Dennis Schroder purchases his hometown professional basketball club

On Wednesday evening, Dennis Schroder announced that he had increased his investment in Löwen Braunschweig to 100%. Schroder is now the sole owner of the basketball club; the other three investors have been bought out of the club.

Schroder made an initial investment into the team in 2018 when he played for the Atlanta Hawks. Schroder purchased a 70% stake in the club and has now made the decision to become the sole owner of the team.

It is a boon for Löwen Braunschweig, the club will benefit from the wealth and experience that Dennis Schroder will bring from the NBA to Löwen Braunschweig. There have been other players who have purchased basketball clubs in Europe and their wisdom has been highly important in cultivating a winning organisation.

Tony Parker owns the French club, ASVEL Basket, and his impact has been undeniable. ASVEL have become the dominant force in French basketball. Parker’s aim is to turn ASVEL into a team that can win the EuroLeague is now starting to come into fruition. Parker is attempting to build a club that can challenge teams like Real Madrid or CSKA Moscow.

His investment into ASVEL has not solely been focused on basketball. Parker has developed the club’s infrastructure so that the team becomes more robust financially in the future. Parker is financing a new arena that will double attendance and increase gate revenue.

Schroder will be able to bring the same sort of impact to the Lower Saxony club. Schroder’s financial injection into the club will provide Löwen Braunschweig with stability. It will allow the team to recruit better talent and better coaches.

From a purely basketball perspective, Schroder’s investment will improve the club. It might even lead to Löwen Braunschweig becoming a title competitor in the Basketball Bundesliga. Schroder’s investment will go some way to improve the club’s youth development.

Löwen Braunschweig is where Dennis Schroder learned his craft as a basketball player. His coach, Liviu Calin, found Schroder skateboarding in a local park. Calin liked Schroder’s athleticism and invited him to play basketball. Schroder had not played basketball seriously before he was approached by Calin.

Calin moulded Schroder into being an aggressive, dynamic guard who brought the intensity on defence. It was a rocky road for Schroder. He was immature at times; Schroder skipped practices and caused conflict with his coaches.

Dennis fully committed to basketball when his father passed away due to a heart attack. The commitment and work ethic made Schroder the player that he is today. A lightning fast point guard who can play both ends of the floor.

Basketball in Germany is still a relatively niche sport compared to football, handball and ice hockey. Germany has produced a few NBA players over the last twenty years but it is not a hotbed of talent. Schroder’s investment will look to change that.

The aim of purchasing Löwen Braunschweig was to give back to his community. Developing youth basketball in Lower Saxony is the best way to do so. Schroder deserves a lot of praise for taking such a bold decision, it will be interesting to see how the future of Löwen Braunschweig plays out.