Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Dennis Schroder returned to State Farm Arena on Tuesday night when his team faced the Atlanta Hawks.
The Hawks gave him a video tribute on the big screen, and he was mostly received well by his former home crowd.
Schroder tribute video from the Hawks. Positive response from the fans. Heard only a few boos. pic.twitter.com/028tqmvb27
— Chris Kirschner (@ChrisKirschner) January 16, 2019
Dennis Schroder spent five seasons with the Hawks. In his early years, the German national backed up Jeff Teague but was a very efficient player off the bench. He was able to get buckets when the starters rested and play energetic defense. The team saw success and made the playoffs in all three years Schroder spent in a reserve role.
Once Teague left the team, he took on an even larger role as the starting point guard. In his first year as a starter, Schroder averaged 17.9 points, 4.4 assists, and a steal per game. The Hawks made the playoffs but were defeated in the first round.
After that, things went downhill for the franchise. They decided to clean house and start a complete rebuild.
Dennis Schroder eventually ended up with the Thunder, where he has again embraced a bench role. Schroder is currently averaging 15.3 points while shooting 40 percent from the field. He leads the Thunder bench in scoring and has made several key spot-starts when Russell Westbrook was not healthy.
All in all, it's good to see the Hawks acknowledge what Schroder did for the franchise. While he never won a championship with them or become an MVP, he was certainly a large part of a team that saw extended playoff success.
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