Schröder’s start in the NBA: ‘Prove nothing, nothing, zero’
National basketball player Dennis Schröder warms up before the Los Angeles Lakers game.
Source: Maximilian Haupt/dpa
Dennis Schröder knows his way around the NBA. The captain of the national team is playing his tenth season in the best league in the world. He doesn’t feel like he has yet to prove anything.
dhe tenth NBA season started late for Dennis Schröder. The 29-year-old captain of the national basketball team only made his debut at the weekend after tearing thumb ligaments.
With him – and without the injured superstar LeBron James – the Los Angeles Lakers, who started miserably, have since won both home games. On Sunday there was a clear 123:92 against the San Antonio Spurs and the fans repeatedly cheered Schröder’s actions.
That from now on you’re not only playing for the success of the NBA record champions, but also for your own future in the best basketball league in the world thanks to the contract valid until the end of the season? Schröder doesn’t think so.
“Everyone knows what I stand for. I don’t have to prove anything, nothing, zero” he told the German press agency after his appearance with nine points in 23 minutes. Only Lakers fans, who were not allowed into the hall during the his first interlude in the entertainment metropolis due to the pandemic, now they want to show live ′′ what I stand for and what I bring “. In the league, however, ′′ I don’t have to prove anything, everyone who plays against me here knows who I am “.
After his first season in Southern California, there was criticism from Lakers legend Magic Johnson and no agreement on a new contract which – important for Schröder – was never actually offered to him, as written by the US media. There was only one request, then that of waiting until the end of the season for the negotiations and finally the farewell.
Schröder went to Boston, to the Celtics, the other NBA team with 17 championships. But he had again made the playoffs and Finals against the Golden State Warriors, and the Celtics sent him to the Houston Rockets midseason.
A strong European championship and bronze with the German team were good arguments for Lakers officials to bring the rugged point guard back to Los Angeles, which has a head coach there in Darvin Ham, who knows him well from his time with the Atlanta Hawks . Schröder is no longer an NBA rookie, but he is still an aggressive defender with great speed and ambition.
“Obviously we want to create something big here, the coach also knows that he needs me for that. We need CEO (Anthony Davis), we need LeBron (James), we need Russell (Westbrook), we need everyone who has many years under their belts to achieve something here,” Schröder said in front of his locker in the cabin of the Lakers where there hasn’t been much to celebrate this season. However, that should change: “If you play in the NBA, you obviously want to get a ring. That’s my goal this year.”
Schröder makes no public demands, but it is also clear that he considers himself the starting player. After missing his first month in the NBA, he can realistically assess his situation. “I can’t say I’m going to go in and play 30 minutes. I want to get back to the same level as in the summer and then things will really move forward.”
In the summer he impressed as a leader of the national team. “His performances this summer have been nothing short of incredible. It shows his maturity in the way he has led the team,” Ham said of Schröder’s commitment.
How long he will want to use his good reputation for himself in the United States is not so clear. “I don’t know how long I’ll play here. I’ve always said up to 35,” said Schröder. “Maybe I’ll go to Europe, maybe I’ll play at my club. I want to keep it open.” Think day by day, he wants to play a good season with the Lakers and be successful. For him, it’s just the beginning.
