Pic credit: JNZ-Loco

Some players just have that winner´s gene in them. The ability to be on a team and just lead his teammates through a season and win that chip at the end. One of those special players is Miles Mallory (196-F, college: RMC, agency: Highlight Athletes). Besides having the same name as me which is rare and nice to see, he is a guy that at the age of 24 has already won 6 chips in his career. He has built that extra foundation of having achieved titles at the college and pro level. He won 4 straight ODAC titles at Randolph-Macon College (NCAA3) and then came overseas and as a rookie did it again with the Seeburg College Wizards Karlsruhe (Germany-Regionalliga). After not winning last season with the ROTH Energie Giessen Pointers (Germany-Regionalliga),he rebounded this season and bang won another dub with another new team TSG Reutlingen (Germany-Regionalliga). The only difference to his rookie season was that this time, it was more difficult as he had to earn it with 6 extra games as the playoffs were there which wasn´t the case the first time 2 years ago. “2026 had more emotions behind it just because it was 2 series that both went the full 3 games. The struggle made the championship feel greater. In 2024 we had a great team as well but I think with about 3 games to go we had a feeling that we were going to win the trophy already. This time when the buzzer sounded I took a deep sigh and I was full of joy and happiness. I saw all of my teammates’ faces. We worked so hard for this and I am glad that it was this group that won it”, remembered Miles Mallory. Another special dimension added to his second pro chip was that he helped produce it against his old team from Karlsruhe. “It meant everything to win not because it was my old team but knowing what a championship means to my teammates, my personal career and the city. It was surreal to play my former team in the final especially since there’s a good amount of guys I played with. These are guys that helped me jumpstart my career with their unselfishness and I always will appreciate that. In the first game of the series we did a great job passing the ball. Nemanja was great finding guys all game on cuts. In the second they played better and were definitely tougher. And in the 3rd game we were first to loose balls and creating extra possessions. The 3rd game was a grind it was very low scoring and we just carved out a couple more plays to earn that win. Very proud od us getting our hands dirty”, stressed Miles Mallory. Another special aspect to the final was battling legend John Stockton´s son Sam. “He is a smart player just like his dad. Worked well with screens and had a lot of backdoor cuts. Good timing off the ball and he worked well with Karlsruhe with their movement. Yeah I was aware it is really cool to see that develop this year and for him to get an opportunity to represent his family’s name”, said Miles Mallory.

Miles and Miles in Limburg in 2024

The Maryland native came back to Germany in August 2025 to Reutlingen a pretty small town in southern Germany. It didn´t take him long to get that feeling that there could be something unique about his new club. Could he already find early traces of a championship team? “I would have believed if someone had said we could win a title as there was a lot of faith in this group from the first day of seeing this team”, added Miles Mallory. However the season didn´t begin with a bang as it lost against Saarlouis. However after that it won 15 of 16 games. “We lost that first game and then got down 20 at Giessen in the second game before coming back. We got tested in those first 6 quarters of the season. And yeah we did great bouncing back and starting to become a machine with fastbreak points. Those games were really important to see what type of actions on offense were working and not working. And we really started to figure it out after the loss to the Panthers”, stated Miles Mallory. However even title teams have growing pains which they experienced losing 3 of 4 games. “We had a tough time winning the possession battle. Against Urspring and the Panthers we turned it over a lot and could not close the deal late game. Then Against Lich we collapsed and then Jonas Harper hit some huge shots to force overtime”, remembered Miles Mallory. The team then finished the season strong with a 6 game winning streak. How key was finishing the season off strong? “It was very important. Because those losses allowed Karlsruhe and Urspring to close the gap on the 2nd seed in the playoffs. Finishing strong allowed us to play at home in both series for game 1 and game 3. We got to integrate new players in there for that final stretch which also allowed us to play with different lineups for the playoffs. Reutlingen then beat Ehingen in a 3 games series. The team showed a lot of character during adversary and pulled out the series. “We took pride in our defense especially in game 3. Game 2 they beat us off the dribble a lot and we also turned it over a ton early in that game. Game 3 we were more aggressive on the ball and kept them out of the paint with some good help also. We were mentally strong that game and I think it showed in the second half”, commented Miles Mallory. The finals was no cake walk as TSG Reutlingen had to give all they had again in 3 games to be crowned champion over Karlsruhe. “It felt amazing. This was the longest season of my career physically and mentally. Just a lot riding on this season. This was my 3rd year on the regio level and really wanted to win my way out and move on to the next level. So this time it really feels like we achieved something great. I played with a great team and a great group of guys who all cared just as much as I do about winning the right way”, stressed Miles Mallory.

