After playing four seasons in the NBA from 2019-2023, Isaiah Roby spent the 2023/24 campaign in the G League trying to earn another NBA deal. Now, he’s heading overseas for the first time in his professional career, having signed a contract with Ratiopharm Ulm, the German club announced in a press release (hat tip to Sportando).
“We are convinced that Isaiah will have a very big impact on our team this season on and off the court,” said head coach Ty Harrelson. “We were looking for a player with his experience. After meeting him on the sidelines of the NBA Summer League, it was clear that he would fit our idea of the new team.”
A 6’8″ power forward who has also been used as a small-ball center, Roby was the No. 45 overall pick of the 2019 draft. He technically spent four-plus months of his rookie campaign as a member of the Mavericks, who traded him to the Thunder in January 2020.
Roby played parts of three seasons with Oklahoma City, appearing in 109 games, including 62 starts (21.9 minutes per contest). He was released in July 2022 and claimed off waivers by the Spurs, spending most of the 2022/23 campaign with San Antonio.
The Spurs cut Roby loose in March of last year. On the last day of the ’22/23 regular season he signed a multiyear deal with the Knicks, who waived Roby’s non-guaranteed contract in October. He re-signed with the Knicks a few days later on an Exhibit 10 contract before being cut again to ensure he’d receive a bonus for playing for their G League affiliate in Westchester.
Roby, 26, averaged 13.6 points, 8.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.7 blocks on .457/.375/.633 shooting in 26 total games last season for Westchester (27.2 minutes). Overall, he holds career NBA averages of 7.7 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists on .485/.351/.675 shooting in 151 games (18.9 minutes).
Ratiopharm Ulm competes in Germany’s top basketball division, having finished fifth (out of 18 teams) last season. Ulm won the BBL for the first time in ’22/23.