NBA clubs can’t compete with Germany, says national team star and Raptors guard Dennis Schroder after upsetting Team USA at World Cup
After helping the German national team defeat Team USA in the FIBA World Cup semifinals, Dennis Schroder has used the opportunity to poke fun at all the NBA teams he has played for in the past.
The 29-year-old guard raised some eyebrows following Friday’s win in the Philippines when he was asked where Team Germany ranked among all the teams he’s ever played for in his 11-year NBA career. He joined with the Raptors this summer.
According to BasketNews, Schroder said, “I think this is the best team I’ve ever played on, whether it’s the NBA or the national team.”
Schroder’s comment, if taken at its value, would imply that he rates the German team higher than the Lakers, of which he was a member previous to his free agency.
In this year’s Western Conference Finals, the Los Angeles Lakers lost to the Denver Nuggets, who went on to win the NBA title.
LeBron James and Anthony Davis were the linchpins of that Lakers team. Following a handful of trades at the trade deadline, it also acquired high-impact bench players like Rui Hachimura, Austin Reaves, and D’Angelo Russell.
Schroder, who recently signed a two-year, $26 million contract with Toronto, is presently competing for Team Germany alongside NBA players Mo Wagner, Franz Wagner, and Daniel Theis. He has played for the Thunder, the Hawks, the Celtics, and the Rockets in the past.
With a tournament-high 24 points and six assists, including a game-winning 3-pointer, guard Andreas Obst led Germany to a victory over the United States on Friday.
Wagner scored 22 points and Indiana Pacers big forward Domantas Theis added 21 to help Germany advance to the championship game.
Obst told the press, “From the first guy to the last guy, we stayed mentally tough and played good defense.”
According to FIBA, Friday’s game had the most points scored in a tournament game since 1994.
The United States was led by Anthony Edwards, a guard with the Timberwolves, who scored 23 points and grabbed eight boards. Favorite reserve Austin Reaves sparked the team with 21 points.
Team USA’s head coach, Steve Kerr, said in a news conference, “The main point of the loss was just we weren’t ever able to make them feel us defensively.”
On Sunday, the second-ranked United States međťš—’s basketball team will take on Canada for third place. The 2019 tournament was their poorest ever in terms of placing in a major international tournament.