Dennis Schröder

Dennis Schröder (born 15 September 1993) is a German professional basketball player for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He previously played for SG Braunschweig and Phantoms Braunschweig in Germany, before spending his first five seasons in the NBA with the Atlanta Hawks and two years with the Oklahoma City Thunder. He is the sole owner of his German hometown team, Basketball Loewen Braunschweig of the Basketball Bundesliga, and had been the majority shareholder of the team since 2018.

In 2023, he led the German national team to their first World Cup title at the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup while being named the FIBA World Cup MVP.

Early life
Schröder is the son of a German father and a Gambian mother, and has a brother and a younger sister. He and his brother were both heavily involved with skateboarding until he found basketball at age 11. He started focusing on the latter career after his father died in 2009, choosing to wear the jersey number 17 in his honor, as it was his favorite number. His agent was former German basketball national player Ademola Okulaja.

Phantoms Braunschweig (2010–2013)
Schröder started playing professional basketball in 2010 for SG Braunschweig, farm team of Phantoms Braunschweig. In his first season with SUM Baskets Braunschweig, he averaged 7.8 points, 2.1 assists and 1.6 rebounds per game in a 2nd-tier German League. In the 2011–12 season he made a breakthrough, averaging 17.8 points and 6.7 assists over 23 regular season games. His team went in the playoffs where he averaged 18.8 points and 5.1 assists over 4 games. In the same season, he also played 30 games for Phantoms Braunschweig of the German League, averaging 2.3 points, 0.7 assists and 0.8 rebounds in about 8 minutes per game.

In the 2012–13 season he played 32 games for Phantoms Braunschweig, averaging 12 points, 3.2 assists and 2.5 rebounds in 25 minutes per game. For the season, he was named the League's Most Improved Player as well as Best Young German Player.

In 2013, Schröder was announced to play at the 2013 Nike Hoop Summit for the World Select Team. Before officially playing at the Nike Hoop Summit, Schröder decided to declare for the 2013 NBA draft. On 20 April 2013, Schröder led his team to a 112–98 win. He finished with 18 points, 6 assists and 2 rebounds in 29 minutes.

Atlanta Hawks (2013–2018)
On 27 June 2013, Schröder was selected by the Atlanta Hawks with the 17th overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft. On 11 July 2013, he signed with the Hawks. Schröder's minutes were cut due to frequent turnovers early in the season, with Shelvin Mack taking over the second-string point guard. He spent time in the NBA Development League in December, with the Bakersfield Jam, and finished his rookie season playing in just 49 games for the Hawks, with 3.7 points in 13.1 minutes per game.

On 22 December 2014, Schröder scored a career-high 22 points in a 105–102 win over the Dallas Mavericks. Schröder participated in the Rising Stars Challenge on 13 February 2015, recording 13 points, a game-high nine assists and three steals in Team World's 121–112 win over Team USA. His performance was lauded by ESPN analysts as looking like a "young Tony Parker". On 15 March 2015, he had 24 points and 10 assists in a 91–86 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. Schröder had a "breakout year" in 2014–15, increasing his averages to 10.0 points and 4.1 assists in 19.7 minutes per game, appearing in 77 regular season games with 10 starts.

Schröder continued to play behind All-Star Teague in 2015–16, making just six starts in 80 games. He averaged 11.0 points and 4.4 assists in 20.3 minutes per game, shooting 42% from the field and 32% from 3-point range, leading to defenders often daring him to shoot the three. On 20 February 2016, he recorded 25 points and 10 assists in a 117–109 overtime loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. In Game 1 of the Hawks' second round playoff series against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Schröder scored a playoff career-high 27 points in a 104–93 loss.

On 26 October 2016, Schröder signed a four-year, $70 million contract extension with the Hawks. He took the reins as the Hawks' lead guard in 2016–17 following Teague's trade to the Indiana Pacers. On 8 November 2016, Schröder scored a then career-high 28 points in a 110–106 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. On 30 November 2016, he scored 14 of his career-high 31 points in the fourth quarter of the Hawks' 109–107 loss to the Phoenix Suns. On 9 December 2016, he set a new career high with 33 points in a 114–110 win over the Milwaukee Bucks. In Game 5 of the Hawks' first round playoff series against the Washington Wizards, Schröder led the Hawks with 29 points, making a career high-tying five 3s, and 11 assists in a 103–99 loss.

