World-class inside! What is the level of Thes in the European Championship?

European Championship quarter-finals, Germany defeated Slovenia 99-91.

The process was a little tortuous, but the result was not surprising. After entering the knockout stage of this European Championship, Germany was regarded as the biggest favorite to compete for the championship. Previously, they had 5 wins and 0 losses in the group stage and averaged 32.8 points per game, which was quite explosive.

The German men's basketball team has many stars, and the two most famous ones are undoubtedly Schroeder and Wagner Jr.

Schroder is not a big star in the NBA, but he is definitely a big killer in FIBA. He led the team to win the championship in the 2023 World Cup and was elected as the MVP. So far in this European Championship, he averaged 20.1 points, 3.3 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game.

Wagner Jr. is one of the Magic's leading stars. Last year, he signed a five-year max salary renewal of 224 million yuan. He has performed more and more strongly in the World Championships in the past two years. So far in this European Championship, he has averaged 21.0 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game.

The performance of these two players:

-Schroeder, played 34 minutes in the game, 6 of 20 shots, 1 of 9 three-pointers, 7 of 9 free throws, scored 20 points, 3 rebounds and 7 assists

-Sweder Wagner, played 35 minutes in the game, 5 of 17 shots, 0 of 3 three-pointers, 13 of 14 free throws, 23 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists

Objectively speaking, although both of them got 20+, the scoring efficiency of both players was not particularly good. Fortunately, at the critical moment in the fourth quarter, both of them performed well - in the last 4 minutes, Germany played Slovenia in a 14-5 reversal to win. During this period, Schroeder made a three-pointer overtaking, and Wagner made a key mid-range shot.

In the same game, there is another veteran in the German men's basketball team. His performance even surpassed Schroeder and Wagner Jr., and was elected the MVP of this game. I believe many fans are familiar with this player - Daniel Thes.

In the whole game, Thes played 26 minutes, 6 shots, 3 of 6 free throws, 15 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal.

Unlike Schroeder or Wagner Jr., Tess does not have much offensive skills in holding the ball, but his efficiency in eating cakes in this game was very good. He seized several opportunities for aerial contact and empty cuts, and even showed up to hook his low post in the third quarter.

and, Thes also has a first-hand support skill. His passes near the free throw line and at low posts are very threatening. Wagner's key mid-range shot in the last quarter was from Thes who attracted double-teams. On the defensive end, there are some things that Theis is not small, and the penalty for this game is controversial, but in terms of results, the existence of Theis does cause great trouble to Slovenia, and the data can also reflect:

The plus and negative value of Schroeder in this game is -3, and the plus and negative value of Wagner Jr. is +4. On the other hand, the plus and negative value of Theis is as high as +23. In other words, when Theis is not present, Germany lost 15 points to Slovenia in the 14 minutes.

Since this European Championship, the best German men's basketball team must be Watts and Schroeder, but Theis's performance is also quite good.

As of the current seven games, he has averaged 11.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 1.3 blocks per game, third in the scoring team, first in rebounds and blocks, with the shooting percentages of 73.3%/37.5%/76.9% respectively in the three events.

In the game against Lithuania, Theis made 9 of 9, 3 of 3 three-pointers and 2 of 2 free throws, scoring 23 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 1 block with a perfect shooting percentage of 100%. Germany also defeated Lithuania 107-88.

It should be noted that Thes's performance in international competitions has been quite good. Previously, he won the 2023 World Cup in Germany, Thes was able to average 10.9 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game, with a shooting percentage of 59.4%.

It's a pity that such an excellent world-class inside player will not appear in the NBA next season.

Last season, Theis reached a one-year, 3 million yuan basic salary contract with the Pelicans, and was then traded to the Thunder by the Pelicans, and then cut by the Thunder. After being sacked, Thes was favored by many teams. It was rumored that the Knicks also offered him a contract, but after some thought, Thes finally joined the Monaco Basketball Club (head coach Span Norris), and his NBA career came to an end.

According to previous news, the reason why Thes made this decision was mainly to go to a team that would allow him to play a more important role, and in the end his idea was indeed realized.

In his 15 games in Monaco last season, he averaged 11.7 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, shooting 60.3% from the field and 42.3% from three-point shooting. In this offseason, Thes did not jump out of his contract and returned to the NBA and will continue to play in Monaco next season.

As a comparison, Thes performed in the last two seasons in the NBA:

-2023-24 season, during the Clippers, averaged 6.3 points and 4.1 rebounds, shooting percentage of 53.6%, and three-point shooting percentage of 37.1%

-2024-25 season, during the Pelicans, averaged 4.3 points and 1.6 rebounds, shooting percentage of 47.3%, and three-point shooting percentage of 24.3%

The performance in the Pelicans last season was indeed very bad, but it was still not bad in the Clippers in the 23-24 season. Combined with this year's European Championship, Thes actually has the ability to continue playing in the NBA, but it is likely that it is also a basic salary and cannot get too many opportunities to play..

Back to the European Championship, although defeated Doncic's Slovenia, it was not easy for Germany to win the championship. The next match was Finland with Markanen, strong body shape and athletic talent. Even if they passed Finland, the final opponent was either Shinkin's Turkey or Antetokounmpo's Greece, and each team was not easy to play.

In the past 30 years, the best record of the German men's basketball team in the European Championship was the runner-up led by Nowitzki in 2005. However, the achievements of this German men's basketball team in the World Cup and Olympics have surpassed that of Nowitzki. This year, they may be expected to win the second championship in team history (who once won the championship in 1993).