TENERIFE (Spain) - When Dirk Werner Nowitzki from Wurzburg and Pau Gasol Saez from Barcelona were battling it out in the post at the Hiroshima Green Arena, back in Germany, whoever was older than 18 or 20 years had another Germany vs. Spain classic in their mind.
13 years prior to that clash at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2006, hosted in the Land of the Rising Sun, Munich's Olympiahalle was rocking with happiness spreading from the stands to the court.
Germany was celebrating reunification with a spot in the FIBA EuroBasket 1993 Semi-Finals. They had never reached such a stage in any international event before.
After that overtime win against Spain, Greece and Russia dropped their weapons. Die Mannschaft was on top of the continent.
However, revenge is always served as a cold dish - the best-ever basketball player born out of Germany wasn't enough to make sure history could repeat with a different generation.
That bitter loss to the Spanish national team, which in Japan would have put the basis of a multi-year success in the following years and competitions, was gasoline for Dirk's pride tank.
The designated victims? Panama, which had to bow to Nowitzki's double-double of 25 points and 13 rebounds, and especially Angola: 48 minutes of complete dominance by the German superstar, who put up a 47-point performance with 16 rebounds and 17-of-17 at the line.
Another 18 years would have passed until another German player could just get close to such an astonishing performance. This time, there were hundreds of Swedish flags being waved around.
"Honestly, I had no idea he had the record. I was just focusing on the game. If I knew he had 47, I would have tried to push to get close to 50. Unfortunately, it was also a s*** day, because we lost the game," David Kramer recalls that game picking up the phone from Tenerife.
Yes, they lost the game as Sweden pulled off a crucial upset on their way to FIBA EuroBasket 2025.
But those 43 points by Kramer just can't disappear - the 28-year-old guard is right behind Dirk Nowitzki in the all-time list of scoring performances by German players. He knows it very well.
"I'd never imagined that, never. I've always watched Dirk since I was a kid. Being next to him on that list, up there, is just incredible. It's amazing I can be part of history with him."
"Next time I want to get 44, 45, and 46. As long as he's #1, he deserves to be up there, to have the record. I'm perfectly fine with being second behind Dirk: if it's Dirk Nowitzki and my name, I'm okay with that," Kramer continues with emotions featuring his answers.
In the end, that defeat didn't harm Germany's trajectory back to FIBA EuroBasket 2025, as they entered a three-game winning stretch since then to qualify for the competition.
That outstanding losing effort was also important for Kramer looking at the bigger picture, unleashing the shooting beast that's always been kind of hidden inside of him.
And to really make sure everybody knew who was behind that #44. Finally.
"[That game] also helped to get my name even more out there, get a little bit more respect from people and German basketball."
David Kramer is getting the recognition he has always sought.
Shaped by a triangle of countries
David Kramer's life has always been about searching for his place to be. Born in Myjava, Slovakia, to a German father and a Slovakian mother, he grew up in Austria.
That's where his affection for basketball started to spread, as he demonstrated not only by making his professional debut at 16 in the Austrian Basketball League with the Oberwart Gunners, but also by representing the country at the FIBA U16 European Championship 2013.
He led Austria in Division B with a team-high 13.9 points per game - including a 27-point outburst against Hungary and Falco-Vulcano Szombathely's Marcell Pongo.
His father Roman's grandfather had moved to Germany back in the day from Czechoslovakia, and that decision would have ultimately changed David's way in basketball. When he was born, a German passport was issued to him.
Without that, he wouldn't be a World Champion.
"I think what we've done was incredible. Being a World Champion just sounds surreal, I can't believe it's happened," David Kramer remembers the historic FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 run.
"The list of players and teams who won it is so limited: when you look at that list, who won that, it's historic basketball players. It should be a bigger deal. It's a very big deal to be World Champion of something."
Looking at that list, there's also his name, despite a limited playing time of 4.2 minutes per game, actually participating only against Japan, Finland, Georgia, and Slovenia.
His path to wearing a gold medal around his neck in Manila conditioned by ups and downs, occurred in an odd equilibrium.
First accustomed to a professional system by ratiopharm Ulm's Orange Academy, he attracted attention overseas, as the orange was matched with purple.
Phoenix recruited him for some workouts, going on a 48-hour international flight from his latest game in the BBL to trying his opportunities out in Los Angeles.
A small window at the NBA Summer League and an experience in the G-League with the Northern Arizona Suns came up next; but being so close with Phoenix's superstars, who shone with their own light, he got captured by a Spanish phenomenon.
"Ricky [Rubio] has done a tremendous job as an amazing point guard, one of the best they've had in Spain since he was 15. It was amazing to see him. When I was in Phoenix and I saw the way he was passing the ball, it was incredible," he recalls watching Ricky from up close.
"Whatever difficulties he was going through mentally, I hope he has found peace with himself and he's enjoying himself right now. At the end of the day, mental health is the most important thing."
Returning to Germany after seeing the dream of making it to the NBA quickly collapsing seemed like the most natural of decisions. Especially if Bayern Munich calls. However, he couldn't find his place in Bavaria.
