EuroBasket MVP Dennis Schroder Compares Himself To NBA MVP

In nine games, Schroder averaged 20.3 points and 7.2 assists per contest at EuroBasket 2025. His scoring average ranked 10th and his assist average ranked second overall but he was also effective at getting to the free-throw line, taking 47 total. In the championship game, he recorded 16 points and 12 assists while going 5-6 from the charity stripe.

This wasn’t his first time receiving a FIBA MVP award though. In 2023, as he won one for his showing at the World Cup.

‘We Do Exactly The Same Thing’

Following the Germans’ gold medal performance, in which Schroder made game-sealing plays down the stretch, he had an eye-opening statement about the role he plays on the national team.

“Me and Giannis, we do exactly the same thing for Greece and Germany,” he says. “On the NBA, he is on another level, one of the best players in the world. Nothing but respect for him.”

Many will be taken aback by the quote, precisely because of what Schroder mentioned. Antetokounmpo, a two-time NBA MVP, is really on an entirely different level than him.

To help make Schroder’s meaning more clear though, understand that Antetokounmpo just won his first medal with Greece after they took down Lauri Markkanen (Utah Jazz) and Finland in the third-place game. Though his hardware was bronze, Antetokounmpo says it was “probably the best accomplishment” in his basketball career (h/t FIBA). The rationale for that grand statement?

The sheer number of fans he made happy and the generation of Greek players he could inspire.

Schroder takes just as much pride in representing Germany (and Europe as a whole).

“Ι never been an All-Star,” Schroder says (h/t Eurohoops reporter Michalis Gioulenoglou. “But we have four or five people who are the best in the world, and they represent Europe. We have Doncic, we have (Nikola) Jokic, Franz Wagner is up there. We have so many European guys who are putting on a show in the NBA. And that comes with these tournaments as well. Big time tournaments, big time players, and we are going to keep pushing for Europe.”