FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 Tournament MVP: Dennis Schröder - Germany
A 28-point winning performance in the Final of the FIBA Basketball World Cup put the seal on Dennis Schröder being crowned Tournament MVP. The German team Captain led ‘Die Mannschaft’ (The Team) to their first-ever World Cup gold medal.
Max subscribers can enjoy extended highlights from Germany versus Serbia in the World Cup Final here:
After 92 games across this year’s competition, Germany was the only team from the 32 competing nations to go unbeaten during their 8-game run to the Championship.
Who is Dennis Schröder?
Dennis Mike Schröder was born on 15 September 1993 in Braunschweig, Germany. During his youth, his big passion was skateboarding and that is where he saw his career developing. Despite his clear basketball talent as a youth player, his height (now 6 ft 1 in) was considered undersized to play in the major basketball leagues. His speed and dribbling ability were on display as a member of the German national under-18 and under-20 teams. It was his performances in the 2012 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship, where he helped the German team to fifth place, that caught the attention of NBA scouts.
Dennis played for two local ball Clubs in his home town before being selected 17th in the 2013 NBA draft by the Atlanta Hawks. Now 29 years old, ‘Dennis the Menace’ as he has come to be known, has played for six NBA franchises:
- the Atlanta Hawks (2013–2018)
- Oklahoma City Thunder (2018–2020)
- Los Angeles Lakers (2020–2021) & (2022–2023)
- Boston Celtics (2021–2022)
- Houston Rockets (2022)
- Toronto Raptors (2023–present)
How much does Dennis Schröder make?
It has been reported that Schröder has earned $91,461,972 from previous NBA contracts. Entering his 10th season in the league, Schröder, a free agent at the time, agreed to sign a two-year, $26 million contract with the Toronto Raptors.
Off the court, Dennis is known for his understated streetwear fashion style. In early 2023, he launched his own clothing brand, thatstuff.co, taking inspiration from a saying that he coined during his career.
What makes Dennis Schröder a successful basketball player?
Dennis Schröder uses his small frame (by professional basketball athlete standards) to his advantage on the basketball court. His number one attribute is his speed, with and without the ball. Coupled with his ability to dribble with both hands, he is adept at creating advantages over slower and taller defenders that allow him to drive to the basket and get high-percentage field goal opportunities. When he gets there, he can finish with both hands and has developed a particularly ‘tuff’ move where he will use his free arm to block opponents' attempts to swipe at the ball across his body.
Although not an elite passer, he does know how to find his teammates, averaging over 6 assists a game compared to just 2 turnovers, during the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup for Germany.
He shot 32.6% from 3-point range during Germany’s Championship charge. This is considered around the average you would expect from a reliable perimeter scorer and slightly below his NBA career average of .337.
Check out his Top 10 plays from the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 here:
Why was Dennis Schröder selected as the Tournament MVP?
As the designated Captain of the only team to go unbeaten during the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup, it stands to reason that Dennis Schröder would be a front-runner for the award. He was also the statistical leader across the German squad for efficiency (17.6), points per game (19.1) and assists (6.1).
In reality, he was exceptional in seven out of the eight games Germany were victorious in. During his NBA career, he has averaged 14 points per game, a feat he matched or bettered in seven World Cup games. The one poor game he had was against Latvia in the Quarter-Finals where he went 0 from 8 on 3-point attempts and was a -20 +/- while on the court (a stat that records point swings while each individual during their playing time during the game). Watch highlights from that nail-biting Quarter-Final game below.
Germany v Latvia
As with any title win, you need your team to step up on nights that your star player doesn’t have it and Die Mannschaft did just that, led by the Wagner brothers off the bench. Franz, working his way back from a small injury picked up at the beginning of the tournament scored 16 points while his older bro, Mo (Moritz) has 12 on a perfect shooting night.
Franz Wagner’s outstanding performances during the games he was available earned a spot on the All-Second Team Starting Five. As well as Tournament MVP, Dennis Schröder was of course given All-Star Five honors.
It capped off a magical 12 months for Dennis Schröder and the Deutscher Basketball Bund, having led Germany to a Bronze medal at FIBA EuroBasket 2022 and earning a spot on the All-Star 5 for that continental tournament.
Germany’s first-place finish also guarantees that Deutschland will be one of the nations playing 5-on-5 hoops at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. So don’t rule out Dennis the Menace leading Germany to more glory on the international stage for a third year running.
Watch the Germany World Cup Final Press Conference with Coach Gordie Herbert and Dennis Schröder
