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EuroBasket Notes: Schröder, Nowitzki, Wagner, Spanoulis, Awards

September 15th, 2025 at 11:59am CST by Arthur Hill

Dennis Schröder credited Dirk Nowitzki with inspiring the current crop of players who have turned Germany into an international basketball power, writes Edvinas Jablonskis of BasketNews. After capturing MVP honors while leading his team to the gold medal at EuroBasket, Schröder paid tribute to the Mavericks legend, who was a German basketball icon in addition to his 21-year NBA career.

“Dirk, what he’s been doing for the German national team and what he’s done in the NBA and in the national team made us come to the national team and represent our country,” Schröder said.

Nowitzki is one of the greatest players in European history and earned a long list of honors in international competitions. Schröder is also building an impressive resume, adding the EuroBasket gold to the championship he won at the 2023 FIBA World Cup and a bronze medal in the 2022 EuroBasket, but he doesn’t want to be compared to Nowitzki.

“At the end of the day, my name is Dennis Schröder, and I’m just Dennis Schröder, and that’s my legacy,” he said. “Whatever I can bring to the table to make sure my teammates are good and we compete at the highest level and win gold medals. That’s what I’m going to do. Everything else doesn’t matter.”

There’s more from EuroBasket:

  • German teammate Franz Wagner dedicated the championship to his brother, Moritz Wagner, who was unable to play due to an ACL tear in his left knee that he suffered with Orlando last season, per Pijus Sapetka of BasketNews. Franz said his brother is “super happy” about the gold medal, and he wore Moritz’s jersey during the victory celebration as a way to include him. “Obviously, he had a tough injury, and he’s trying to get back as fast as possible,” Franz said. “Couldn’t be here, but I think everybody on the team knows that he’s part of the group. It’s part of what we’re building.”
  • Greek coach Vassilis Spanoulis was happy to leave with the bronze, which represents the nation’s first international medal in 16 years, according to Michalis Gioulenoglou of Eurohoops. “This medal belongs to all Greeks,” Spanoulis said. “We wanted to bring basketball to the top again. This generation deserved it. Thank you very much, and I hope this medal returns basketball to the golden era.”
  • We covered Schröder’s MVP and the naming of the First Five on Sunday, but several other awards were also handed out. FIBA’s EuroBasket website lists Poland’s Jordan Loyd, Turkey’s Cedi Osman, Israel’s Deni Avdija, Finland’s Lauri Markkanen and Serbia’s Nikola Jokic as second-team honorees. In addition, Germany’s Isaac Bonga was named Best Defensive Player, Finland’s Miikka Muurinen received the Rising Star award and Turkey’s Ergin Ataman was recognized as Best Coach. Full standings for all 24 tournament teams have also been released.
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Germany Defeats Turkey For EuroBasket Gold; Schröder Named MVP

September 14th, 2025 at 3:16pm CST by Luke Adams

A back-and-forth battle between a pair of 8-0 teams went down to the wire in Sunday’s EuroBasket championship game, with Kings point guard Dennis Schröder helping to secure a gold medal for Germany by scoring the final six points and turning an 83-82 deficit into an 88-83 victory over Turkey.

Schöder (16 points, 12 assists), former NBA wing Isaac Bonga (20 points, 4-of-4 three-pointers), and Magic forward Franz Wagner (18 points, eight rebounds) were the standout performers for Germany, which has won two of the past three major international basketball competitions.

Although the Germans didn’t make the podium at the Paris Olympics last summer, the country is now the defending FIBA World Cup (2023) and EuroBasket (2025) champion and has posted a 21-2 record in those three tournaments, per HoopsHype (Twitter link).

Germany outlasted a Turkish national team that was led by Rockets center Alperen Sengun (28 points), former NBA forward Cedi Osman (23 points, 6-of-9 on three-pointers), former NBA guard Shane Larkin (13 points, nine assists, six rebounds), and Sixers big man Adem Bona (12 points, 5-of-5 shooting).

While they weren’t able to claim their first EuroBasket championship, Turkey matched their best-ever result by taking silver. The Turkish team lost to Yugoslavia in the 2001 final, which was the only other time the country made the championship game.

Schröder was named the EuroBasket Most Valuable Player after leading the Germans to their first title in the event since 1993. He scored at least 16 points in all nine games, averaging 20.3 points and 7.2 assists per contest.

The 2025 EuroBasket All-Star Five was made up entirely of NBA players, with Lakers guard Luka Doncic (Slovenia) and Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (Greece) joining Schröder, Wagner, and Sengun (Twitter link).

