20, 2025 – Flight from Frankfurt to Los Angeles:To clear up one of the most frequently asked questions right away, which I received on Instagram:
Why did I cover the Lakers vs. Warriors game on Opening Night instead of OKC vs. Rockets, where the Ring Night was happening? I am still working part-time as a flight attendant and wouldn’t have gotten time off for the season start. And since we weren’t flying to Oklahoma but to Los Angeles, I could combine my two jobs. As much as I would have loved to watch Isaiah Hartenstein receive his championship ring live and KD make his debut, I was just as excited to watch Steph Curry and Luka Doncic – cook their magic 😉
But more on that in a moment. First, I have to announce the big news here – for those who aren’t active on social media and haven’t heard yet. Actually, with the start of the season (which, by the way, is already my fourth that I get to cover), a new area of responsibility opened up for me.
I am thrilled to share that I am now part of Team Sky Sport – and this season, I will not only report on the NBA in writing and on social media, but also live from the arena for Sky Sport. This all came so spontaneously because Sky themselves didn’t know until a few weeks ago that they would get so many games – and only contacted me shortly before the season started.
Luckily, we were able to make it happen in cooperation with the NBA so that I could report live from the Lakers Court. This was the absolute highlight of my NBA journalism career so far. On top of that, Steph Curry happened to be behind me in his warm-up shooting during our live broadcast – simply surreal.
Photo Credit: Adam Pantozzi
It even brought a tear of gratitude to my eye that evening after the game. The funniest part: Sky belongs to NBC – which brings me back to Michael Jordan. He also made his debut on Tuesday night at NBC Sports as a “Special Contributor” in the new series “MJ: Insights to Excellence”, coinciding with the network’s big return to NBA broadcasting after over twenty years. So MJ and I are basically colleagues now 😬 lol.
But seriously: If you, like me, belong to the generation that got to watch His Airness actively on TV, how he amazed us and made us believe that a human could actually fly – it’s almost impossible to put into words seeing him appear on TV again. Even if it was only for a few minutes.
I hope that over time, this will become more. But why now? Here’s what we’ve heard so far: MJ wants to give back to basketball. In a conversation with NBC commentator Mike Tirico, Jordan said he has consciously chosen, after his career, to spend more time with his family rather than constantly being in the public eye. And yet – or perhaps precisely because of that – he feels the urge to pass on what he has experienced and learned.
“I have an obligation to the game of basketball … As a player, it’s my duty to pass on messages of success and dedication to this game,”
Jordan said during halftime of the season opener between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Houston Rockets.
At 62 years old – six-time NBA Champion, Hall of Famer, and so many more titles that would need their own PDF – Michael Jordan says the competitive fire still burns in him, even though he hasn’t touched a basketball in ages.
He explains: “Recently, I rented a house to watch the Ryder Cup. The owner had grandchildren there – and at some point they asked me for a photo and for one single free throw on the court behind the house.”Jordan laughs as he describes the scene.
“I was nervous – more nervous than I’ve been in years.”The reason: “These kids had heard all the stories – from their parents, about what I did thirty years ago. Their expectations were Michael Jordan from back then. But … I hadn’t touched a basketball in ages.”
“I hope you swished it,” said host Mike Tirico.
Jordan grins: “Absolutely. And that made my whole week.”
And then Jordan gets reflective again: “I wish I could just take a magic pill, put on shorts, and go out and play basketball – because that’s just who I am,” he says. “That kind of competition, that feeling of measuring yourself – that’s what I live for. I miss it. I miss exactly that part – challenging myself, the competition I lived for. That’s what I miss about basketball. But … it’s probably better to sit here with you than to tear my Achilles and end up in a wheelchair.”
NBC announced that the next conversation with Tirico will air on October 28 – one of the topics: Load Management.
And guys, what can I say – I am HYPED. Reading that last quote always brings tears to my eyes. I am very curious to hear what he has to say about load management. You’ll definitely get updates from me – because all those Achilles injuries last season didn’t happen by chance.
As MJ’s new colleague, I can now say: Michael – you got this! And I’d be very happy for a few tips from you as well. I also play golf. Maybe a quick 9-hole round could work 😬 🤝
Luckily, during my live pregame broadcast, I had no blackout. If you watched the live broadcast, give me feedback – I always love reading who tuned in. I’ll keep you updated on Instagram about the next live broadcast.
To say a few words about the Lakers and the Warriors: If Steph, Jimmy, and Draymond stay healthy, I see them on a direct playoff spot. You have defense, rim pressure, and outside shooting – everything you need to go far. With the Lakers, it looks a bit different: On paper, they have everything. Theoretically, there’s enough outside shooting, but it doesn’t fall consistently enough for most. The defense comes when all players are on board, often still a bit sloppy and turnover-prone. It will be interesting to see how the team rotation looks when LeBron is back.
How many minutes will he actually play? From a German perspective, it will also be interesting whether they keep Maxi. He only has this one year left with 11 million on his contract – actually too expensive for the Lakers, unless he can truly be that stretch big backup who also provides outside shooting, as he could be when healthy.
During the pregame press conference, I asked JJ Redick if he could give us some thoughts on how it must feel for Maxi, who just fully recovered from his foot surgery and now suffered a thigh strain in preparation.
JJ said: “Yes, I feel so incredibly sorry for him. He came up to me and asked: JJ, why does this happen to me again? I try to do everything right. I eat healthy, train every day, take care of myself, treat my body well – why?” And I can’t answer that. But we are here for him.”
I sincerely hope Maxi returns fully fit soon and can show everyone what he still has in him. I believe he still has a lot in the tank.Later postgame, I also had a good interview with Quinten Post – a follow-up to my last one, which you can also read here. That will be online in the coming days.
Since I’ve already written way too much (and I hope you made it this far), I’ll end here – and I can’t wait to tell you more.
Until then, your Flight Girl
