When the Oklahoma City Thunder take the floor in Orlando, Dennis Schroder figures to be a big part of any plan for the team’s success. He should be the Sixth Man of the Year favorite with his 19 points and 4.1 assists per game — but the NBA is contractually obligated to give the award to Lou Williams every season.
Sorry, Dennis.
Regardless of what trophy Schroder does or does not own at the end of it, the 2019-20 season has been a revelation for the 26-year-old German. If OKC is going to stir up some Disney Magic and make things interesting, they’ll need a heaping dose of The Schrodie to get it done, right?
It’s just — he might need to leave the team/bubble for a little while.
There’s apparently a younger, much smaller Schroder arriving soon and Dennis isn’t going to miss it.
The 8-game regular season concludes on August 14 — just 31 days from today. As such, an absence around 3-4 weeks from now could mean Schroder is gone around the start of playoffs — but babies generally run on their own schedule, so who really knows? Without a basic understanding of the Thunder’s paternity leave policy (is that a thing in the NBA?) it’s difficult to predict how long he would be gone, but missing one or two important games seems totally plausible.
Maybe the timing will work out and he won’t miss any games at all. Anything can happen in the year 2020.
While it’s difficult to quantify what Schroder’s absence would mean for the Thunder on the court, it feels important to point out he’s absolutely doing the right thing. We all agree that babies lack any utility until they’ve at least learned to scoot themselves across the floor, but this isn’t “letting the team down” or anything wild and dramatic like you’re likely to find on social media. This is sports being inherently less important than bringing a human being into the world.
Can’t argue that.
I’m sure there will be plenty more developments on this story as it approaches. We pray for everyone’s health, happiness, and Schroder returning to the team for a magical title chase. If he’s done with everything else first, obviously. Priorities.
