After Dennis Schroder's EuroBasket victory and his MVP award, the Kings' front office was high on the German player. He had a lot of heat going into training camp and preseason. Unfortunately, that Dennis Schroder didn't show up in the Kings' preseason loss to the Raptors.
In July 2025, Schroder was part of a sign-and-trade with the Detroit Pistons deal that brought him to Sacramento Kings. He's been in the league for more than a decade, having been associated with a third of the franchises in one form or another. There's a reason for that.
FIBA Dennis and NBA Dennis are different players
Schroder has always excelled in international play run by FIBA. His skillset flourishes in that world. Oddly enough, Kevin Durant is the same way. The difference between them is that Durant performs equally well in both the NBA and FIBA. Schroder does not.
He has always played more than good enough to justify his spot in the NBA. The reality is that Dennis has never played better than that. Simply put, Schroder shines a lot brighter in the FIBA game than he does in the house players like Wilt, Kareem, Michael, Kobe, and LeBron built.
Dennis Schroder is looking as okay as he ever has
Schroder's preseason debut against Toronto saw him play almost 24 minutes, shooting one for five from the floor, zero for two from the three-point arc, and three for four from the charity stripe. He only tallied five points, three of which were free throws.
Oddly enough, he out-rebounded Sabonis. The big man only collected four defensive rebounds while Schroder locked down six. Rebounding is not the reason Dennis was brought in, but it turned out to be his strongest contribution to the evening.
The most concerning stat is his assists as he only got one. Schroder was brought in as point guard to be a scoring playmaker and none of that happened last night. Nique Clifford did much better in this regard, tallying a team high nine assists.
The trade deadline is already looming over Schroder
Excluding rebounds, Schroder's stats were well below his career averages. It's only the first game of the preseason, but Schroder's general NBA mediocrity is shining through. Fans were concerned Schroder would not be an effective replacement for De'Aaron Fox and they may have been right.
It's only the first game of the preseason, so Schroder has time to right the ship. But it's not as much time as you might think. The trade deadline will be here faster than you know it, and teams will start those conversations soon. If Schroder wants to stay in Sacramento, he needs to get it together.