Dennis Schroder started his basketball career in 2010 in the German professional ranks. He played for SG Braunschweig, a developmental team for Phantoms Braunschweig of the BBL. He increased his scoring average from 7.8 points per game to 17.8 points per game from his first season to his second season. In his third year in Germany, he earned BBL most improved player honors with Phantoms. After that season, he declared for the 2013 NBA Draft.

The Atlanta Hawks took Schroder with the 17th overall pick in the 2013 Draft. In his rookie season, he was sent to the D-League to play with the Bakersfield Jam. He played 49 games for the Hawks in the regular season that year. Schroder improved his game in the 2014-2015 season, pushing his season stats into double digits in scoring. The next year, the Hawks had multiple all-star players with Schroder continuing to expand his role for a Hawks team that made the playoffs before being eliminated by the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Starting in 2016, Schroder became the starting point guard for the Hawks, after the departure of Jeff Teague. His game log showed some impressive performances, including a career-high 41 points against the Utah Jazz in 2018. But Schroder’s time with the Hawks came to an end after the 2017-2018 season, with Schroder being traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The trade to bring Schroder to OKC was a three-team deal that also involved the Philadelphia 76ers and the Hawks. The move got Schroder away from elite teams in the East such as the Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics. But it also put him in a position to compete with elite young point guards like Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks and Lonzo Ball of the New Orleans Pelicans.

The trade also made Schroder a backup point guard once again, as Schroder found himself as a backup to Russell Westbrook, followed by Chris Paul. But the trade also put Schroder on a playoff team once again, with weapons such as the former Clippers man Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Steven Adams to work with.

Some of the highlights of Schroder’s career have come against some of the best teams in the NBA. He put together a 24 point, 10 assist double-double against the Lakers in 2015. He scored 29 points and dished out 11 assists in a close playoff loss to a Washington Wizards team led by John Wall. And he snagged a career-high 11 rebounds in 2019 against a Memphis Grizzlies team whose strength was cleaning up the glass.