Dennis Schroder is good at this international basketball thing.
Germany's point guard went off on Friday, as his team beat host France 85–71 in the final game of group play at the 2024 Summer Olympics. It was a dominant performance and the host nation had no answers for Scrhoder or his teammates.
The 30-year-old Brooklyn Nets point guard poured in 26 points while dishing out nine assists, grabbing four rebounds and tallying one steal. He went 10-of-17 from the field and 4-of-7 from three-point range. He was feeling it early, and even nailed a step-back three over Rudy Gobert.
Schroder and Franz Wagner were unstoppable for Germany, as Wagner scored 26 points, while adding five rebounds, two assists and a steal. The victory secured the top spot in Group B for the Germans at 3-0, while France finished second at 2-1. Both teams have earned spots in the quarterfinals.
This isn't the first time Schroder has come up huge for Germany. Last summer at the 2023 FIBA World Cup, he led his country to a championship while earning MVP honors. Included in that run was a 113–111 semifinal win over the United States. The Germans topped Serbia in the title game 83-77 behind 28 points from Schroder.
France was sluggish from the start and trailed by 48–25 at the half. A fourth quarter surge saw things get a bit tighter, but the home team was never really in the game. Victor Wembanyama led his team with 14 points and 12 rebounds but France struggled across the board.
Unless the United States suffers a monumental upset against Puerto Rico on Saturday, it appears as if Germany will earn the No. 2 seed in the knockout rounds. They could be on a collision course to face the U.S. once again. Schroder will be looking to lead his country past the Americans again.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Dennis Schröder Went Off for Germany in Huge Win Over France.