Lakers News: Dennis Schröder Leads Germany To EuroBasket Bronze Medal
Returning Los Angeles Lakers point guard Dennis Schröder put the finishing touches on a terrific international basketball summer with his stellar performance for Germany in the team's bronze medal game against Poland on Sunday.
After Germany fell to eventual gold medallists Spain in the EuroBasket semifinals, the team had one more opportunity for something of a consolation prize against Poland.
The 6'3" point guard was a huge catalyst for Germany's 82-69 victory against Poland, scoring 26 points on 7-of-10 field goal shooting (including going 4-of-7 from deep) and 8-of-9 free throw shooting, six assists (against eight turnovers), two steals and a rebound. Schröder's homeland captured a medal in a EuroBasket competition for the first time since 2005. Per Eurhoops, this marks only the third medal for Germany in EuroBasket history. The team previously earned the silver medal in 2005 and nabbed gold in 1993.
“That was the goal of the federation, of coach Herbert and for the team and it’s an unbelievable feeling to win a medal in a EuroBasket,” Schröder reflected in his postgame comments.
Per Donatas Urbonas of Basket News, Schröder's best teammate, Orlando Magic small forward Franz Wagner, raved about Schroder's team leadership. "I told him he had [a] hell of a tournament," Franz Wagner said. "Not just playing, but he did great job leading & pushing us as a group. His commitment & leadership gave us confidence. That's a huge part of why we played so well in this tournament."
Germany boasts three NBA-caliber players, while Poland currently fields zero. In addition to Wagner and Schröder, the club also includes veteran big man Daniel Theis, currently with the Indiana Pacers.
For the tournament, the 29-year-old Schröder averaged 22.1 points on .451/.321/.907 shooting splits, 7.1 assists (against a middling 3.5 turnovers), 2.3 rebounds, and 1.1 steals.
Though Franz Wagner may seem to have the brighter NBA future, Schröder outperformed him with the German team in this tournament. Accordingly, Schröder was the lone member of the club to make the EuroBasket All-Tournament Team, tweets Marc Stein.
Is Schröder's spectacular EuroBasket showing a potential harbinger for a bounce back season with the Lakers? We can only hope.