David Kramer needed to be himself somewhere else.
"When I was in Munich for a short period of time, I wanted to go somewhere where I could take a step back. It wasn't the situation I wanted: I wanted to play basketball, for two years."
Sometimes basketball players receive calls from their agents about new opportunities, and they might not be that close to clubs' owners, sports directors, or general managers. In Braunschweig, things are different.
"When the opportunity came, Dennis [Schroder] talked to me saying that they wanted to grow with young German players and help them develop to get to the next stage. Once he said that it was an easy situation for me. They believed in me; it was a big part of why I could go there, be me, and make the next step," Kramer recalls about his decision to sign with the team.
Knowing both the head coach Jesus Ramirez and the general manager Nils Mittmann, respectively assistant coach and his veteran player back in Ulm, his performances reached unprecedented highs in the German domestic league.
There was a stretch when I struggled a bit. He called me and told me I had to be a leader, I couldn’t have two bad games back-to-back; that couldn’t happen if I wanted to make the next step. And I loved it.
Club's owner Dennis Schroder, who started an eventful and long career full of NBA experiences in his hometown, became Braunschweig's majority shareholder in 2018. He wanted to make sure one of his partners in the German national team had the right mindset in his team.
"There was a stretch when I struggled a bit. He called me and told me I had to be a leader, I couldn't have two bad games back-to-back; that couldn't happen if I wanted to make the next step. And I loved it," the now 28-year-old German player looks back.
"I take criticism and feedback positively because I could be mad about it or use it to improve. I appreciated it a lot that he called me up, because it helped me to understand what I could really provide. That was amazing. [Dennis and I] knew each other for the whole two years, so it was good to be around him later on in the national team."
Over his two-year experience with the team, David Kramer averaged 16.0 points per game, shooting 36.4 percent from beyond the arc. That's how he deserved a call by Gordon Herbert.
"It was a great pedestal. I wanted to show my game and show people I could play on and off the ball, with my shooting skills. I was averaging very good numbers there. But we weren't winning. I wanted to make sure I could show people that I could do the same around a winning team."
Once again, the desire to finally get recognized appeared once again. Kramer says when speaking about approaching the 2023-24 campaign:
"Nobody knew me."
One can be extremely confident in his abilities, one can rightfully perceive he should get more recognition. Acknowledging love from a certain environment but wanting more, wanting people to know about you, must be a weird feeling.
David knew he had to take a different path.
"I came from the summer when we won the World Cup, but nobody knew me as in who I can be and who I am. When you come to Spain, it’s a different world," he explains.
"It doesn't matter what you did outside: if you can do this and that in Spain, they start to respect, and understand you. I wanted to do this in the best domestic league, come here, and make sure I made a name for myself, I made a good career here. That was my goal."
Next destination? Well, Spain. Southern Spain, feeling free keeping his head high to witness the Ahlambra's beauty, dancing with the ball like it was a flamenco spectacle.
"I wanted to go to Spain, such a tremendous league. In Granada, I adapted to the league and to the culture: it was amazing. I could go there with a bigger role, play through mistakes, and grow. Everything was right the way it was."
Finding peace in Tenerife’s winning system
La Laguna Tenerife had their backs up against the wall in Reggio Emilia's PalaBigi on March 12.
With less than seven minutes to play and one beat-pumping red-and-white crowd, the two-time BCL champions were trailing 67-59 to the Italians.
Since then, the German sharpshooter made every shot he took, except for one free throw over a three-shot trip to the line. Three consecutive daggers were part of a huge 25-point night.
His third game with 20+ points in the Basketball Champions League, in his first season with the club from the Canary Islands.
Following the early retirement of Kyle Guy and the departure of long-time sharpshooting veteran Sasu Salin, it was time to open a new chapter.
"The decision came during the summer. Obviously, once I got the offer from them, I didn't hesitate to go there, because it's a great system, a very experienced team," Kramer explains.
After one season in Granada, it looks like recognition was finally getting back to the German sharpshooter's self-belief. He was reaping the benefits getting sunlit.
"It was an easy decision to come here, I wanted to learn from them. I wanted to take my next step because everybody played at the highest level already, they all have great careers so far. I could come here, adapt, learn as much as possible, being a sponge soaking everything up."
In a basketball environment conditioned by quick decisions, teams being changed every summer, head coaches replaced in a snap of a finger, keeping cores together is tough.
Things work differently 115.7 nautical miles away from Moroccan coasts, where trade winds blow strongly to push Atlantic waves to shiver where Teide's hot-flowing lava has cooled over the centuries.
On the island where basketball leaves its rounded prints in black and gold.
Marcelinho Huertas, Giorgi Shermadini, Joan Sastre, Tim Abromaitis, Aaron Doornekamp, Bruno Fitipaldo: the list of those who chose Tenerife as an anchor goes on and on.
"They've been together for I don't know how many years: four, five, or even more. You see our chemistry by the way we play, and we share the basketball; there's no egos, we all have one goal, and everybody sticks to the role. It's the highest basketball IQ I've been around."
