Growing Up: Dennis Schröder

As a member of Team Germany, he took home 2025 FIBA EuroBasket MVP honors and was the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup MVP, leading Germany to its first World Cup title and EuroBasket titles.

We know all about Dennis Schröder, the point guard. 

In today’s installment of Growing Up …, we get a better look at Dennis Schröder, the person.

I come from … an athletic family. My mom was active – played a lot of sports. My sister, as well. My father, not so much. He was supporting the family, putting food on the table, making sure the family was straight.

Every NBA fan knows Dennis Schröder. The 13-year veteran has either been a part of their team or has torn their team up from the point guard position. Cavalier fans are familiar with both experiences. 

But does anyone really know Dennis Schröder? We know his statistics – and they’re impressive. After being taken with the 17^th overall pick by the Hawks back in 2013, the Braunschweig, Germany native has career averages of 13.8 points and 4.9 assists with 12 different teams. When he checks into the game on Tuesday night in Milwaukee, it’ll be the 900^th of his career. 

He’s been very good since joining the Cavaliers after being acquired alongside Keon Ellis from Sacramento at the Deadline. In his first start with the Wine & Gold, he dropped 26 points on the Bucks. Overall, Cleveland is 11-6 with the 32-year-old in the lineup. 

My older brother … played basketball as well. My brother is five years older than me; my sister is eight years older. And I have two little siblings, 21 and 18. Now we have my kids playing with my siblings’ kids. It’s always great to be with family.

In the summertime … anytime you come to my house, there’s 10 or 20 people running around. There’s nothing better than that – coming together, enjoying life. 

Having an active older brother … helped in a big way. His friends were older. He brought me along when I was, like, six or seven. He brought me into his world, taking me out, skateboarding. If you didn’t want to skateboard, we had a basketball court right next door. Being around my brother and his older friends was great for me. You grow up, you mature quicker.

I was a skateboarder … big time. I love the culture about it, everybody being together. No phones. Everybody in the park, just chilling, like the old days. I loved it. Every summer, I still do it with my old friends. 

I also played … soccer, played ping-pong. I did a lot of different sports growing up. And I think it all helped me with my footwork. Everything plays a part, for sure. 

We don’t have high school basketball … like in the States. After school, you’ve got to join the club. 

I started with … Under 14. I think now it starts with Under 8. But I started with Under 14, and there are three groups – first for the best ones, then second, then third. There were so many kids, you have to split into groups, so everyone has a full team. I was with the first team. 

Then you go … Under 16, Under 18, Under 20.  Under 19 is what they call a ‘youth pro league.’ I was about 16 or 17 when I played in the pro league.

He was always … in the gym, putting me through drills and things. He kind of saw the bigger picture and he told us: ‘You guys can do something special, and you especially – how competitive you are, your willingness to learn. And I was with him every day in the gym. And I separated from the team, because I wanted to get extra work in. I was really lucky to have him on my side. Without him, I wouldn’t be here. 

I think I really believed … that I could play professionally one week before my dad died. I was 15, and I had a conversation with him. He said, ‘I see that you’re really enjoying basketball.’ And I played a lot of sports – soccer, ping-pong, and all those different leagues. And one week before he passed away, he was talking about it, and he was like, ‘Basketball is the thing where you can provide for your family.’ And then he passed away, and then from then on, there was no soccer, no nothing. I was disciplined and dialed in. 

Of course, it was something bad … that happened. But it made me change my focus – the willingness to take care of my family, making sure everybody’s good. I was, of course, very sad. But then a few weeks after that, I was dialed in, and every single step from there, I was taking it with my dad. 

My dad was … my biggest focus, my motivation. He was a guy who believed in me and encouraged me to be successful. He was looking down from above, and 13 years later, I’m in the NBA. It's insane.

To be honest … I didn’t have my eyes on the NBA back then. Back in the day, it was a thing where you play in Europe until, like, 25, 26, 27. And then you come over to the NBA. You would come in and establish yourself in the EuroLeague first, then hopefully get EuroLeague MVP or whatever, and then come over. 

And for me … I thought about the same process. I played in that first year at 17 in Pro League in the first division. My second year, at 18, I played awesome. And the scouts came. And I got an invitation to go to Portland to the Hoop Summit. 

I wasn’t even in the picture there … nobody knew who I was. But I went to Portland, I met Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins, Joel Embiid. And there were so many scouts there. But I didn't know what was going on, you know. Like, I'm from Germany, and everybody's sitting on the sidelines watching. 

And then I had one week of practice … where I was really killing it and playing great. And then I played against the Harrison twins, Julius Randall, Jabari Parker on the USA side. And I just had a game, I couldn't even tell you, but everything went perfectly. 

And from there on … I was on the map, and then everybody said: ‘Yo, you’re gonna go in the First Round, for sure. And I didn't even expect it, to be honest. But then things changed, just like that. I was 18. 

That year in Germany, I made … $2,200. And we had to bump it up to $4,000 because I was playing really great. And I thought: ‘Wow, I’m really helping my family get a house. I got an apartment. And everything was going well. So, I thought next year, maybe I’ll make $10,000. Maybe $15,000. And then I got drafted and made $1.6 million. I was like: ‘WHAT?!’

Now, we’re in this every day … here in the NBA. And we make a lot of money. But for me, a normal guy, that’s just not normal. But I’m really grateful to be here and make so much money, taking care of my family. But I do what I love every single day, and there’s nothing better than that. 

I still have a lot of family back … in Braunschweig, Germany. My mom has never missed a game yet. And when I was in Sacramento, that’s a nine-hour time difference. If the game was at 7 p.m. there, that’s 4 a.m. in Germany. She’s very supportive. But our family, growing up, going through the struggles we went through, everybody makes sure that the family is the most important thing. 

And since I got drafted … nobody’s missed a game. Even my wife now, when I played the 2023 FIBA in Okinawa, she flew with three kids to Japan by herself, just making sure that she's there. Went to Manila after that, went to the Philippines where we won the World Cup. 

The NBA guy I looked up to growing up was … Chris Paul. When I was young in Germany, I’d watch him – how he controls the game. And then, years later, playing with him in OKC, I learned so much. At the time, I was like 23, 24. And I learned so much just being around him. It was incredible. He did a lot for me. 

But I watched a lot of film … of guys like CP3, Tony Parker, Mike Conley. All the elite point guards. It helped me really learn the game. 

I remember my first dunk … growing up. I think I was 17 or 18, playing in the second division. I got two, back-to-back. A guy was bringing the ball up and I stole it, and BOOM! He took it out again, I stole it again, but the second one wasn’t that great of a dunk. 

But in the NBA … my first dunk changed everything. 

My first year in the league … I didn’t play much. I played in like 20 games, got sent to the G-League, and didn’t play much after that. My second year, I didn’t really play much at all through the first 25 games. Then, one night we were in San Antonio. And coach comes to me at halftime and says, ‘Yo, be ready – you’re gonna play in the second half.’ 

And I got an opening on a 45-cut … and I drove in and dunked it. And in the photo, it was Tim Duncan, Kawhi Leonard and Tony Parker. I got that one framed. Coach Budenholzer came from the Spurs system, so he put it in a frame and gave it to me. He said, ‘Man, not a lot of people have done this, so from here on out, you have my trust – and you’re gonna play every game.’