When the New Jersey native was just three, he started dribbling a ball. His dad was into sports and his brother, two years older, was already bouncing the ball around. He wanted to follow in his brother’s footsteps. They were competitive about everything - even who could eat the fastest. Now, Ryan Thompson is a leading player for Bonn’s Baskets and his older brother Jason is playing basketball in China after 8 years in the NBA - America’s National Basketball Association. Ryan Thompson never really thought about playing basketball overseas until the option came to light when he was in college. The dream was always about playing in the NBA. Since he began his overseas journey, he has played for teams in Italy, Belgium, Serbia, Turkey and now in Germany. “Europe’s been good for me,” he says.

Thompson is now 28 years-old but when he left New Jersey, he was the youngest in his family and the first to embrace the global sports experience when he left the U.S. in 2011. “We’re a close family so it was hard for the baby to leave the nest,” he says thoughtfully. A humble and introspective person, he admits he didn’t know anything about living overseas. There were the small but important details like what kind of electrical adaptor one might need and then there was everything else that comes with cultural adaptation. “When I first got to Italy and stepped out of the plane, I couldn’t read a sign, that was the first culture shock,” he recalls.

Bonn attracted Thompson because he had a friend playing on the team, Ryan Brooks, and he had heard good things about playing in Bonn. He was looking for a “stable situation” that would allow him to “get back to enjoying the game.” 2015 was a rough year with a team change at mid-season from Serbia to Turkey. It was not a good experience, “ I was contemplating hanging the shoes up last year,” he says. In Bonn, players know they will receive their salaries - which doesn’t seem to be the case everywhere.

He is thriving in Bonn and although he recently scored a whopping 27 points against Bremerhaven, he says, “You can’t worry about how many points you score, you have to take it day by day and play the next game.” When he talks about his love of the sport and the thrill of competition, his eyes light up. The competitive streak that was nourished by growing up with his older brother is very strong and motors him forward. But he has experienced the ups and downs of the game and he is not about celebrating himself. He’s a team player, and right now he says “I feel like I’m helping the team in the right direction.”

For Thompson, the hardest part about living overseas is “being away from my family for so long”. He talks to his brother in China every day. They played two years together at Rider University in New Jersey and are very close, living together in Philadelphia in the off-season. Family members and friends come to visit him overseas, and his parents watch all of the Telekom Baskets games online - from the Bonn Telekom Dome to their New Jersey living room.

Training and practices keep the pro-basketball player very busy with around 6-8 hours a day. There’s weights, drills, sports therapy, fitness routines, game practice and the rest. So he hasn’t made it to a German Christmas market yet, although he and his teammates do go into the city for dinner sometimes. He adds with a smile that standing around a Christmas market is cold, and he doesn’t like to wear jackets; he’s strictly a hoodie guy.

When asked how much longer he can imagine playing basketball overseas and what he might do afterwards, Thompson quickly responds that basketball is also a part of his future. His passion for the sport is obvious and he says at Rider University they’ve always told him he would be welcome to come back and coach. That’s something he could well imagine doing.

But for now, the American basketball talent is here for the Rhineland enthusiasts. Thompson says the people and fans in Bonn are very supportive, and that there is a big build-up to each game because they take place only once a week. The crowds look forward to the big event and cheer the team on with loads of enthusiasm. The Telekom Baskets have an extremely dedicated following which spurs on the team.

For anyone who wants to experience the excitement of the Basket games in Bonn, here are some links for the season schedule and how to get tickets: