WeeklySA_AdminCONSISTENCY: Germany’s veteran experience and team cohesiveness proved decisive in the final against Serbia, resulting in an 83-77 win that secured the trophy and a spot at Paris 2024
By Sports Reporter
There may not be a men’s team in world basketball right now heading to the Olympic Games Paris 2024 with greater momentum than Germany.
At FIBA EuroBasket 2022 (the men’s European championships), a German team led by captain Dennis Schröder earned a deserved bronze – the country’s first international medal since winning silver at EuroBasket 2005.
A year later, Germany stunned the world by triumphing at the FIBA World Cup 2023, winning the competition for the first time and qualifying directly for Paris 2024 as Europe’s best-ranked team in FIBA’s flagship event.
Since then, Die Mannschaft (The Team) have risen to third in the FIBA World Rankings, behind only two-time world champions Spain and 16-time Olympic gold medallists USA. Now that Germany have captured everyone’s attention, what can they produce for an encore in Paris?
Germany came into the 2023 World Cup as the no. 11 team in the world and reigning European bronze medallists – a solid if not outstanding resume. Few, if any, pundits predicted they would go on to win the competition.
Eyebrows were raised after Germany topped Group E with a 3-0 record, which included an 85-82 win over Tokyo 2020 bronze medallists Australia, but the idea of Germany reaching the final still seemed unlikely.
Yet when an 81-79 quarter-final win over Latvia was followed up with a stunning 113-11 victory over the USA in the semi-finals, the prospect of a first world title for Die Mannschaft suddenly became a real possibility.
Germany’s veteran experience and team cohesiveness (this is a roster that has remained largely unchanged for the past four years) proved decisive in the final against Serbia, resulting in an 83-77 win that secured the trophy and a spot at Paris 2024.
Their performance and experience at the World Cup proves Germany can execute in the biggest moments on the international stage; the roster that will be assembled for the Olympics will likely mirror the ‘23 team, meaning Die Mannschaft will bring a seasoned, winning group to France that will no longer be seen as underdogs, but rather as realistic podium finishers.
While not traditionally seen as a basketball powerhouse, there have been several players with German heritage who have achieved considerable success at the highest level of basketball. Most notable among them are Detlef Schrempf (a three-time NBA All-Star and two-time Sixth Man of the Year) and Dirk Nowitzki (2011 NBA champion & Finals MVP, 2007 NBA MVP, 14-time All-Star, and 2002 FIBA World Cup bronze medallist).
GERMANY’S GROUP AT PARIS 2024
Germany has been drawn into Group B along with Japan, hosts France and the winner of the Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) Latvia, with those countries being Latvia, Georgia, Philippines, Brazil, Cameroon and Montenegro.
Germany beat Japan in their opening game of the World Cup last summer, and have won three of their last four showdowns at major events against France.
Germany Group Phase Games
vs Japan (July 27)
vs Winner OQT Latvia (July 30)
vs France (August 2)
