The Summer Games are getting closer and closer. The basketball players are already looking forward to their opening game. There are days off before the next test against the opening opponent of the Olympic Games in Berlin.
Daniel Theis still doesn’t have an Olympic tattoo on his right calf – but that’s about to change. “The Olympics, an Olympic medal, there’s definitely room for that,” announced the Braunschweig native. The basketball star proudly showed the World Cup trophy on his taut right calf on Magenta TV. “It’s right that the trophy is there. It’s a title that no one can take away from us. That was something special for me.”
In addition to basketball and family, tattoos are the great passion of the 32-year-old, who has now found a new club in his adopted home of America. “The tattoo represents a tree of life that always reminds me of what the most important pillars in my life should be,” he once revealed. In the future, Theis will play for the New Orleans Pelicans in the NBA. After signing the contract, the 2.04-meter giant made his debut this summer in Hamburg on Saturday in a 95:50 friendly win against an overwhelmed Dutch team.
Praise for Theis
Second best scorer with 16 points behind birthday boy Andreas Obst (18/six three-pointers) – and man of the match. “Daniel Theis showed in his first game this summer how valuable he can be for us. We have a chance to be great,” explains national coach Gordon Herbert.
“Daniel is one of the best centers from Europe. He has proven that for years in the NBA,” says Franz Wagner of the Orlando Magic, recently the highest paid German athlete. “His energy, in defense and offense, is always fantastic,” says captain Dennis Schröder, praising his friend.
Getting even better
After the defeat and the victory against Olympic host France, Herbert tested his final Olympic squad in front of 10,137 spectators in the Barclays Arena. With the exception of the still injured former Berlin player Johannes Thiemann, everyone was on board. “That was another good game today, but we still have to get better,” says Schröder. “We showed what we can do. We now have to show against Japan and the Americans that we can play and prepare as well as possible.”
In addition to the friendly against the opening opponents at the Olympic Games on Friday in Berlin, the team will face the star team of the USA led by LeBron James in London on July 22. “They already realized last year that we can play a little bit,” says Franz Wagner. “Of course they are strong, they said that last year too. But that is only one team, there are ten others. We have a good team and still have a lot ahead of us.”
Basketball players want to go to the opening ceremony
It remains to be seen whether the team’s participation in the Olympic opening on July 26 is part of good preparation. “We have decided as a team that we are going,” announced Schröder.
But less than 24 hours after the opening ceremony, the co-favorites will be playing their first group match against Japan (July 27, 1:30 p.m.) in the Lille metropolitan region. In Group B, Brazil awaits on July 30 and then the French on August 2. Then it will become clear how good the preparation was – and whether Daniel Theis can continue to dream of a new tattoo.
Source: Stern
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