Maximilian Kleber (left) and Dennis Schröder (right) at the 2019 World Cup. (imago images / Camera 4 / Tilo WiedenSoler via www.imago-images.de)
Maxi Kleber is currently worried about his little right toe. At the beginning of November, the 31-year-old from the Dallas Mavericks dislocated his toe in the game against Chicago. After a week’s break, Kleber tried to be fully fit again against the Toronto Raptors, but found that the injury had not yet fully recovered. Since then, the Würzbürger has been canceled.
The game against Toronto was special for him for another reason. Kleber met Dennis Schröder.
“Before the game I just said ‘congratulations’ on the title and the individual success – nothing else.”
Dispute with Dennis Schröder
The congratulations referred to the World Cup gold that Schröder won with Germany – and to his award as “MVP”, i.e. the most valuable player of the tournament.
As Kleber emphasizes, he sent a congratulatory text message to other players in the national team, with whom he was “big”, as Kleber emphasizes, immediately after the World Cup triumph on September 10th. Schröder, however, does not.
The captain was the reason why Kleber wasn’t there for the biggest triumph in the history of the German Basketball Association. In the German podcast “Got nexxt” in July, Dennis Schröder criticized Kleber’s nomination for the World Cup squad – and justified the fact that he had canceled the home European Championships a year earlier. He accused him of not devoting himself entirely to the team.
According to Maxi Kleber, the reason for canceling the European Championships was a knee injury that had not recovered properly. After Schröder’s criticism this summer, Kleber ultimately decided not to take part in the World Cup, saying he “didn’t feel fully welcome.” He did not announce his decision at a big press conference, but in a statement in the basketball magazine “BIG”. Since then he has remained silent.
“I just wanted to keep it quiet, I said, ‘No more coming from my side’. I’ve commented on the topic and that’s enough. Anything else would just be an unnecessary distraction and irrelevant. It was clear from the start that it wouldn’t have been right – and then the decision was made. You don’t have to worry about the rest. I was still happy that they had this success, I think it’s important for basketball in Germany.”
Kleber doesn’t want to cause any disturbance
Instead of attending the World Cup, as he did in 2019, Kleber followed the tournament and the German triumph on television. This role will not change in the future. The national team chapter is over for him.
“I don’t see the point in it now either, because the way it all turned out, the success too – it fits. I also said in the summer that I think I would bring more unrest than stability or help. And if that’s the case, then I’d rather stay away from it – for the simple reason that the team’s success is more important to me. And if that means I watch, then I’ll just watch.”
With the Dallas Mavericks, however, Kleber wants to be active again soon and is hoping for a comeback in the coming days.
2023-11-28 11:13:50
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