Sylvain Francisco, a former Bayern Munich player who now plays for Zalgiris, recently spoke on social media about his experience with the German club and a roster that, on paper, looked extremely impressive.
The discussion started after Basketball Sphere raised a simple but intriguing question about Bayern’s former lineup.
Claim Now And I’m still thinking about that, how come we finished 15th with that roster 😪 https://t.co/obhZauShiP
— Sylvain Francisco (@S_CISCO_2) March 14, 2026
“From this distance, how powerful did that Bayern team actually look? With players like Carsen Edwards, Sylvain Francisco, Andreas Obst, Nick Weiler-Babb, Vladimir Lucic, Leandro Bolmaro, Isaac Bonga, Devin Booker, and Serge Ibaka all on the same roster, many wondered where that team would stand in the EuroLeague today.”
Sylvain Francisco responded to that question with a short but telling comment.
“And I am still thinking about that, how come we finished 15th with that roster… The team spirit was good actually, just lack of experience I will say. On paper it looks amazing to be honest, but I just feel like it was like of experience that was our big issue sometimes.”
Looking at the individual quality of those players today only makes the question even more interesting.
Carsen Edwards has developed into one of the best shooters in the EuroLeague, while Andreas Obst is also widely recognized as one of the elite perimeter threats in European basketball.
At the same time, Nick Weiler-Babb has emerged as one of the top defensive players in the EuroLeague. Leandro Bolmaro is currently playing some of the best basketball of his career with Milano, while Isaac Bonga has become one of the most impactful two way players in the competition, capable of contributing on both ends of the floor.
In the frontcourt, the duo of Devin Booker and Serge Ibaka sounded extremely impressive on paper and looked like a strong combination in the paint.
However, despite all that talent, Bayern Munich finished only 15th in the EuroLeague standings that season.
It is clear that roster had the potential to achieve much more, but it never truly delivered. The answer to why that happened remains unclear, even to Sylvain Francisco, who is currently enjoying one of the best seasons of his career with Zalgiris and has established himself as one of the most productive players in European basketball this year.
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