Antetokounmpo and the Greek national team beat Finland in the third-place game earlier on Sunday.

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Turkey Ousts Greece, Will Vie For EuroBasket Gold

September 12th, 2025 at 2:59pm CST by Luke Adams

Turkey jumped out to a 12-point lead in the first quarter of Friday’s EuroBasket semifinal vs. Greece and never looked back, expanding that lead in each quarter en route to a 94-68 blowout win.

The victory secures Turkey’s spot in the EuroBasket championship game on Sunday. It will be the first time since the country hosted the tournament in 2001 that it has competed in the gold medal game — Turkey lost to Yugoslavia 24 years ago and has never won a EuroBasket title.

Rockets center Alperen Sengun had another big game on Friday, racking up 15 points, 12 rebounds, and six assists as Turkey outscored Greece by 24 points during his 33 minutes of action. However, the team’s leading scorers were forward/center Ercan Osmani, who had 28 points on 11-of-15 shooting, and Cedi Osman, who scored 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting and was a team-best +32.

Osmani was also the primary defender against Greek star Giannis Antetokounmpo, who had his worst game of the tournament with just 12 points on 6-of-13 shooting. The Bucks forward, who had scored at least 25 points in each of his five previous EuroBasket games, had 12 rebounds and five assists, but committed five turnovers and was a -30 in 30 minutes.

Turkey and Germany will square off for EuroBasket gold on Sunday with their matching undefeated (8-0) records on the line. The Germans have three active NBA players and two former NBAers on their roster, including Franz Wagner of the Magic and Dennis Schröder of the Kings; Turkey’s roster features two current NBA players – Sengun and Sixers big man Adem Bona – and five ex-NBA players.

Greece, meanwhile, will go up against Lauri Markkanen and the Finnish national team in Sunday’s third-place game.

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EuroBasket Notes: Osman, Wagner, Doncic, Loyd

September 11th, 2025 at 12:48pm CST by Rory Maher

Former NBA forward Cedi Osman has been a key part of Turkey’s run to the EuroBasket semifinals, ranking second on the team in points per game (14.9) and third in minutes (26.8) and plus/minus (+14.0) while converting 51.2% of his three-pointers (5.9 attempts per contest).

However, Osman sustained an ankle injury in Tuesday’s quarterfinal win over Poland. While he returned to that game, he was seen limping off the team bus on Thursday (Twitter video link) and was unable to practice (story via BasketNews).

Head coach Ergin Ataman told Turkish media the 30-year-old will likely be a game-time decision for Friday’s matchup against Greece, as Semih Tuna of Eurohoops relays.

“Their biggest concern was a stress fracture. That’s what it looked like. Thankfully, he avoided a stress fracture,” explained Ataman, “He has bone swelling in that area, preventing him from putting any weight on his foot. He wanted to return to the court in this condition. He will play under any circumstances, but we do not know how effective he can be.

“... We will make a decision based on possible progress,” Ataman continued. “Cedi definitely wants to play, but his injury is serious. He has some time until Friday night, so I hope he can make progress. If the game were (Wednesday or Thursday), he surely would not be able to play.”

Here are a few more notes related to EuroBasket 2025:

  • Germany used a second-half comeback to defeat Slovenia and Lakers superstar Luka Doncic on Wednesday to advance to the semifinals. After the game, German national team and Magic star Franz Wagner said he didn’t notice a difference playing against the slimmed-down Doncic, who set a quarterfinal record by scoring 39 points (he also had 10 rebounds and seven assists). “He’s like that all the time, so I see no difference really,” Wagner said, per Edvinas Jablonskis of BasketNews. “Extremely good player. If he got a little bit better, he might have, but it’s tough to tell with him.”
  • Doncic was exasperated with the officiating after the loss, according to Alessandro Maggi of Sportando. “Four fouls at the start of the third quarter—never in my life,” Doncic said. “And a technical two minutes in… that shouldn’t happen in a quarterfinal.” While Doncic said he was “100 percent angry,” he was pleased with Slovenia’s performance at the tournament. “We gave our all. This wasn’t the result we wanted, but our run deserves respect.”
  • Veteran guard Jordan Loyd, who won a championship while on a two-way deal with Toronto in 2019, had an excellent EuroBasket showing with Poland, averaging a team-high 22.4 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.3 steals on .490/.422/.875 shooting in seven games (32.0 MPG). NBA insider Marc Stein reports (via Twitter) that several EuroLeague teams — most prominently Spanish powerhouse Real Madrid — are pursuing Loyd, who has spent the last three seasons with AS Monaco. Aris Barkas of Eurohoops says Loyd is still under contract with Monaco and the club would have to release him to sign with another team. According to Nacho Duque of Spanish outlet Marca, Loyd has a tentative deal in place with Real Madrid, but there are several complicating factors, including that his Spanish league rights are currently held by Valencia, which could theoretically match any contract he signs.
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Alperen Sengun Leads Turkey Into EuroBasket Semifinals

