Dennis Schroder is hoping to make a significant impact with the Sacramento Kings during the 2025-26 NBA season. Fans may be especially excited following Schroder's performance with Germany in EuroBasket, as the veteran guard averaged 20.9 points, 6.6 assists and 3.5 rebounds per outing this summer. Those would be potential All-Star numbers in the NBA, however, why has Schroder not provided that kind of production in the league?
Tim Legler recently addressed the question, via the ALL NBA Podcast.
"Someone's asking, explain the discrepancy between Dennis Schroder in the NBA and Dennis Schroder in this situation. It's very simple," Legler said. "The empowerment... I've always liked Dennis Schroder... It's just different with this. His empowerment and the way that he knows all of those guys are looking at him specifically to be able to make a couple of the plays we just talked about."
Legler added that Schroder has "always had good numbers as an NBA player," but said it's "just different" with everything that comes with the roles he's had on teams.
Schroder has indeed enjoyed multiple strong seasons in the NBA. He's never made an All-Star team, however. Meanwhile, Schroder could be a EuroBasket Hall of Famer.
As Legler said, it seems to be quite "simple." Schroder has been the No. 1 option for many years in EuroBasket, while he's rarely been that guy in the NBA. That won't change in Sacramento with the Kings given the presence of stars such as Domantas Sabonis, Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan.
Still, Schroder can make a big impact with the Kings. His overall impact may not be quite as significant as it was playing for Germany in EuroBasket, but the veteran guard should be able to help this Kings team. He understands what it takes to set up an offense and is more than capable of scoring at a respectable level in the NBA.
The Kings are dealing with question marks overall. Sacramento doesn't feature a terrible team by any means. They could realistically make a legitimate run at an NBA Play-In Tournament spot. With that being said, the Kings are not a championship contender. The team is in the middle of the league, not necessarily bad enough to completely rebuild but not good enough to contend for the NBA Finals.
It's a difficult situation to be in. Sacramento needs to figure out the franchise direction sooner rather than later. As for Dennis Schroder, the 32-year-old will do everything he can to help the Kings upset expectations following his strong play in EuroBasket.