Dennis Schroder was back home in Germany, riding around in his car last summer when his cellphone started ringing incessantly and the text messages flooded in at such an alarming rate that he had to pull over. Schroder checked his Instagram account and immediately understood the hysteria: The Atlanta Hawks were dealing Jeff Teague to the Indiana Pacers, meaning that the starting point-guard spot that Schoder so desired, and shamelessly declared should be his, was suddenly going to belong to him.

A three-year journey that included stints in the NBA Developmental League, battling with Shelvin Mack for backup minutes and eventually siphoning minutes from an All-Star in Teague ended with Schroder earning the chance to turn that erratic electricity into consistent efficiency as a floor general. Schroder had pushed for an opportunity anywhere but it meant more that the franchise that drafted him, the one with the longest active streak of postseason appearances in the Eastern Conference, chose to place him in charge over a more established player.

“I was really surprised. But it was my dream and you know, I worked hard for it,” Schroder told The Vertical. “That’s why I made it clear to everybody that’s my goal, to run a team and I’m ready for it. They trusted me, you know – my teammates, coaching staff, organization. Put the keys in my hand, for this team … I didn’t have no fear.”

That spunky, stubborn desire to prove that he belongs has been the engine for the Hawks as Schroder has rewarded the organization for its shrewd decision to begin an awkward transition without a dramatic rebuild. And, along with four-time All-Star Paul Millsap, Schroder has been a primary reason for why the Hawks have provided a greater challenge than expected against the heavily favored Washington Wizards in their seven-game, first-round series. Schroder has been an annoying foil to All-Star counterpart John Wall, whose Wizards lead the series 3-2, and offered some promise for the future with his superb production.

Schroder has been a pest, or perhaps a menace, for much of his time in the league and even has some history with Wall. When the Hawks and Wizards met in the second round two years ago, Schroder was coming off the bench but still managed to irk Wall, who was inadvertently undercut by Teague in the first game of that series, causing Wall to break bones in his hand and wrist. Wall returned after missing three games but claims that Schroder was encouraging his teammates to slap down on the injury – a claim Schroder has denied. Schroder also posted a photo of himself and Kent Bazemore mocking a dejected Wall after a Game 5 loss in that 2015 series. That past has provided some extra tension for this series whose most indelible image through the first five games has been Wall sprinting the length of the court, dunking over Schroder, giving him a death stare and shouting, “[Expletive] wrong with you, boy?”

Not only has Schroder refused to recoil – trading buckets with Wall and showing Bradley Beal that he isn’t the only 23-year-old on the floor with some upside – but he has also flustered Wall with some confounding comments, such as his desire to work out with the four-time All-Star this summer. Wall didn’t sound so enthused by that proposal. But Schroder’s gall to even make such a statement hinted at who he is and what he hopes to make of his career. That funky blond patch of hair on the left side of his head is there because his mother, Fatou – a hairdresser from Gambia – encouraged him to get it in order to stand out in his first season in the German league. He has no desire to be ignored.

Dennis Schroder drives against the Wizards’ Bojan Bogdanovic. (AP) More

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