September 9th, 2025 at 11:25am CST by Luke Adams

Turkey advanced to the EuroBasket semifinals on Tuesday by defeating Poland by a score of 91-77 in the tournament’s first quarterfinal matchup.

Rockets center Alperen Sengun, who entered the day as Turkey’s top scorer, once again led the way for the team by putting up 19 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists in just under 31 minutes of action. It was the first EuroBasket triple-double for Sengun after he came within one assist of achieving the feat during group play vs. Czechia — he’s the youngest player to ever register a triple-double in a EuroBasket game, per FIBA.

With 151 points, 76 rebounds, and 50 assists through seven games, Sengun is the first player in the last 30 years to compile at least 150 points, 50 rebounds, and 50 assists in a single EuroBasket tournament, tweets Armando Caporaso of Sportando.

Cedi Osman, (10 points and a team-best +18 on/off mark), Shane Larkin (13 points, five assists), and Furkan Korkmaz (10 points) are among the former NBA players who also played key roles in Tuesday’s victory for the Turkish national team. Osman sustained an ankle injury in the third quarter, but head coach Ergin Ataman said after the game that he hopes the forward will be able to play on Friday, as Edvinas Jablonskis of BasketNews.com relays.

Veteran guard/forward Mateusz Ponitka and former Raptor Jordan Loyd were Poland’s leading scorers, with 19 points apiece.

The Turkish team is now 7-0 at EuroBasket 2025 and is on track for its best result since 2001 — and maybe ever. Turkey, which hosted the 2001 tournament, won silver that year, but hasn’t finished higher than eighth since then and has only ever made the top four of the European championships one other time (fourth place in 1949).

Turkey will face the winner of today’s Lithuania vs. Greece game in the semifinals on Friday.

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28 Current NBA Players Competing In FIBA EuroBasket 2025

August 27th, 2025 at 7:07am CST by Luke Adams

On the heels of the FIBA World Cup in 2023 and the Paris Olympics in 2024, the 2025 NBA offseason doesn’t feature a major international tournament in which the United States’ top stars are competing.

However, several of the league’s biggest names – including three-time Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic, two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, and five-time All-NBA first-teamer Luka Doncic – are taking part in FIBA EuroBasket 2025, which tipped off on Wednesday.

The tournament, also known as the European Basketball Championship, takes place every four years and features 24 European countries vying for a gold medal. The 24 teams who qualified for EuroBasket are split up into four groups and will face the other teams in their group across five games from August 27 to September 4.

At the end of group play, the top four teams from each group will advance to the knockout round, which is a single-elimination tournament featuring the remaining 16 countries.

By our count, 28 active NBA players are taking part in EuroBasket 2025, along with 30 former NBA players and several more who were selected in an NBA draft but have yet to play in the league.

Here’s the full list of current and former NBA players set to compete in EuroBasket, sorted by group and country:

Group A

Czechia (Czech Republic)

  • Current NBA players: Vit Krejci (Hawks)
  • Former NBA players: None

Estonia

  • Current NBA players: None
  • Former NBA players: Henri Drell

Latvia

Portugal

  • Current NBA players: Neemias Queta (Celtics)
  • Former NBA players: None

Serbia

Serbia’s roster also includes Nikola Milutinov and Vanja Marinkovic, who are former NBA draft picks but have never played in the league.

Turkey

Group B

Finland

Germany

Great Britain

Lithuania

Lithuania’s roster also includes Rokas Jokubaitis, a former NBA draft pick who has never played in the league, and Azuolas Tubelis, who was on a two-way contract with the Sixers during the 2023 offseason but was waived before the season began.

Montenegro

Sweden

  • Current NBA players: Pelle Larsson (Heat)
  • Former NBA players: None

Group C

Bosnia and Herzegovina

  • Current NBA players: Jusuf Nurkic (Jazz)
  • Former NBA players: None

Cyprus

  • Current NBA players: None
  • Former NBA players: None

Georgia

Greece

Italy

Italy’s roster also includes Matteo Spagnolo, Gabriele Procida, and Saliou Niang, who are former NBA draft picks but have never played in the league.

