The Olympic Games were an opportunity to show that Europeans, and more generally international basketball players, could also make their case against Kevin Durant and his gang. First Serbia, then France responded to the American strike force. Something that Dennis Schröder did not fail to point out.
“European basketball is not about entertainment, it’s pure intellectual basketball. Pure coaching. It’s full of players with really high game intelligence who know how to play. Teams like Serbia, Greece, Spain, France and Germany… there are so many teams that know how to play and are athletic,” Schröder explained after the match lost against Serbia.
To illustrate this ability of Europeans to understand the game, the German took the example of NBA finalist Luka Doncic, who has established himself as one of the best players since his arrival in the league.
“A lot of Europeans in the NBA are making noise. Slovenian Luka Doncic is one of the best players in the world. Of course, the NBA is the best league in the world, but the Europeans are coming,” he continued.
Kevin Durant spends his time answering
After the final won against France, Kevin Durant indirectly responded to Dennis Schröder's statements by posting a photo of the gold medalists on X and adding “ENTERTAINMENT AND IQ” as a caption. A way of saying that the United States is capable of entertaining, while also showing intelligence in the game.
Kevin Durant's response disappointed Dennis Schröder, as he said during a question-and-answer session.
“They won, and Kevin Durant tweets, 'High IQ and entertainment.' To me, that's just weakness.”, reacted the Nets leader. “He's a star, and he feels obligated to respond to someone like me who didn't even want it to be negative. That's just what I see on both sides (in the United States in the NBA and in Europe with Germany)… You know what I mean? I didn't appreciate it.”
For Schröder, it's a shame that Durant feels compelled to respond to any comment, and Schröder isn't the first one he's responded to.
” I don't care, but at the end of the day, that tweet, or whatever he posted, it was because of me. To me, there was nothing negative. I respect all those guys, they're all GOATs, but to say that just shows me how weak he is as a person,” he concludes. “That’s just the way it is. Not everyone is strong, not everyone is in the right frame of mind.”
