Maik Zirbes (born 29 January 1990[1]) is a German professional basketball player for Gladiators Treves of the German ProA. He also represents the senior German national basketball team in the international competitions. Standing at 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in), he plays the center position.

Maik Zirbes
Zirbes with Germany in 2017
No. 33 – S.L. Benfica
PositionCenter
LeagueLiga Portuguesa de Basquetebol
Personal information
Born (1990-01-29) 29 January 1990 (age 34)
Traben-Trarbach, West Germany
Listed height2.08 m (6 ft 10 in)
Listed weight121 kg (267 lb)
Career information
NBA draft2012: undrafted
Playing career2007–present
Career history
2007–2012TBB Trier
2010Saar-Pfalz Braves
2012–2014Brose Baskets
2014–2016Crvena zvezda
2016–2017Maccabi Tel Aviv
2017Bayern Munich
2017–2018Bayern Munich
2018–2019Crvena zvezda
2019Guangxi Rhinos
2019–2020Cedevita Olimpija
2020–2021Shabab Al Ahli
2021–2022Crvena zvezda
2022–2023Benfica
2023–presentGladiators Treves
Career highlights and awards

Early career

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Zirbes first played soccer, but opted to focus on basketball when he was 12 years old. He started his basketball career in the youth set up of TBB Trier before signing his first professional contract with TBB at the age of 17.[2] In the 2008–09 campaign, Zirbes was named Most Valuable Player of the German youth league NBBL.[3]

Professional career

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Zirbes played with TBB Trier until signing a three-year contract with Brose Baskets in June 2012.[4]

On 5 August 2014, Zirbes signed a two-year deal with the Serbian team Crvena zvezda.[5] In his first 2014–15 season with the club, Crvena zvezda won the Adriatic League championship, the Serbian League championship and the Radivoj Korać Cup. In June 2015, he exercised his player option for the 2015–16 season.[6]

On 13 June 2016, Zirbes signed a two-year contract with the Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv.[7] On 24 January 2017, Zirbes returned to Germany and signed with Bayern Munich on loan, till the end of the season.[8] On 30 July 2017 Zirbes signed a two-year contract extension with Bayern Munich.[9]

On 17 July 2018, Zirbes returned to Crvena zvezda.[10][11] During his one-year stint with KK Crvena zvezda, Zirbes averaged 7.7 points and 4 rebounds in just over 15 minutes per game. His best game was on 8 October 2018 in a 87–71 win against KK Budućnost in the round 2 of the ABA League regular season, where he scored 19 points and grabbed 6 rebounds in 22 minutes. After being cut from the roster for the Basketball League of Serbia, on 3 May 2019, Zirbes signed for the Guangxi Rhinos of the National Basketball League (China).[12]

On 26 September 2019, Zirbes signed with Cedevita Olimpija of the Slovenian League.[13]

On 12 July 2020, Zirbes signed with Shabab Al Ahli of the UAE National Basketball League.[14] On 15 September 2021, he signed with Crvena zvezda until the end of 2021, with an option to extend it for the season.[15] He left the Zvezda on 21 June 2022.[16] In August 2022, Zirbes signed for Benfica of the Liga Portuguesa de Basquetebol.[17] In September 2023, he signed with Gladiators Treves of the German ProA.[18]

National team career

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Zirbes playing with Germany during the EuroBasket 2015 qualifiers in August 2014

Zirbes represented the German Junior National Teams at the 2008 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship[19] and the 2010 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship.[20] He was handed his first cap with the senior German national basketball team in August 2009, when Germany took on the Netherlands.[21] In 2013, Zirbes was a member of Germany's roster at the 2013 EuroBasket, in Slovenia.[22]

Career statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  PIR  Performance Index Rating
 Bold  Career high

EuroLeague

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2012–13 Bamberg 23 23 19.7 .535 .000 .786 5.0 .6 .7 .4 8.2 7.7
2013–14 10 9 18.8 .508 .000 .652 4.8 .7 .1 .2 8.1 6.7
2014–15 Crvena zvezda 24 0 13.0 .622 .000 .688 3.3 .3 .5 .4 5.2 6.2
2015–16 27 26 25.2 .604 .000 .677 6.1 .7 .9 .6 12.4 14.3
2016–17 Maccabi 15 2 15.2 .682 .000 .780 3.0 .3 .3 .3 8.1 8.1
Career 84 58 19.4 .574 .000 .691 4.8 .6 .4 .4 8.7 9.3

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Maik Zirbes | EuroBasket 2015". www.eurobasket2015.org. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  2. ^ ""Was du tust, tu es zu 100 Prozent!" | inFranken.de". inFranken.de. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  3. ^ "Awards der Nachwuchs Basketball Bundesliga – NBBL". NBBL und JBBL (in German). Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  4. ^ "Brose Baskets inks big man Zirbes". Euroleague.net. 21 June 2012. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
  5. ^ "Cirbes potpisao za Zvezdu". kkcrvenazvezda.rs (in Serbian). Archived from the original on 7 August 2014. Retrieved 5 August 2014.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  6. ^ "Maik Zirbes doesn't opt out, remains with Crvena Zvezda". sportando.com. 30 June 2015. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  7. ^ "Maccabi signs frontcourt duo Miller, Zirbes". Euroleague.net. 13 June 2016. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  8. ^ "Maik Zirbes officially joins Bayern Munich". sportando.com. 24 January 2017. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
  9. ^ "Maik Zirbes stays in Munich". sportando.com. 30 July 2017. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
  10. ^ "Maik Zirbes back at Crvena zvezda mts". aba-liga.com. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  11. ^ "Crvena Zvezda brings back Zirbes". eurocupbasketball.com. Archived from the original on 17 July 2018. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
  12. ^ Maik Zirbes wechselt in die Vereinigten Arabischen Emirate basketball.de, 13 July 2020. Accessed 3 December 2021.(in German)
  13. ^ "Maik Zirbes joins KK Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana". Sportando. 26 September 2019. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
  14. ^ "Maik Zirbes signs with Shabab Al Ahli". Sportando. 12 July 2020. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
  15. ^ Carchia, Emiliano (15 September 2021). "Maik Zirbes signs with KK Crvena Zvezda". Sportando. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  16. ^ "Majk Cirbes zvanično napustio Crvenu zvezdu". mozzartsport.com. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
  17. ^ "CIRBES IMA NOVI KLUB: Bivši centar Zvezde će igrati u FIBA Ligi šampiona". novosti.rs. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  18. ^ "Basketballer Maik Zirbes kehrt zurück zu den Gladiators Trier". swr.de (in German). Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  19. ^ "Maik Zirbes | U18 European Championship Men (2008) | FIBA Europe". www.fibaeurope.com. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  20. ^ "Maik Zirbes | U20 European Championship Men (2010) | FIBA Europe". www.fibaeurope.com. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  21. ^ "DBB-Herren unterliegen der Niederlande « Deutscher Basketball Bund". www.basketball-bund.de. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  22. ^ "Maik Zirbes | EuroBasket (2013) | FIBA Europe". www.fibaeurope.com. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
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