On 23 December 2017, Schröder matched his career high with 33 points, including 27 in the second half, to help the Hawks beat the Dallas Mavericks 112–107. On 12 January 2018, he scored a career-high 34 points in a 110–105 loss to the Brooklyn Nets. On 20 March 2018, he set a new career high with 41 points in a 99–94 win over the Utah Jazz.

Oklahoma City Thunder (2018–2020)
On 25 July 2018, Schröder was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder in a three-team deal involving the Hawks and the Philadelphia 76ers. In his first season in Oklahoma, he was positioned as the team's sixth man, coming off the bench behind superstar point guard Russell Westbrook. In his debut for the Thunder in their season opener on 16 October, Schröder recorded 21 points, eight rebounds, six assists and three steals in a 108–100 loss to the Golden State Warriors. On 7 November, he scored a then season-high 28 points in a 95–86 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. On 21 November, he scored a season-high 32 points off the bench in a 123–95 win over the Warriors. On 1 February 2019, he scored 24 of his 28 points in the second quarter of the Thunder's 118–102 win over the Miami Heat. On 3 March, he recorded 17 points and a career-high 11 rebounds in a 99–95 win over the Memphis Grizzlies. His second season with the team saw him in the role of the sixth man yet again, this time behind veteran All-Star point guard Chris Paul and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Schröder led the league in scoring off the bench with 18.9 points per game, while shooting a career-high 46.9% from the field, including 38.5% on 3-point field goals. He finished as the runner-up to Montrezl Harrell in voting for the NBA Sixth Man of the Year.

Los Angeles Lakers (2020–2021)
On 18 November 2020, Schröder was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Danny Green and the draft rights to first-round pick Jaden McDaniels. On 22 December 2020, Schröder made his Lakers debut, putting up 14 points, 12 rebounds, and eight assists, in a 116–109 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. At the end of March 2021, there were rumors that he rejected the Lakers' contract extension offer of four-years, $84 million to pursue a larger deal in the off-season as an unrestricted free agent which he later clarified that it was not true. He was sidelined twice during the season due to the league's COVID-19 health protocols, including missing seven games late in the season. Schröder started 61 games during the regular season, averaging 15.4 points and 5.8 assists per games and shooting 43.7% shooting from the field and 33.5% on 3-pointers. His numbers dropped in the playoffs to 14.3 points and 2.8 assists while shooting 40.3% from the field and 31.9% from three-point range, and the Lakers were eliminated in six games by Phoenix. During the off-season, the Lakers traded for point guard Russell Westbrook, signaling that the Lakers would inevitably be moving on from Schröder.

Boston Celtics (2021–2022)
On 13 August 2021, Schröder signed with the Boston Celtics, on a one-year, $5.9 million taxpayer mid-level exception contract. The Celtics, who had recently moved on from starting point guard Kemba Walker via trade earlier in the off-season, were in search of backcourt depth and Schröder fit the bill at a much-discounted price than his rumored $84 million contract extension with the Lakers during the 2020–21 season. Schröder chose to wear number 71 with the Celtics as his usual number 17 had been retired by the Celtics in honor of John Havlicek. He became only the fourth known player in the history of the league to wear the number 71 and the first since McCoy McLemore in 1965.

Houston Rockets (2022)
On 10 February 2022, Schröder was traded, along with Enes Freedom and Bruno Fernando, to the Houston Rockets in exchange for Daniel Theis. On 29 March, Schröder was ruled out for the remainder of the season with a shoulder injury.

Return to the Lakers (2022–2023)
On 16 September 2022, the Los Angeles Lakers signed Schröder to a one-year, $2.64 million deal for his return to the team. Schröder chose the Lakers over the Toronto Raptors and Phoenix Suns citing "unfinished business" with the Lakers. After completing his first practice on his second stint with the team, he claimed during the media interviews that the Lakers never offered him a four-year, $84 million contract extension that he was eligible to sign during the previous free agency before the start of the 2021–22 NBA season.

