FIBA World Cup MVP surely lands Schröder spot in Raptors starting lineup
It’s hard to imagine the FIBA World Cup going any better f0r Toronto Raptors point guard Dennis Schröder.
Taking on Serbia (who knocked out eventual bronze medal winners Canada) in the gold medal game of this year’s tournament, Schröder and Germany picked up their first-ever FIBA World Cup title, topping their opponents by a 83-77 score.
The lone member of the Raptors competing at this year’s 32-team tournament, Schröder picked up MVP honours for his performance, with his family in tow, just as they’ve been all tournament long. Averaging 19.1 points per game while adding 6.1 assists per night, Schroder was a force nearly every game for the tournament.
Family Over Everything ❤️ pic.twitter.com/2dNCQtVeWW
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) September 10, 2023
Admittedly, things weren’t perfect — including what he called himself the “worst game” of his career after going 4-for-26 from the field in the quarterfinal against Latvia — but it’ll be hard to have too many criticism of his game after being named the Most Valuable Player.
And while it’s obviously an incredible moment for Schröder to see some personal and team success on the world stage, it’s likely also landed him a spot in Toronto’s starting lineup once the regular season tips off on October 25.
Sure, there’s four preseason games Schröder to suit up for the Raptors in the meantime, but it’s hard to imagine first-time head coach Darko Rajakovic taking him out of the starting unit right now.
If Schröder looks a little off at all in any of those preseason games, it’s pretty easy to use the World Cup as a backdrop for the heights he’s reached as a player so far. Of course, the level of competition might not feature all of the world’s best talent, but it’s still hard to top his performance to end off his summer — and doubly hard to imagine him possibly coming off the bench for the Raptors at this stage.
Assuming all of Pascal Siakam, Gary Trent Jr., Jakob Poeltl, Scottie Barnes, and O.G. Anunoby are healthy to begin next season, it’s probably Trent Jr. who slides out of the starting unit in order to make way for Schröder.
For now, it’s a waiting game before there’s more basketball involving Schröder to be watched, with the Toronto’s first preseason contest tipping off on October 8.
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