Dennis Schröder did not mince his words upon discovering that Ergin Ataman, the Turkish team’s coach, had won the Coach of the Year award for FIBA EuroBasket 2025. Over the past few weeks in this long NBA offseason, the tournament took place across Europe, with several teams looking to secure victory for their country.
Although several prominent NBA stars were expected to lead their national teams to victory, Schröder and Team Germany were the last team left standing after defeating Turkey in the EuroBasket 2025 Finals.
After the game, Ataman was awarded the Coach of the Year award for leading Team Turkey to the Finals. Upon hearing this announcement, Schröder was unable to contain his frustration.
Dennis Schröder Cursed Ergin Ataman After Germany Defeated Turkey in EuroBasket 2025
There is no denying that Turkey established itself as one of the top international basketball teams in EuroBasket 2025. After all, they eliminated teams with NBA champions such as Nikola Jokic’s Team Serbia and Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Team Greece.
With Alperen Şengün and Cedi Osman as established NBA stars leading Team Turkey, they made it all the way to the Finals while being coached by a vocal Ataman. He even reportedly shared his strong belief that Turkey would emerge victorious if they made it to the Finals in EuroBasket 2025. “If I am in the Final, I will win,” he said.
Despite the fact that Turkey made the Finals, Ataman was unable to coach his squad to victory. They failed to hold off a fourth-quarter comeback from Schröder and Germany, who won the game with a final score of 88-83.
In a surprising turn of events, the EuroBasket officials decided to give Ataman the award over Germany’s Alan Ibrahimagic. Soon after hearing this news, Schröder decided to make his feelings clear.
“Ataman, f*** out of here! Best Coach? My ass!” Schröder shouted while celebrating the title victory on the bus.
Schroder slams the decision to name Ataman #EuroBasket Best Coach 👀
More about it: https://t.co/cQQk3sPi6o pic.twitter.com/ZWa0plNnFF
— BasketNews (@BasketNews_com) September 15, 2025
Schröder made it clear that he had little love for Ataman. He even reposted a quote by Ataman voicing his confidence in Turkey to mock the coach. Schröder included a caption in German, “I kiss your heart.”
Although Schröder won the MVP award for his performance in EuroBasket 2025, his crude language when discussing Ataman’s accomplishment was not well-received by fans worldwide.
Given that he has not achieved anything of real significance in the NBA and has been traded constantly over the past few seasons, one can understand why fans are unwilling to give his accomplishments much credit.
In any case, Schroder is now the reigning World Cup and EuroBasket TISSOT MVP. Germany has won its second significant international trophy over the past three years and will continue to be a contender in these tournaments for years to come.