Raptors' Dennis Schröder Named FIBA World Cup MVP
Dennis Schröder will be bringing some new hardware to his first season with the Toronto Raptors.
The 29-year-old point guard took him the FIBA World Cup MVP after leading Germany to an 83-77 gold medal victory over Serbia on Sunday morning. He led the way with a game-high 28 points in the final on 9-for-17 shooting with two assists.
It was a nearly perfect tournament for Schröder who did have one slipup for the undefeated Germans. He turned in a 4-for-26 shooting performance in the quarterfinals against Latvia that nearly sunk Germany. It led to a small altercation with the German coach Gordon Herbert, but Schröder bounced back with much to lead Germany past the United States in the semifinals and onto the final.
Schröder finished the tournament averaging 19.1 points with 6.1 assists per game while shooting 43.5% from the floor and 32.7% from behind the arc. His lack of shooting, just 2.2 made three-pointers per game, could be an issue for Toronto this year but he proved in the World Cup that he’s a crafty finisher who can penetrate the paint and create chaos for opposing defenses.
As for the World Cup All-Tournament team, Schröder was joined by Canadian Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Anthony Edwards, and Luka Doncic. Gilgeous-Alexander became the first Canadian ever named to a men’s FIBA All-Tournament.
Serbia took home the silver at the tournament while Canada clinched bronze thanks to an overtime victory over the United States. Latvia and Lithuania finished fifth and sixth, respectively.
