Despite Dennis Schroder Passing on Lakers’ ‘Generous’ $84,000,000 Offer, LeBron James Shows Former Teammate Love for World Cup Win

Toronto Raptors’ German star Dennis Schroder was part of the team that beat Team USA on their way to the Gold Medal at the recently concluded FIBA World Cup. Schroder had passed on a 2021 offseason offer of four-year, $84,000,000 from the Los Angeles Lakers to join the Boston Celtics on a 1-year deal a few months later, which had caused a major uproar at the time. Despite all that, LeBron James decided to congratulate his former teammate on winning the FIBA World Cup against Serbia on Sunday.

Schroder has been the best player at the World Cup and was rightly named the MVP of the tournament. He averaged 19.1 points, 6.1 assists, 2 rebounds, and 1.4 steals per game, to help his nation emerge victorious against heavyweights like USA and Serbia.

Dennis Schroder gets his flowers from LeBron James after FIBA World Cup win

Schroder and his German team are over the moon currently after their brilliant victory. LeBron James decided to give the 29-year-old star his flowers for an amazing showing against a resilient Serbian side.

 

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A post shared by Dennis Schröder (@ds17_fg)

Schroder received some love from his legendary former teammate on Instagram after the Internet was flooded with news of Germany’s exploits.

“Yesssirr!!! That’s tuff @ds17_fg”

LeBron James congratulates Dennis Schroder for winning the World Cup pic.twitter.com/umetwu8rOr

— What are NBA Celebs Upto? (@NBACelebsUpdate) September 10, 2023

While Schroder was effectively looking for a better contract when he turned down the Lakers’ lucrative deal, the plan did not quite work out for him. He currently is on a 2-year, $25 million deal with the Toronto Raptors. Regardless, LeBron James seemed to have no qualms over Schroder’s past career decisions, and was happy to see him dominate the FIBA World Cup.

Schroder joins elite list alongside Kyrie Irving and Shaquille O’Neal as FIBA World Cup MVP

Schroder’s impressive campaign at the World Cup led to him being selected as the tournament’s MVP. This sees him join an elite list, which includes some of the game’s legends.

Along with Shaquille O’Neal and Dirk Nowitzki, a range of current greats have also been chosen as the World Cup MVP. This list includes Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant.

Ricky Rubio was the MVP at the previous FIBA World Cup. While Team USA also had a few contenders, their loss against Germany and the subsequent failure to win the bronze medal against Canada ended USA’s campaign on a low.