In his first season playing for the Los Angeles Lakers, Dennis Schroder is living up to the hype that surrounded his trade from the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The 27-year-old is averaging 14.2 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.8 assists this season, shooting 42.9% from the field and 37.2% behind the 3-point line. Schroder quickly proved he was worthy of the starting point guard role he boldly stated he expected to have upon his arrival in L.A.
Schroder in another solid performance against his former team on Wednesday night, scoring 14 points and adding five rebounds and five assists in the 128-99 rout over the Thunder. But even though his allegiance changed, Schroder still recalls his time in Oklahoma City with fondness and was seen catching up with ex-teammates following the clash.
“At the end of the day it’s a game,” he said. “It was good to see those guys, though. I think we had great chemistry with the organization, myself, my teammates. I just tried to focus on getting the W. After the game I talked to some guys, catching up a little bit.”
Oklahoma City is enduring a tough season as the franchise’s front office decided it was time to rebuild the organization and exchanged Thunder stars for numerous future draft picks in the offseason. That helped the Lakers acquire Schroder, who has spoken of his delight over joining L.A. recently and said he would happily extend his contract if offered a “fair” deal.
LeBron James bet with Schroder on no-look 3-pointer in Rockets win
Schroder quickly found his place on the Laker team as shown by his hot start to the 2020-21 season. The playmaker seems to have swiftly developed a rapport with his new teammates including the franchise’s All-Star LeBron James — who has revealed the pair recently engaged in an in-game bet.
Schroder challenged James to a spur-of-the-moment wager, betting the four-time NBA champion to miss a corner 3-point in the second quarter of the 117-100 victory over the Houston Rockets. James famously turned back to accept the bet and the ball soon swished through the net, sending the bench into frenzy.
“He took a dribble, shot it, turned around, and said, ‘Bet.’ It went in,” Schroder said. “It’s just legendary. Such an amazing player having fun out there. It’s nice to be a part of it.”
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