Justin Bean says his team Alba Berlin was the big “underdog” in Germany’s top professional basketball league last season.
No one expected that a team with an albatross as its mascot would make a magical breakthrough, much less that they would win the championship.
But in the decisive fifth leg of the final, Alba Berlin were trailing by 20 points at half-time inside FC Bayern Munich’s noisy arena.
Beane, a 6-foot-7 former Utah State Aggie and member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said his coach’s message in the half was simple: “Play with no regrets. Give it everything you’ve got.”
“I don’t think anyone expected to win because it was such a wide margin,” Bean said, adding that through belief, hard work, unity, fighting and a little bit of luck, the team managed to pull off an unlikely comeback.
On June 21, Alba Berlin defeated FC Bayern Munich 84–81, and Bean was named Finals MVP with 18 points, 12 rebounds, and 5 assists.
“They’re already calling it ‘Das Wunderspiel,’ or ‘The Miracle Game,'” Bean said with a laugh.
The championship also had deep personal meaning for Bean, who initially struggled on the courts in Berlin. Off the court, he and his wife, Claire Bean, enjoyed serving in their local Latter-day Saint ward and raising a family.
“Heavenly Father is everywhere you need us, and we have certainly felt that in our little family,” he told Church News. “We are very blessed.”
life in germany
In 2023, Beane finished his G League season with the Memphis Hustle and was playing on the Boston Celtics’ summer league team when he was offered a three-year contract with Alba Berlin.
It was a rare opportunity for an American with no overseas experience, but the team’s general manager said Beane had a “gut feeling.”
The 29-year-old forward said his first two seasons in Berlin were “not great” with a lot of defeats, but he continued to learn, work hard and improve.
Over the past three years, playing for Alba Berlin has taken Bean to countries across the continent, including Italy, Greece, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Czech Republic, Serbia, Azerbaijan, and Lithuania.
At the same time, Bean and his wife welcomed their first two children, 2-year-old son Logan and 7-month-old daughter Emery. The family attended the Berlin Ward of the Berlin German Stake. Bean served as a ward missionary and Young Men counselor. Claire Bean served as a counselor in the Relief Society presidency.
share the gospel
After daughter Emery was born, Beane’s teammates celebrated by filling her locker with tons of diapers and wipes. Claire Bean suggested her husband invite the team to bless their daughter’s baby at Sunday church service, and he did.
Half the team showed up. One teammate’s wife told Beans that she was grateful for the “calm peace” of the meeting, that it moved her and reminded her that she is a daughter of God.
Teammates teased Beane about not drinking, but when the beer and champagne flowed after the win, they made sure Beane had a soda on hand to celebrate. His teammates praise his faith and constant optimism.
“Even though they didn’t understand me sometimes, they respected it and protected me in many ways,” said Bean, a returned missionary (Nevada Reno Mission). He wasn’t shy about sharing the gospel with his basketball family.
“When people ask me why I don’t drink, party, or even use bad language, I say, ‘It’s because I love myself and I love these guidelines. It makes our family happy.'”
“Good life”
Bean will likely return for a fourth season with Alba Berlin.
On his last Sunday in Berlin before heading to the United States to visit family, Bean attended sacrament meeting and reflected on the past three years, especially his early struggles when he wondered if he could make it abroad.
Then he reflected on his championship season and felt a message from the Holy Spirit and the Lord. “When have I ever given you a reason to doubt me?”
“He never gave us a reason to doubt God, and that’s what I really take away from this experience,” Bean said.
A passage from the late President Russell M. Nelson’s “The Heart of the Matter” also gave Bean a new perspective.
“Gratitude may not come easily. We may think that if everything is not going well in our lives, we have nothing to be grateful for. But in fact, the opposite is true. Even hardships and hardships are not only part of life, but part of a good life.”