Schröder scored 14 of his season-high 32 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Lakers to a 112–109 win over the Miami Heat during their regular season game on 4 January 2023. and on 20 January 2023, he put up 19 points, eight rebounds, eight assists, and made a game-winning layup in a 122–121 win over the Memphis Grizzlies.

Schröder was also a big factor in the Lakers struggling return to the playoffs after missing last year's 2022 NBA playoffs. During their hard-fought play-in game on 11 April 2023 against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Dennis scored 21 points on 41.7% field goal shooting, along with 75% three-point shooting, making three out of four three-pointers which includes a clutch tiebreaking corner three-point shot off a kick out pass from superstar teammate LeBron James, following a drive on the opposite side with 1.4 seconds remaining in the regulation. He almost had a game-winner and the Lakers were up by three. However, his other superstar teammate Anthony Davis fouled Minnesota's veteran point guard Mike Conley Jr. on a catch-and-shoot corner three-point game-tying attempt with 0.1 seconds remaining. Conley Jr. made all of the free throws to tie the game and send it to overtime. But eventually, the Lakers still won the game as Schröder iced the win with two free throws with 8.4 seconds left in overtime, clinching the 7th seed in the Western Conference and successfully securing a spot in the 2023 NBA playoffs.

Toronto Raptors (2023–2024)
On 30 June 2023, Schröder signed a two-year, $26 million contract with the Toronto Raptors. The deal took up Toronto's entire mid-level exception allowing the organization about $8.7 million below the luxury tax threshold. It was Dennis' sixth team as he entered his tenth season in the NBA.

On 25 October 2023, Schröder made his Raptors debut, putting up 22 points and seven assists in a 97–94 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

On 13 December 2023, after a 135-128 win against the Atlanta Hawks, in which he had recorded 17 points, seven assists, and 3 rebounds, along with a block and a steal, Schröder achieved 10,000 career points.

Brooklyn Nets (2024–present)
On 8 February 2024, Schröder was traded alongside Thaddeus Young to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for Spencer Dinwiddie. On 10 February, Schröder made his Nets debut, putting up 15 points and 12 assists in a 123–103 win over the San Antonio Spurs.

National team career
Schröder has been a member of the German national under-18 and German national under-20 teams. He played in the 2012 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship and helped the German team to fifth place, averaging 6.1 points, 2 assists and 1.8 rebounds in 14.6 minutes on the court. On 27 July 2014, he made his debut for the senior Germany national basketball team in a game against Finland.

Schröder played at EuroBasket 2015, in the group stage that was hosted in Berlin. Germany did not qualify for the knock-out stage and finished on the 18th place in the final rankings.

He returned for EuroBasket 2017, leading Germany to the quarterfinals and averaging a team-high 23.7 points and 5.6 assists per game.

Schröder had expressed a desire to play for Germany at the 2020 Summer Olympics, however, the German Basketball Federation was unable to meet the financial insurance requirements.

He returned to EuroBasket 2022 and led Germany to third place, being named to the EuroBasket All-Tournament Team in the process. The run included a famous win over Greece in the quarterfinals, which had Giannis Antetokounmpo on the roster. Schröder averaged team-highs 22.1 points and 7.1 assists per game.

Schröder led the German national team to their first World Cup title at the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup. The team went undefeated, defeating top-ranked teams such as Australia and the United States. After the final between Germany and Serbia, he was named FIBA World Cup MVP, averaging 17.9 points and 6.7 assists per game.

Personal life


Schröder is married and has three children.

Schröder became known for his "signature" patch of bleached blonde hair which he adopted upon leaving Germany for the United States. It came at the suggestion of his mother who thought it would help people to recognize him in public.

Schröder is a devout Muslim. He prays before games and before going to sleep. Schröder is a teetotaler and has never consumed alcohol in his life.

Schröder missed games on two different occasions due to COVID-19 protocols in place. In May 2021, he said that he was the only Lakers player who had not been vaccinated against the disease.

After the Nets were eliminated from the 2024 playoffs, Schröder joined FC Germania Bleckenstedt of the German Landesliga Braunschweig.