Spain

Group D

Belgium

  • Current NBA players: None
  • Former NBA players: None

France

France’s roster also includes Isaia Cordinier, a former NBA draft pick who has never played in the league.

Iceland

  • Current NBA players: None
  • Former NBA players: None

Israel

  • Current NBA players: Deni Avdija (Trail Blazers)
  • Former NBA players: None

Israel’s roster also includes Yam Madar, a former NBA draft pick who has never played in the league.

Poland

  • Current NBA players: None
  • Former NBA players: Jordan Loyd

Slovenia

  • Current NBA players: Luka Doncic (Lakers)
  • Former NBA players: None
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Turkey Announces EuroBasket Roster Headlined By Sengun

August 24th, 2025 at 2:56pm CST by Luke Adams

Turkey has become the latest team to finalize its roster for EuroBasket 2025, announcing its 12-man squad on Sunday ahead of the start of the tournament this week.

The roster features two current NBA players, including one – Rockets center Alperen Sengun – who is coming off a season in which he earned his first All-Star nod and averaged a double-double (19.1 PPG, 10.3 RPG). Second-year Sixers forward Adem Bona, the 41st overall pick in last year’s draft, will also suit up for Turkey.

Beyond Sengun and Bona, the Turkish national team includes a handful of former NBAers whose names will be familiar to fans. Here are the 12 players who will represent Turkey at EuroBasket:

Bitim, Korkmaz, Larkin, Osman, and Yurtseven all have NBA experience, with Osman (476 regular season games) and Korkmaz (328) each having spent seven seasons in the league, though neither played in the NBA in 2024/25.

Turkey will carry some momentum into EuroBasket, having won each of its past three exhibition games ahead of the tournament, beating Czechia, Lithuania, and Montenegro. The Turkish club will be part of Group A, which also features Portugal, Estonia, Latvia, Serbia, and Czechia. Their tournament tips off on Wednesday against the Latvians.

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International Notes: Giannis, Jokic, Doncic, Osman

August 10th, 2025 at 11:01am CST by Arthur Hill

Giannis Antetokounmpo will represent Greece when EuroBasket begins later this month, but he hasn’t been active for any of the team’s preparation games, writes Aris Barkas of Eurohoops. The Bucks star will miss his third straight contest today as his team faces Israel.

Antetokounmpo is training on his own in Athens, and Greek national team coach Vassilis Spanoulis isn’t sure if he’ll join the squad for the next game against Montenegro, which is set for Thursday in Thessaloniki.

“We don’t know yet if he will play in Thessaloniki,” Spanoulis told Greek national television. “Giannis will be on the court when he should be.”

While it’s not unusual for a player of Antetokounmpo’s status to get star treatment, his absence has caused some consternation among Greece’s opponents. Serbian coach Svetislav Pesic expressed disappointment that Antetokounmpo didn’t take part in Saturday’s contest, Barkis adds in a separate story.

“I’m sorry that Giannis is not here; that’s why we scheduled this tournament,” Pesic said. “We have a good relationship with the Greeks; they always respond to us.”

There’s more international news to pass along:

  • While Antetokounmpo missed a potential battle of perennial MVP candidates, Serbia’s Nikola Jokic dominated with 23 points, 19 rebounds and four assists in a 76-66 victory, according to Eurohoops. The Nuggets star controlled the paint area as Serbia pulled away from Greece in the second quarter.
  • Slovenian teammates have noticed a change in Luka Doncic that goes beyond his slimmed-down appearance, per Martin Pavncik of Sport Klub. Playing in his first international tournament since joining the Lakers, Doncic has become more of a vocal leader than he was in the past. “Already at the first training session, I noticed that he talks significantly more than in previous years,” longtime teammate Klemno Prepelić said. “I believe this is a challenge that awaits him at the club as he takes on the role of the first face of the franchise. His word carries a lot of weight just because of his exceptional basketball knowledge and incredible feeling. At the same time, he does it with great enthusiasm and a desire to make every individual in training better.”
  • Former NBA player Cedi Osman, who’s part of Turkey’s EuroBasket roster, enjoys playing in Europe because it allows him to participate in more international competitions, BasketNews relays. “The difference between the NBA and Europe is that here, I can also take part in the FIBA windows,” Osman said. “That’s very important. When I was in the NBA, there were long breaks in between. But now, every two or three months, I get the chance to come to Turkey and play for the national team. I think this helps both me and the team a lot. The same goes for other players returning from the NBA — their involvement during the windows builds continuity and chemistry.”
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Kendrick Nunn, Cedi Osman Sign Extensions With Panathinaikos

April 9th, 2025 at 2:16pm CST by Rory Maher

Former NBA players Kendrick Nunn and Cedi Osman have signed extensions with defending EuroLeague champion Panathinaikos, team owner Dimitris Giannakopoulos announced today (story via BasketNews.com).

