Bayern adds center Leon Kratzer

The big man has played for Bayern head coach Gordon Herbert on two occasions in the past

FC Bayern Munich added another piece to its frontcourt by signing center Leon Kratzer, the club announced Wednesday.

Kratzer (2.12 meters, 28 years old) arrives from Paris Basketball, where he made his EuroLeague debut last season.

In 27 appearances, all off the bench, Kratzer scored a total of 17 points and averaged 2.4 rebounds, all while playing just below 10 minutes per game. He also helped Paris win the French League title, but appeared in only seven games, grabbing 4.3 rebounds in those games along with 1.3 points.

A season earlier, Kratzer helped Paris win the BKT EuroCup, averaging 5.4 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.0 blocks.

Kratzer joined Paris in the summer of 2023 from Telekom Baskets Bonn, where he became a Basketball Champions League winner. His two years in the French capital were his only period outside his native Germany.

In 2011, Kratzer moved as a 14-year-old from his hometown club BBC Bayreuth to the youth system of Brose Bamberg and played with their affiliate teams at the time, Breitengusbach and Baunach. From the third division, he advanced to the German second division, where he was named Player of the Season in 2017. The following year, he played in the German elite for Wurzburg, then had a brief return to Bamberg in 2018.

Kratzer then joined the Skyliners Frankfurt, where he played for current Bayern head coach Gordon Herbert and made his EuroCup debut in the 2018-19 campaign. From there, he moved to Bonn, where he spent three seasons.

Kratzer also has 15 appearances for the German national team, also under Coach Herbert.