The Argument Against Ex-Thunder PG Dennis Schröder's 'Best Team' Comment
How much weight does winning a championship hold on a players' outlook of it?
It's a query that may seem self explanatory. Naturally, if a player wins a ring with any given team, they're likely to have nice things to say, and if it doesn't go so well, the year can be forgotten amongst the rest. But there might be more to it than that.
Eighteen-year veteran Chris Paul has been a part of plenty of squads in his career, but when asked about his top years in the NBA, he called out his time with the 2019-2020 Oklahoma City Thunder — something that wouldn't necessarily be expected.
“That year I played in Oklahoma City is something I’ll never forget,” Paul said. “The relationship I got with my teammates and fans. The fans were amazing. I always hate that that season got cut short because of COVID-19. That was a big season, big summer for me, going through things I hadn’t gone through since I’d been in the league.”
That year, Paul averaged 17.6 points and 6.7 assists — a mark that he hasn't reached since — and helped lead the Thunder to the first round of the playoffs, but didn't win a championship. Yet, that team still made his list of all-time.
Toronto Raptors point guard Dennis Schröder was also on that team, alongside Paul. He finished 0.1 points per game behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on the stat sheet, and like Paul, his 18.9 points per game is a mark that hasn't been crossed since.
So, both at the prime of their scoring, Schröder and Paul spent a season together on a team that went through an unprecedented early cut-off. In a year that proved to be about much more than basketball — and not just because of the global pandemic.
It made for a strong season, which interestingly enough, could fit the bill for exactly the reason that made Team Germany coach Gordie Herbert so proud of his squad.
"It's a little bit of a surreal moment," Herbert told ESPN. "It's like I told the players. It's a tremendous group of players, but we were a team first. Guys cared about each other, and they challenged each other."
Those qualities certainly were present during the Thunder's 2020 playoff run. With a leader like Chris Paul, it'd be hard not to — and Schröder experienced all of that in its fullest. But even still, he considered his time with Team Germany the best he'd every experienced.
"This is the best team I've ever played on, whether it's the NBA or national team," Schröder said of this year's FIBA World Cup. "It's an unbelievable group," Schröder said. "It's unbelievable going 8-0."
Record aside, it shouldn't go without saying that Schröder could have some recency bias in his statement. The gold medal game took place less than 24 hours ago — and not to mention that fact that Schröder's team won, to wrap back to the first point.
Winning a gold medal is a surreal experience, and if that hold more weight to Schröder than his time in the NBA, it says a lot about his personal pride playing for his home country.
At the same time, Schröder's time in Oklahoma City shouldn't be overlooked — especially not by him. It was a season full of leadership, brotherhood and even the birth of his child — which could factor in as well.
But however he ends up ranking his top teams, it's up to him to decide that. After all, winning a championship might just hold all the weight it needs to take it to the top of Schröder's list — and there isn't much of an argument against that.
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