He heads back to the German side after three and a half years at Valencia.
Martin Hermannsson seals return to ALBA
Article
3 Mins read
ALBA Berlin has announced the signing of Martin Hermannsson, who previously played for the club between 2018 and 2020, on a contract that lasts until 2026. Hermannsson (1.93 meters, 29 years old) heads back to ALBA after spending the last three and a half years at Valencia Basket. The guard underwent knee surgery prior to the 2023-24 campaign before making his first appearance of the season in Round 15 in mid-December. In four EuroLeague games this season, Hermannsson has averaged 3.0 points and 1.8 assists in a bench role.
Making his name at ALBA
Hermannsson played for KR Basket in his native Iceland between 2009 and 2014, before spending two years in college at Long Island University in the United States. Upon his return to Europe, he suited up for Etoile Charleville-Mezieres in the French second tier in the 2016-17 season, then the following campaign saw him get a chance in the French top flight with Champagne Chalons-Reims. He did enough to then earn a move to ALBA in the summer of 2018.
At ALBA, Hermannsson helped the team reach the 2018-19 BKT EuroCup Finals and thus secure a place in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, averaging 12.7 points, 1.7 rebounds and 4.6 assists across 20 games. That was his first campaign in the EuroCup and he took to it like a duck to water. He made a similar transition to the EuroLeague, posting 10.9 points, 1.6 rebounds and 4.8 assists in 27 games.
Domestically, Hermannsson became a German League champion with ALBA in 2019-20 and was also selected to the All-German League Second Team in the same season.
Ending a ‘dream’ spell in Valencia
Hermannsson was named as Valencia’s second captain prior to the season, showing just how much he was valued – on and off the court – by head coach Alex Mumbru. However, injury troubles and the addition of Kevin Pangos has seen Valencia decide to move on from the Icelandic guard.
For Hermannsson, playing at Valencia was something that he had dreamt of after seeing his uncle and mentor Jon Stefansson play for the club. “I always had a little dream of hopefully playing here one day as well," Hermannsson told Euroleague.net in January 2021. "So it's kind of funny that it's happening right now."
Hermannsson’s first season at Valencia saw him impress off the bench, averaging 6.9 points, 1.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 29 EuroLeague games, before he went on to post 8.6 points, 1.0 rebound and 5.2 assists in a bigger role as Valencia played in the EuroCup in 2021-22. The last two seasons have been tough for Hermannsson, though.
A torn ACL injury in the 2021-22 Spanish League Playoffs saw Hermannsson limited to just four EuroLeague appearances for Valencia in 2022-23, then he has only played the same number of games this year after dealing with another knee injury. Now, he will hope to put that behind him as he heads back to ALBA, which will lean on his experience to guide a young roster.