Barra Njie was only eleven or twelve years old, he does not remember entirely for sure. But the quick and irrational Swedish European Championship guard remembers how he was taken by storm when he first saw Dennis Schröder play basketball.
He was young and played in Braunschweig, and it was as if I saw myself in him. It felt like much of what Dennis did was what I liked to do when I was out alone in the parks in Bredäng and played, says Njie.
Schröder went to the NBA in 2013 and the love only became stronger the more Njie saw of the German guard's energetic and entertaining playing style.
It's fun to play basketball in that way. That you get the audience with you but still in a professional and good way – that you get the team to play well even if you show off a little, if you say so.
"See my potential"
Over time, the love also became mutual. In 2023, it was Barra Njie who signed with Braunschweig, the club where Schröder was already the majority owner.
A "full circle moment", says 24-year-old Njie.
Today, Schröder is not the Swede's idol first and foremost, but perhaps above all friend and mentor.
That the 31-year-old German – one of the key players in the sensational World Championship gold in 2023 – still plays in the NBA does not prevent the duo from having close contact.
He is like an older brother to me. We talk quite a lot, before and after every match I get a call. But it's also a lot of "tough love". He is a mentor for me and wants the best for me, he sees my potential and is obviously on me to become even better, says Barra Njie who in Wednesday's European Championship debut against Finland made a strong and totally fearless performance when he came in from the bench.
"Talked a lot of crap"
During the summer months until the European Championship teams gathered, Njie and Schröder have trained a lot together in Braunschweig.
We have talked a lot of crap during training and have said that when the match is on, we do not know each other. We will take each other's heads – and then after the match, it's just love, says Njie.
The teams are staying at the same hotel here in Tampere. Have you talked anything now?
No, no. Today we are not friends, we just look angrily at each other.
The match between Sweden and Germany kicks off at 12.30.
