When Dennis Schroder won EuroBasket gold and picked up MVP honors, it led to a lot of optimism in Sactown. They were hoping for FIBA Schroder to show up and be the team's next great point guard. Instead, they got NBA Schroder and the promise of another trade for the German baller.
No one is saying that Schroder can't play. He has been in the league since 2013 and carved out a solid NBA career. The problem is that he plays better outside the NBA under FIBA rules, which was evidenced by his performance in EuroBasket 2025.
Schroder's Team Germany run
Dennis has had some real success with Team Germany over the years. In EuroBasket 2022, he led the team to third place. He followed that up with Germany's first World Cup title at the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup. He was also named the FIBA World Cup MVP.
This summer, he helped the German team win its first EuroBasket title since 1993. On top of that, Schroder won FIBA EuroBasket MVP honors, the first German player to do that since Dirk Nowitzki received the award in 2003. There are many who believe Dennis is destined for the FIBA Hall of Fame.
Schroder's NBA mediocrity
The thing about Schroder in the NBA is that he isn't anywhere near as dominant as he is in FIBA. In the 2025 EuroBasket, he averaged 20.3 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 7.2 assists per game. In the 2024-2025 NBA season, he averaged 13.1 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 5.4 assists per game.
These are not insignificant differences, particularly in the number of points he's scoring. His NBA numbers are fine, but they're not better than that. The problem is that the Kings need much better than "fine" from their starting point guard.
The Kings will make a move
Dennis Schroder's history in the NBA has been filled with short tenures with teams and a lot of trades. The problem for Schroder is that his game makes him good enough to be used for trade fodder, but not good enough to make him a long-term fixture on a team.
The front office was probably hoping FIBA Schroder was going to show up to play point guard for them. Not surprisingly, he didn't. Now, the Kings will be looking to move NBA Schroder, likely at the trade deadline, with any luck for a couple of solid draft picks and no more guards.