Toronto Raptors point guard Dennis Schroder was expected to put on a solid showing for the German national team in the 2023 FIBA World Cup, but he blew those predictions out of the water. Overcoming Luka Doncic and the favored Americans, Schroder’s Germany took home the gold medal.
Schroder was named the MVP of the tournament for his efforts, as he averaged 19.1 points and 6.1 assists per game. Germany had some NBA plays on their roster, like Franz Wagner and Daniel Theis, but Schroder consistently took down teams with more talent.
The 29-year-old Schroder put together a performance that will echo throughout the ages of this competition, as he joined a group of just six players that have earned World Cup MVP honors. The club he just joined is populated by some of the best players in NBA history.
Pau Gasol and fellow German Dirk Nowitzki are already in the Hall of Fame, while Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving assuredly will be when their careers are over. Schroder joins those four immortals and Ricky Rubio (who is good!) as the only players to win FIBA World Cup MVP this century.
FIBA World Cup MVPs this century:
— Bryan Fonseca 🇵🇷 (@BryanFonsecaNY) September 10, 2023
2002: Dirk Nowitzki
2006: Pau Gasol
2010: Kevin Durant
2014: Kyrie Irving
2019: Ricky Rubio
2023: DENNIS SCHRODER#FIBAWC
Raptors’ Dennis Schroder joins elite MVP club after FIBA World Cup win
Schroder managed to overcome a 4-26 stinker in a nail-biter against Latvia and still put together an unblemished 8-0 run in this tournament. Some of those wins came against names like Doncic, Anthony Edwards, and Lauri Markkanen at various stages of the tournament.
Schroder scored consistently despite the fact Germany had only three other players on NBA rosters, one of whom (Franz Wagner) missed some time with an ankle injury. Schroder was the one trusted to take the clutch shots, and he made a good chunk of them.
This momentum should carry over to the Raptors’ season. While it remains unknown if Schroder will become the team’s starting point guard or move to a Sixth Man role while Scottie Barnes takes over that role. No matter what he ends up doing, look for Toronto to lean on him heavily.
https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1700890019991617769
Schroder is not as good a player as Fred VanVleet, but his Germany play shows that when empowered with a significant degree of offensive responsibility, he can make magic happen. Schroder might make Masai Ujiri look even smarter if he even approximates his German production with Toronto.