There are not many places Dennis Schröder hasn’t played NBA basketball. In 2021 he was part of Boston Celtics, and then half a year later, he joined the Houston Rockets. A few months after that he joined LeBron James at the Los Angeles Lakers, but left after just one year to sign for the Toronto Raptors. He was then at the Brooklyn Nets before he most recently joined the Golden State Warriors. For Germany’s basketball star Dennis Schröder, life as an NBA professional has been full of trades and relocations that have taken him across North America.

In swapping New York for San Francisco, Schröder has swapped US coasts. The Warriors are already the eighth NBA team in twelve years for the captain of Germany’s world champion team. This is the fourth time he has had to move within a season.

Little influence and say in team changes

After the Warriors’ point guard De’Anthony Melton tore his ACL, the team needed to find a replacement quickly, and found one in Schröder after a trade was made with Brooklyn.

Whether Schröder wanted to make the move was not even a question — and he probably wouldn’t have moved of his own free will.

“Life is cool here, we live in Brooklyn in a good neighborhood,” he said just a few days ago in an interview with the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” (SZ). “There’s a playground right outside the door, my children already have friends they meet every day.”

Schröder was accordingly shocked when he found out about his trade. He had only joined the Nets at the beginning of the year and felt at home there after many moves during the last few seasons. “I was in a bad mood,” said Schröder – until his five-year-old son Dennis Jr. said: “We’re lucky, at least it’s a good team now.”

Schröder title contender with the Warriors

Ironically enough, Schröder has a better chance of making the playoffs given that the Warriors are battling for a top six spot in the Western Conference while the Nets aren’t even in contention.

Schröder is expected to replace the in-form Melton, and perhaps, alongside superstar Stephen Curry, to help ensure that the Warriors can battle again for a title that was theirs in 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2022. Schröder has averaged 18.4 points and 6.6 assists per game for Brooklyn this season. Melton, who played an important role for the Warriors until his serious injury, had 10.3 points and 2.8 assists.

Whether Schröder’s family will also follow him to San Francisco remains to be seen. After all, his wife Ellen and their three children have only just settled in New York. The Schröders’ real home is not in the USA anyway, but in the northern German city of Braunschweig. Schröder was born there in 1993, and as the son of a mother from Gambia and a German father was discovered by a club coach on an outdoor basketball court at the age of eleven.

Focus on basketball after the death of his father

Schröder was a rebellious teenager with a big ego and lots of confidence. He often got into arguments with his coaches and teammates. After his father died of a heart attack in 2009, Schröder, 16 at the time, focused fully on sport because he had promised his father that he would make it to the NBA.

Two years later, he was playing for Braunschweig in the BBL (Basketball Bundesliga). Shortly afterwards, his good performances also caught the eye of scouts from the US. In 2013, he moved to the Atlanta Hawks in the NBA. Schröder only became a Germany international after moving to the US.

‘Real home’ in Braunschweig

Schröder has maintained a close connection to basketball in Braunschweig. When his former club was in financial difficulties a few years ago, Schröder invested the money he had earned in the NBA and became a co-partner of the club. He has been the sole shareholder since May 2020. “Braunschweig is my home town, I want to give something back to the region,” said Schröder, explaining the move.

His investment secured the team a Bundesliga license, and therefore Braunschweig’s future as a basketball city.

“I am convinced that we can develop the location and turn it into a top club in the league,” said Schröder at the time. This hope has not yet been completely fulfilled, though. Braunschweig has never reached the playoffs since Schröder took over, but the club has not yet faced the threat of relegation from the Bundesliga either.

Schröder may have to return to the team before Braunschweig can return to the top of the German game. A few years ago, Schröder once formulated a comeback at his home club as a sporting goal that he would possibly like to fulfil.

“It’s a dream, I’d love to do it,” he said a few years ago. “I don’t know exactly when, of course, but it’s on my bucket list. I definitely want to play in Braunschweig again.”

In the NBA as a 40-year-old?

But before that, Schröder wants to continue his life as an NBA pro for as long as he can. With his eight years of experience in the league, his strong average numbers, his fast style of play and a world championship title under his belt, the 31-year-old German has earned a status that sets him apart from many other players.

“I’m taking care of my body, looking after my fitness so that I can keep playing like this,” Schröder told SZ. “I’m also getting better with my diet, so I think I can do all that until I’m 40.”

However, only a few players can actually withstand the stress of 82 season games (excluding playoffs) and a lot of traveling for so long. Germany’s basketball legend Dirk Nowitzki was one of them, with the former Dallas Mavericks player retiring after 21 seasons in the NBA.

“If it all works out, then of course I want to end my career here,” Schröder said at his unveiling in San Francisco. But his contract with the Warriors only runs until the end of the season, so perhaps another stop is on the cards for Germany’s NBA journeyman.

This article was adapted from German