World champions with Germany, the next club in the NBA, the Olympic Games in sight “I still can’t believe what we’ve done for basketball in Germany,” says Schröder, looking back on the world championship title won in September. “We were a team, everyone fought for everyone else, it was all about winning. Eight wins from eight games against these opponents, that was just a magical time.”
A time that he and his eleven teammates would love to repeat at the Olympic Games, even if it will be difficult because the USA will be competing with a squad of superstars led by LeBron James. Schröder knows that, he says: “We want to win every game there too – in the knowledge that it won’t always work out. But we’ll always give it our all for 40 minutes.”
With the self-confidence of a world champion, the 30-year-old adds: “If we deliver our performance, we can still beat anyone, that’s how confident I am with our German national team. “
About LeBron James: Schröder once played with the superstar, who recently became the first player in NBA history to break the 40,000-point barrier, for the Los Angeles Lakers. “He is one of, if not the best player of all time. As a person, I appreciate him even more, he’s an inspiring person. “Will there be a reunion in Paris?
At least the twelve world champions should do so, Schröder argues: “I believe that when you win the world title for the first time, you can’t and shouldn’t change anything. I would find that difficult. That doesn’t just apply to the players, but to the entire staff. I’m a very loyal person and always look up to those who got us there.”
That is why Schröder also has a special idea about who should carry the German flag when the nations march in during the opening ceremony. “If not a basketball player now, then when again? We won the World Cup! I’d love to have all twelve of them carry the flag, I’m very serious about that.” The NOC’s current plan is for one woman and one man to carry the flag.