According to Giannakopoulos, Nunn has signed a three-year extension with the Greek powerhouse, while Osman’s deal covers two more years.

Greek outlet SDNA reported a couple weeks ago that Nunn had agreed to a three-year extension that will make him the highest-paid player in the EuroLeague, with an annual average salary of €4.5MM (hat tip to EuroHoops.net). Nunn’s contract does not feature NBA out clauses and is fully guaranteed, tweets Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.

The €4.5MM yearly figure is after taxes have been taken out, according to Urbonas (Twitter link). That’s approximately $4.9MM annually, Urbonas notes.

Nunn, who last played for the Wizards during the 2022/23 campaign, has become one of the best players in Europe, averaging 20.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.1 steals in 32 EuroLeague contests this season (31.1 MPG). The American guard has been extremely efficient offensively, posting a .503/.419/.846 shooting slash line in those appearances.

Osman, 30, played for San Antonio in ’23/24, but was unable to find an NBA deal to his liking over the summer, eventually signing with Panathinaikos in September. The following month, the Turkish forward sounded optimistic about returning to the NBA at some point, but his new extension will keep him under contract through 2027. It’s unclear if his deal contains out clauses.

A seven-year NBA veteran, Osman has averaged 7.9 PPG and 2.4 RPG on .444/.379/.812 shooting in 31 EuroLeague games in ’24/25 (18.2 MPG).

Panathinaikos has a stacked roster featuring several other former NBA players and EuroLeague veterans. The team is currently in third place in the league’s standings with a 21-12 record.

Panathinaikos also went 22-0 during the regular season in Greece’s top domestic league, with the playoffs coming up this week.

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International Notes: Osman, Lee, Loyd, S. Johnson

October 13th, 2024 at 9:00am CST by Arthur Hill

Cedi Osman, who returned to Europe this summer after seven NBA seasons, said in an interview with Giorgos Adamopoulos of Eurohoops that he’s not convinced his NBA career is finished. The 29-year-old forward signed a one-year contract with Panathinaikos, and he wants to have a strong season with the Greek team before considering his basketball future.

“I do not think it is over for me, but you never know what happens,” Osman said. “I am fully committed to Panathinaikos right now and I really want to win EuroLeague with this team. We have a great team, a very talented team that I believe can go for the back-to-back and I want to win all the cups that we can. I want to achieve everything here. So, that is why I am happy to be here and I am excited and hopefully it is going to be a great year for us.”

There were rumors during the summer that Osman was close to joining Real Madrid, but he dismissed those talks as “nothing serious.” He also discussed the adjustment of getting used to the EuroLeague style of play again and the experience of playing alongside LeBron James in Cleveland and Victor Wembanyama in San Antonio.

“He is great. He is unbelievable,” Osman said of Wembanyama. “In one or two years, he will probably be the face of the NBA. That is what I think. He is a talented kid that we have never seen before.”

There’s more international news to pass along:

  • Saben Lee has a new two-year contract with Maccabi Tel Aviv after reaching a buyout agreement with Turkey’s Manisa Basket, the Israeli team announced on its website. Lee, who appeared in 24 games with the Suns last season, made a splash by scoring 36 and 43 points in his first two games with Manisa. “I’m excited to join such a historic club and looking forward to this season,” Lee said. “I hope we can win many games and bring pride to the fans. I’m grateful for the opportunity and want to thank the management, coaching staff, and everyone who had a hand in me getting to wear Maccabi’s uniform. Let’s go Maccabi, I can’t wait to get to work.”
  • Jordan Loyd, who left Maccabi Tel Aviv due to concerns about the war in Israel, has signed a two-year deal with AS Monaco, according to Eurohoops. The 31-year-old point guard has played for numerous teams since leaving the NBA, but he has a fondness for Monaco, where he was named MVP of the LNB Finals in 2023.
  • Former NBA forward Stanley Johnson, who now plays for Anadolu Efes, wasn’t injured when two shots were fired through the window of his apartment in Istanbul, BasketNews reports. Police are searching for the suspects.
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