It was an up-and-down day or more exactly a down-and-up for Dennis Schroder Saturday. After Serbia defeated Germany in the morning, denying Schroder a medal, the Brooklyn Nets point guard was named to the Olympic men’s basketball All-Star squad 5, joining some elite company.
The day began early (5:00 a.m., New York Time) with the bronze medal game, which pitted Nikola Jokic and Bogdan Bogdanovic against Schroder and the Franz brothers. Serbia took an early lead over Germany and never looked back, winning the bronze 93–83.
Schroder finished with 13 points on 4-of-11 shooting, including 3 of 6 from long. He had six assists, four rebounds, and six turnovers.
“We are still one of the top teams in the world. That is what I believe,” Germany’s captain remarked. “But basketball sometimes doesn’t go your way, and sports in general doesn’t go your way.”
Germany fell down 46-38 early, and Serbia, fresh off a historic loss to Team USA, turned it on throughout the game, spearheaded once again by Nikola Jokic. Germany made a late charge in the fourth quarter, but never got closer than eight points, 82-74. Serbia answered with an 11-4 run, putting an end to Germany’s aspirations of winning its first medal in men’s basketball.
Jokic led the way, recording a triple double with 19 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists. This was the second triple double of the year, but just the sixth in Olympic men’s basketball. Two games ago, LeBron James also recorded a triple double for Team USA.
In his post-game comments, Schroder discussed the distinctions between FIBA basketball and the NBA. He claimed he favoured the former.
“European basketball is no entertainment, it’s straight IQ basketball, straight coaching,” Schröder told reporters. “incredibly, incredibly smart men who understand how to play the game. Serbia, Greece, Spain, France, Germany—there are so many teams out there that know how to play and are athletic, and I believe there are a lot of people from Europe in the NBA who make some noise.
“Here, they are really coachable,” Schroder remarked. “In the NBA, you have to be wise with your words, but in FIBA, players understand that emotional feedback comes from a good place.”\
Kevin Durant, seeing a dig at Team USA’s gold medal win in Schroder’s remark, retaliated in his own unique way…
Then, not long after the gold medal game, which Team USA won in a close victory over France, Schroder was nominated to the “All-Star Five.” He joins Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Victor Wembanyama, and Jokic. James was named the MVP…
Schroder guided Germany to three consecutive wins in Group Play before losing to France and Serbia. The 30-year-old dominated the Olympics in assists, averaging nearly nine per game.
Schroder did not talk after the game about his future in the NBA, but he has expressed a strong desire to return to the Nets, emphasizing their family-oriented culture. With a $13.0 million deal expiring and a fresh set of positives on his resume, Schroder could easily become a trade target for the Nets, who are in the midst of a rebuild and are searching for draft assets and cap space rather than veterans.
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