At the Los Angeles Lakers, Dennis Schröder was unhappy at first – in the end there was scorn and ridicule. Now the best German basketball player is back there and wants to repeat what he has already achieved with the national team.
In Germany, national basketball player Dennis Schröder has polished his reputation with the strong European Championship and the unexpected bronze medal – now the Los Angeles Lakers should really get to know him. “For the nation, I got that right. But now there’s the next mission here, it won’t be easy,” said the 29-year-old after returning to the California metropolis. “We have what it takes and I’m trying everything in my power to get it right, just like I did in the nation.”
Schröder already ran for the NBA record champion in the 2020/2021 season. In a season that was largely played without spectators due to the corona pandemic, the then defending champion was already eliminated in the first playoff round against the Phoenix Suns. Although LeBron James and Anthony Davis were often injured and the team was missing the most important players, the point guard from Germany was particularly criticized afterwards.
Lakers legend Magic Johnson even went so far as to call after him: “Schröder? I don’t think he’s a Laker.” The fact that he also rejected an offer from the Lakers for four years, according to media reports, and preferred to negotiate a new contract as a free transfer player, caused additional scorn and ridicule – because instead of earning even more money, as was probably hoped, he signed he ended up with the Boston Celtics for $5.9 million and one season.
After his first training for the Lakers, Schröder took a stand on both issues. He gave reporters in Los Angeles the same explanation he had previously referred to elsewhere: “There was never a contract and I never turned anything down.” However, he himself experienced the first few months with the glamor team in the American entertainment capital as “strange”. “That’s why I said I’m playing for free here too. Just to straighten it out and get everyone on the right track,” he said. “There’s still an unfinished business here and we have to take care of it and win the title, that’s the goal.”
When asked about Johnson’s comments, he initially only shrugged his shoulders. “I’ve never met Magic Johnson and I’ve never seen him. I would never, as a grown man, judge and talk about someone if I didn’t know them,” he finally said. “What can I say about what people outside say who aren’t there? It’s also about being relevant in the media. I try to focus on what’s in front of me and what I can control .”
The chances that it will work better the second time around in the legendary yellow jersey with the purple numbers are good. Since this season, the Lakers’ coach has been Darvin Ham, with whom Schröder has worked for the Atlanta Hawks for five years. “I’ve known him since day one as a rookie,” said Ham. “He’s like family to me.”
For Schröder, Ham is “the main reason, if I’m honest”, that there will be a second attempt in LA. He also refers to him as “family”. For his part, Ham sees Schröder’s strong EM in particular as a decisive factor in the fact that those responsible around Lakers manager Rob Pelinka were interested in working together again. “His performances this summer have been nothing short of incredible. It shows his maturity in how he has managed the team,” said Ham. “Not just the stats, but his energy, the way he held the group together through the tournament, that clearly shows how much he’s grown.”
Whether Schröder will be on the starting lineup against the defending champions Golden State Warriors at the start of the season on October 18 is an open question. He missed a lot of preparation time, and the Lakers also signed Patrick Beverley to his position and continued to sign the controversial Russell Westbrook. In any case, it will not fail because of Schröder’s motivation. “I will do everything to win and settle this outstanding score,” he said. So that at the end of the season the people in Los Angeles are just as enthusiastic about him as the fans of the German national team.
