It’s not the most beautiful or the most useful assist of Dennis Schröder’s career. It would even rather be a stray bullet. A few days ago, the playmaker openly criticized Maxi Kleber for his absence from EuroBasket 2022. And some sentences were strong.
“Maxi wasn’t there last year and the message then was: if you’re away, you will be away next year too,” slipped the new player from Toronto. “Maxi, you want to work on your game and that’s why you can’t come to the national team? Sorry to tell you Maxi, but you have no game. You stay in corners, you defend, you play pick-and-roll, but you’re not someone like Carmelo Anthony, you don’t you don’t have to work on your game.”
Of course, such attacks were not going to go unanswered. The interior of the Mavericks began by recalling the causes of his package in 2022.
“My goal in playing basketball and representing Germany is to be 100% healthy, to help the team and to be a good teammate,” he answers. “My decision last summer was justified by an injury, I had not played the last four months of the NBA season, I needed to rest and recover. In good health, I would have loved and I would have been proud to play for the national team. I communicated with everyone involved in an honest and respectful manner. I enjoyed the successes of the team and was proud of what they accomplished. »
Then, without naming him, Maxi Kleber takes aim at his Mannschaft teammate as well as his recent outing and announces that he has decided not to take part in the World Cup!
“I entered the summer with the intention and the motivation to join the team at the World Cup. However, recent unfortunate and inappropriate public statements about me have made it clear that I am not welcome in the national team. I don’t want to destroy the good chemistry of last summer, or become a distraction. So I decided it was best for everyone that I didn’t play. Instead, I will encourage and support the team as a fan. I do not intend to comment further on this. I wish the national team much success! »
The German federation will therefore have a year to pick up the pieces between Dennis Schröder and Maxi Kleber, in order to hope to display the best possible team in Paris, for the 2024 Olympic Games. If the team qualifies there.
| Maxi Kléber | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Crew | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2017-18 | LAD | 72 | 17 | 48.9 | 31.3 | 74.6 | 1.0 | 2.3 | 3.3 | 0.7 | 1.6 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 5.4 |
| 2018-19 | LAD | 71 | 21 | 45.3 | 35.3 | 78.4 | 1.3 | 3.4 | 4.6 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 1.1 | 6.8 |
| 2019-20 | LAD | 74 | 26 | 46.1 | 37.3 | 84.9 | 1.5 | 3.7 | 5.2 | 1.2 | 2.4 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 1.1 | 9.1 |
| 2020-21 | LAD | 50 | 27 | 42.2 | 41.0 | 91.9 | 0.9 | 4.3 | 5.2 | 1.4 | 2.1 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 7.1 |
| 2021-22 | LAD | 59 | 25 | 39.8 | 32.5 | 70.8 | 1.2 | 4.8 | 5.9 | 1.2 | 2.3 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 7.0 |
| 2022-23 | LAD | 37 | 25 | 45.6 | 34.8 | 71.1 | 0.8 | 2.8 | 3.7 | 1.4 | 2.3 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 6.0 |
| Total | 363 | 23 | 44.7 | 35.8 | 78.7 | 1.2 | 3.5 | 4.7 | 1.1 | 2.1 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 7.0 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Shots made / Shots attempted; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def= defensive rebound; Tot = Total bounces; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost bullets; Ct: Counters; Points = Points.