The incredible rebounder who compares his came to NBA player Jalen Smith of the Chicago Bulls will never forget what the massive secret was for TSG Reutlingen being so consistent and successful for 8 months. “We were great in the fastbreak and moved the ball well ahead. Everyone on our roster took and made 3s which is a great thing to have. It really opened up the floor for our players who could drive the ball. All of those qualities made our fast break really dangerous and it shined in games we needed it most”, said Miles Mallory. The team was filled with a roster of great players and characters that all bought in to what head coach Rodrigo Reynoso wanted and built a team chemistry that always grew as the season wore on. “He is a coach that expresses his mission with a lot of passion. He brought and edge to this group. And he empowered all of us to be more and do our strengths and that was really helpful”, remembered Miles Mallory. 2 teammates that were ultra vital for the success of the club were the guard duo of Vito Barbarosa And Noel Duarte. “It felt that no one could keep Noel in front. He was one of our captains. He played with a lot of toughness and physicality and the rest of the team fed off of that. He would take challenges to guard the other team’s best perimeter player which is exactly what you want out of a captain. Vito is very gifted and had a lot of different shot types that he was good at. Could get hot really fast and opened up the floor a lot because the defense could not leave him. He also had a good hand and forced a lot of turnovers. We also had Lino Killian John Valentin who made a great impact and gave us a lot of options to switch gameplans”, warned Miles Mallory. He was reunited with Nemanja Nadjfeji, the son of easyCredit BBL legend Aleksandar who had been his teammate last season in Giessen. “It was great being reunited with him again. Nemanja is the best passer in this league and for the last two years he routinely found me on cuts. He would often direct traffic for us offensively and we were almost always organized with him giving out directions as he was our other captain. It was good to have him and Valentin back as teammates. Familiar faces made connecting with the rest of the team easier”, added Miles Mallory.

The prolific scorer who lists NBA player Immanuel Quickly as his toughest cover ever in his career had another great statistical season in the German Regionalliga. In his first 2 seasons overseas he averaged 18/9/1/1/1 and with Reutlingen showed again his consistency averaging 18/8/1/1/1. “I felt like it was a good season. I would have loved to have cleaned up missing free throws but that didn’t work out so well. This year is probably the most I have put the ball on the floor and I also was able to play well in transition. Made the majority of my shots and had a clear vision for most games of where and when to shoot”, said Miles Mallory. He scored double figures in 29 games and had 10 double doubles and was able to grow as a player again. “I think from the field and from 3 this is the best I have ever shot the ball. Also I think I was better in isolation situations”, expressed Miles Mallory. He shot 46% from outside which was the best ever in his career. Did he change anything up on his mechanics, or was it just better shot selection or more reps than usual? “I searched for some fixes to make sure the ball is coming out straighter and cleaner. I watched some videos on youtube and then I practiced a lot cleaning up my mistakes and getting my shot off a little faster”, remembered Miles Mallory. He also as usual displayed his 2-way qualities again. He showed that he could grow again as a defender. “I was able to play defense in the paint and perimeter this year more than ever. The first thing is the conditioning. I was always able to play basically all 40 minutes. But I was not always explosive for as long as I wanted to be in games. This year that changed and it allowed me to be better for longer games and as the season went on. And just tried to pay attention to detail. Guarded a lot of great players but always took the challenge and just continued no matter the result”, added Miles Mallory. He scored 20 points or more 14 times and had a 32 point explosion against Ulm and 30 points against PS Karlsruhe 2. It wasn´t an easy choice to pick his personal favorite own performance of the season. “For the regular season it was the first game against the wizards where I hit the game winner was a crazy moment. But in the playoffs I would say the 3rd game vs Ehingen we played great defense and on that and-1 that I had late that was probably one of the loudest pops I have heard from our fans. Nothing beats winning a championship though”, stressed Miles Mallory. He is a serious competitor that never ceases to get better and will be in the lab again this summer working on his craft. “ I will work on dribbling for sure and attacking more with the ball in my hands in transition. I have to keep working on my off hand and continue to get a lot of reps shooting in different situations. I also want to work on getting my right leg stronger so I can generate more power off of two feet when I get in the lane”, warned Miles Mallory. So what is the next step for Miles Mallory. Staying in Reutlingen and playing pro B seems like a logical choice. “If everything works out with the license and contracts I would really like to be back in Reutlingen in Pro B. I have been waiting 3 years for a chance to move up so this is finally a chance that I have to do that”, stressed Miles Mallory. 3 could be a charm as Miles Mallory´s Pro B dream with TSG Reutlingen could become a reality.