Schröder, Germany Beat Serbia to Win FIBA World Cup Gold Following Shock Upset of USA

Germany is the FIBA World Cup champion for the first time in history.

The country's undefeated run through the 2023 FIBA World Cup ended with an 83-77 victory over Serbia in the gold medal game on Sunday. Serbia has now lost in the gold medal game in two of the last three World Cups, as it fell to the United States in 2014.

This is the first medal for Germany since it took home the bronze in 2002 with Dirk Nowitzki leading the way.

Dennis Schröder, who signed with the Toronto Raptors this offseason, led the way for the victors with 28 points. It was far from a one-man show, as Franz Wagner did a little bit of everything with 19 points, seven rebounds, three steals and two assists.

But with the game on the line, Germany turned to Schröder. Serbia had the momentum following a fourth-quarter run, but the NBA veteran blew past his defender and finished at the rim in the final 30 seconds to push the advantage back to four points and two scores.

He drew plenty of praise for his clutch showing:

Wagner led the way in the first half from a scoring perspective, but the game was tied heading into intermission.

Yet Schröder went into takeover mode for extended stretches in the third quarter and gave Germany a comfortable 12-point lead heading into the fourth. To Serbia's credit, it came charging back in the fourth quarter with Aleksa Avramović (21 points) and Bogdan Bogdanović (17 points and five assists) leading the way.

However, the difference in the game was the Raptors newly signed point guard.

His layup was the most important shot of the tournament, and he iced the victory on the free-throw line. It was a performance that will go down in German basketball history, and he delivered in the biggest moment.

It was the culmination of an incredible tournament run for the victors that also included a semifinal win over the United States. Facing Serbia on such a short turnaround after that emotional high following the win over the Americans was anything but easy, but Schröder put his team on his back and brought home the gold.