In NBA circles, Dennis Schröder will be known as a serviceable journeyman who has played for nine franchises over the course of his 12-year career. He will step onto the court for his 10th team (the Sacramento Kings) during the 2025-26 campaign, his 13th in the league, this fall.
But the former Golden State Warriors guard’s professional basketball résumé has been significantly boosted by his exploits at the international level for the Germany national team.
That beckons a question many will find surprising that it is even asked: Is Schröder worthy of being inducted into the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame? League insiders Jake Fischer and Tim Bontemps believe that should be the case.
Fischer, Bontemps assert that Schröder deserves to be enshrined in the Hall of Fame
In a Sept. 9 appearance on ESPN’s “Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective” podcast, Bontemps predicted that Schröder would be a lock for the Hall of Fame if he led Germany to a EuroBasket 2025 title.
“It’s a world basketball Hall of Fame of all levels,” Bontemps said. “When you look at Dennis Schröder’s international career, I think, if they win this tournament, he’s going to make the Hall of Fame as an international entry.”
Schröder did exactly that — and then some — just five days later.
Germany faced off against a Turkey team headlined by Houston Rockets center Alperen Şengün in the EuroBasket final on Sept. 14 and won 88-83. Schröder led the way with 16 points and 12 assists, including a clutch jumper and game-sealing free throws within the contest’s final 30 seconds.
He was also named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player — which, along with his MVP Award at the 2023 FIBA World Cup, placed him among an elite crop of international basketball talents.
According to Bontemps, only six other players have won MVPs at both the FIBA World Cup and EuroBasket: Sergei Belov, Dražen Dalipagić, Dražen Petrović, Toni Kukoč, Dirk Nowitzki and Pau Gasol. All six are in the Hall of Fame.
Schröder has bolstered his résumé further by winning gold medals at the most recent EuroBasket and FIBA World Cup tournaments, in addition to finishing third and earning a bronze medal at EuroBasket 2022.
That, in addition to his success in the United States, makes Schröder a viable Hall of Fame candidate in Fischer’s eyes.
And Fischer believes Schröder’s not done just yet.
“We’ve already seen the longevity of the Dennis Schröder’s NBA career — bouncing back from a tough first Lakers stint; becoming a Sixth Man of the Year candidate in Oklahoma City, finding his way to Toronto; resuscitating his career, being the lead guard in Brooklyn,” Fischer said during a Sept. 16 “Insider Notebook” livestream on the Bleacher Report app and YouTube page. “He then got a little caught up in Golden State in that Jimmy Butler deal but found a really strong home in Detroit to the point where Sacramento, and their new GM Scott Perry, came in and said, ‘I want Dennis Schröder to be our starting point guard.’
“But his European career is so decorated at this point that being a journeyman NBA player is going to be far and away enough,” Fischer added. “Dennis Schröder and Germany aren’t going away anytime soon, and he’s going to continue to be able to add to his Hall of Fame résumé based off of this European career that has been, truly, one of the better stints that we’ve seen, really, ever.”
