Austin Reaves and Dennis Schroder showed the lasting bonds of shared experience when the former Los Angeles Lakers teammates embraced following an important win by Schroder and Germany against Reaves and Team USA in the 2023 FIBA World Cup semifinals on Friday.
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Schroder posted video of the exchange to his Instagram account, including a heartfelt message to the younger Lakers star. It seemed to show Reaves waiting outside the Germany locker room to see Schroder despite the Americans’ heartbreaking 113-111 loss that kept them from reaching the championship game.
The U.S. team was the betting favorite to win the tournament but fell short, thanks in part to Schroder’s ability as a point guard to handle the Americans’ defensive pressure. The 29-year-old scored 17 points and had nine assists in the victory.
The 25-year-old Reaves scored 21 points, his highest mark in the tournament, on 7-of-10 shooting from the field. Team USA trailed by double digits in the fourth quarter and came within one point on two separate occasions but was unable to take the lead. It was the first win by Germany against a U.S. team in World Cup or Olympic competition.
The German team has not lost at the tournament and will play Serbia for the championship on Sunday. Team USA will face Canada in the third-place game.
Schroder was a free agent during the NBA offseason and said he was capable of running a team, and if his play for Germany can be used as an indicator, he has showed that is true. But it was an opportunity he unlikely was going to get fully with the Lakers, who re-signed point guard D’Angelo Russell and signed Gabe Vincent. With Reaves also showing excellent playmaking skills, Los Angeles is entering this season with a solid backcourt rotation.
After both were key players in helping the Lakers reach the 2023 Western Conference Finals, Schroder got a two-year contract worth $25 million with the Toronto Raptors this offseason, while Reaves re-signed with Los Angeles on a four-year, $54 million deal as a restricted free agent.
Schroder in his social media post even hinted that there is a bigger contract to come in Reaves’ future, just part of the classy gestures by one former teammate to another.
