World champion Dennis Schröder crowned a perfect summer for him. Captain of the triumphant team in Manila, most valuable player of the World Cup and the Olympic ticket for Paris 2024 in his pocket early: The 29-year-old has fulfilled some big dreams for himself and the basketball nation in the past few weeks – and counted against it after the final Serbia (83:77) with some critics.
The German basketball star about:
Basketball im TV
“At first we thought the World Cup would be on TV. But only the final was on TV. Basketball is a great sport and I hope we can get the respect for what we have done in the last two years. I wish that every single game is on TV. When we started ten years ago, we had Dirk Nowitzki, but no one knew the other guys. Now we come to Japan and the Philippines and everyone knows us.”
Criticism of him and haters
“I build up a lot of motivation with haters or people who are always critical of everything. In the end, I worked very hard. We grew together as a team. We achieved something that no one else has done before. In the end, I want my respect “The coach has his respect and my teammates theirs. For everyone who has supported me over the years: I kiss their hearts, of course. But: Everyone else, they can still stay away.”
His maturity
“If you’re 18 and come from Braunschweig to Atlanta and make millions. In the end, I had the culture of Atlanta in me a little bit. People in Germany received it differently. Since I started making YouTube, people see a little like me as a guy. That I’m completely normal, like everyone else. My children are the best feeling I’ve ever felt in my life – and always will be. My wife puts up with a lot and is always there . I’m just glad that I decided to pursue family life. It’s very good for me as a person. My children have awakened a lot in me that I didn’t have before. My wife as well.”
Dirk Nowitzki
“Of course: Dirk Nowitzki is one of the best foursome of all time, he changed the game of basketball. I have huge respect for him. It was an honor to play with him in Berlin in 2015. But to surpass that is a great achievement . For every single player. We wouldn’t have been able to do this if we weren’t a team.”
