LeBron James weighs in on Dennis Schroder’s Hall of Fame candidacy, ex-Lakers guard’s impact
Careers in professional basketball can look very different depending on whether a player plays in the NBA or elsewhere in the world, but all roads tend to lead to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
For 40-year-old Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James, he knows his place in the Hall has been locked for a long time, but the legendary winger made his case to an unsuspecting candidate during a recent episode of his Watch out for the game podcast with co-host Steve Nash.
While discussing James’ teammate Luka Dončić’s participation in last summer’s EuroBasket for Slovenia, Nash suggested that German basketball star and 12-year NBA journeyman Dennis Schröder had good reason to receive a “Naismith Orange” jacket in the future.
Ultimately, the 21-time All-Star agreed.
“Yes, I mean, I saw a lot of statistics too and a lot of achievements this summer after EuroBasket,” the 23-year-old new pro shared on Wednesday.
“If (Schröder is elected), I wouldn’t say: ‘Oh my God, I’m so proud!’
“No. He got to work, man.”
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“International football is a big part of our game as a whole.”
After the 32-year-old point guard led Germany to the EuroBasket championship with an 88-83 final victory over Turkey, Schröder began to create a dialogue around his status as one of the greatest international basketball players of all time.
Schröder, who joined James on the Lakers for two different stints in the 2020-21 and 2022-23 seasons, earned the FIBA World Cup MVP in 2023 and EuroBasket MVP honors for his outstanding performance in 2025.
In addition to his successful international playing career, Schröder has also established himself as one of the NBA’s most reliable reserve guards of his generation, as evidenced by his runner-up finish for Sixth Man of the Year as a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2019-20.
The shifty, undersized goalie averages career numbers of 13.9 points and 4.9 assists on an effective shooting percentage of 48.5%, and he will aim to produce at a consistent rate for the Sacramento Kings in 2025-26 as one of their top free agent signings.
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