The two-time EuroLeague champion returns to the club where he played for 11 years
Baskonia appoints Pablo Laso as head coach
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Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz has shocked the European basketball community by appointing Pablo Laso as its new head coach on a three-year deal.
The news comes hours after Laso's departure from FC Bayern Munich was confirmed due to family reasons.
Laso is a two-time Turkish Airlines EuroLeague champion as a head coach, lifting the trophy in 2015 and 2018 with Real Madrid. The 56-year-old spent 10 seasons in charge of Los Blancos, leading the team to a 213-97 record in 310 EuroLeague games.
Last summer, Laso surprised many by joining FC Bayern Munich. While Bayern's EuroLeague campaign didn't go to plan, posting a 13-21 record, he was able to lift the German League and German Cup titles.
For Laso, heading to Baskonia is a homecoming of sorts, as he made his professional debut there as a player in 1984 and remained at the club until 1995.
In that time, the Vitoria-Gasteiz-born coach played in 370 games, provided 1,951 assists and lifted the club's first Spanish Cup title as MVP.
As a head coach, Laso has been synonymous with success. Under his stewardship, Real Madrid reached seven out of a possible 10 Final Fours, while the capital club won 22 trophies with Laso at the helm: two EuroLeague titles, six Spanish League crowns, six Spanish Cups, seven Spanish Super Cups, and one FIBA Intercontinental Cup.
In the 2014-15 and 2017-18 seasons, when Real Madrid became EuroLeague champions, Laso was named as the EuroLeague Coach of the Year in each of those campaigns.
Now, 29 years after leaving Baskonia as a player, Laso is back at his hometown team.