His approach to entering the team's dynamics wasn't the easiest: in his first three BCL games - three victories, not expecting anything different - he averaged only 6.3 points.
In the road success on French soil against Saint-Quentin Basket-Ball, he didn't even attempt a field goal.
"When I got here, it took me a little bit of time, because I had to see what my role was going to be. But this coaching staff and players make it easy for you to adapt. They help you, make sure you fit in the role."
"When you come to Tenerife, you have to fit into a role: it's how the top teams play."
"I knew I had to find a role, and my duties were to come here, shoot the ball, be efficient coming off screens, backdoor cuts, not using a lot of dribbles."
"Try to be as precise as possible to that role, work every day and learn from them."
Something similar to what Sasu Salin did here from 2019 to 2024.
"Sasu [Salin] has a great career; he was tremendous here. They're using for me now the same plays they used for him. From a sharp-shooter role, I'm continuing it. I'd definitely say that somehow there's a continuation, with us always trying to open the court a lot," the shooter says.
Marcelinho is just a pure hooper, he loves to go out there. You go on the court and if you’re with him, you know you’re going to war. At 41 years old, at that age he still has his drive.
"You have Aaron [Doornekamp] and Tim [Abromaitis] who shoot very well, the back-up point guard Fitipaldo shoots very well, Huertas has just an amazing pull-up jump shot. When I came here, I tried to do my job shooting-wise too. I've continued as the shooting gun."
However, Kramer is trying to be himself. And he's doing it pretty well thus far: always appearing during Tenerife's 11-0 run this season, he has put up 13.4 points (56.1% from deep) per game.
"I'm trying to do my thing, my role, whether it's shooting the ball, defending, going in transition, slashing to the baskets, backdoor cuts: trying to have a wide game."
But is this the best basketball of his life? Has he ever had a better period individually? Could Braunschweig be another option?
"I wouldn't say it, because there's always room for improvement, somewhere to get better. This is the most high-level basketball I've been around and play at."
"We're playing very well in the BCL as in the ACB. We're just trying to take every game as a new opportunity. We're not satisfied, because we're always hungry, we always look at the next game."
Two of the reasons behind it are strictly related to the head coach Txus Vidorreta on the sideline and a playmaking coach on the court, who's older than several former players right now.
"Marcelinho is just an amazing guy. He's just a pure hooper, he loves to go out there. He enjoys basketball. You go on the court and if you're with him, you know you're going to war. Although he's 41, at that age he still has his drive," Kramer says of his backcourt veteran.
"At 41 years old, he loves to play basketball, he keeps it simple. Obviously, his pick-and-roll, patience, and game around the paint are just incredible, how he sees the court. I have to make sure I get open; once I have a millisecond where I create space, he will find me."
"He's the guy you love to have on your team because he's an amazing point guard who loves to play basketball, he's just a fierce competitor. I love that because I am the same: I love basketball, I love to go out there and compete. It's nice to see that he still does it at this age."
Kramer and Huertas are feeding off each other's energy, as they proved in Reggio Emilia, combining for Tenerife's 47 of the team's total 84 points.
The same occurred when they hosted the Italians on the island, combining for 49 of the team's total 91 points: when Marcelinho's having a good night, David follows; and vice versa.
It looks like the Brazilian mastermind has found another valuable partner besides him.
That win in Reggio Emilia happened to be the 100th in Txus Vidorreta's career coaching in the Basketball Champions League. Another weight-bearing column of Tenerife's legacy.
"He knows what pieces he needs to have a successful team. You learn a lot from him basketball-wise; he's strict with you, and he'd scream sometimes, but I take it always as positive feedback. I'm never bad about it; I'll listen to what he has to say to improve."
"There's a reason why he has the most wins in this league. I've enjoyed playing under him a lot, looking forward to playing even more games with him," Kramer continues about his head coach.
As the basketball gods like to play with coincidences, there's a nice circle-closing moment connecting Txus Vidorreta and David Kramer, connecting their past experiences and the current bond between German and Spanish basketball.
Alex Mumbru, the playcaller on the sideline watching from up close the German shooter's 43-point unbelievable scoring performance, was coached by Tenerife's mastermind Vidorreta back in 2009-10, in Bilbao.
"I didn't really know him before the news came out. But I thought it was interesting having Alex [Mumbru] as the national team's head coach. We built our trust with the national team, he could tell me something in Spanish and I can teach him German, and we can help each other out."
"He's doing a great job so far, it's definitely good for him and good for German basketball to have a Spanish coach who can install some of the country's basketball," the 28-year-old says.
There are links connecting people's lives so much that we don't even think about it. But everything makes sense looking at the bigger picture in David Kramer's trajectory thus far, bringing him all the way to Tenerife starting from Slovakia and Austria.
He wanted to be known, and now everybody knows him.
As a World Champion.
As holder of the second-best scoring performance in Germany's history.
As the next big thing for Tenerife.