German point guard Dennis Schroder was ranked at the 28th spot in The Step Back’s piece previewing the 25 best players under the age of 25.
The Atlanta Hawks star man Dennis Schroder, having recently turned 24 years old and entering his 5th year in the NBA has not been able to break into the 25-under-25 list. And it must be an exclusive list for sure, as at the 27th spot is the Orlando Magic’s Aaron Gordon and at 29 is the Lakers’ Brandon Ingram.
Some names that were ahead of the 4-year veteran Schroder? Dennis Smith Jr. at the 24th spot, Ben Simmons takes 18, Lonzo Ball at 17, and number one overall pick of the 2017 draft Markelle Fultz at 16. If you look closely, you’ll notice that 4 out of 4 of those names have not yet recorded a minute in the NBA, yet beat out Schroder, who started in 78 games last season and posted 17.9 points and 6.3 assists per night.
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And herein lies the issue with such rankings. It is one thing to take a look at what a player has done at the highest level, and quite another to look at a player’s potential to be a star. That being said, wouldn’t it be more appropriate to exclude the rookie class from such rankings and see what they are capable of first?
I am not saying that Schroder, who seemingly has the keys to the castle in Atlanta, is the most exciting youth in all of basketball, but it is disappointing as a fan of the Hawks and as a fan of the association to see all his hard work and determination over the past four years waved off and placed behind rookies to the league.
All four of the aforementioned rookies have many people excited, as they showcased their ability in college and showed they were more than ready for the NBA, and I myself am also excited to see what they do. Lists and rankings such as these may appease fans of those rookies, but they don’t do much for the fanbase supporting characters like Schroder.
After his largely improved season last year as the main ball-handler and an absolute extraordinary display at EuroBasket with Germany, Schroder deserves more credit than he seemingly gets. The Hawks may not be vying for playoff contention, but that doesn’t mean that the players don’t have something to prove and go out every night to represent their city.
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Rankings are a toss-up, and over the recent months players have started challenging the media in their various ranking systems. But hey, we in Atlanta know what we have in our golden-patched point guard, and with a little bit of fortune this year, the rest of the NBA will see it too.
The first test? A trip to Dallas, Texas where Schroder will face off head to head against Mavericks prized rookie Dennis Smith Jr. Pace will be aplenty, and so will the exhilaration.