It looks like point guard Dennis Schroder is fully embracing the perks of playing for the Los Angeles Lakers.
After a successful start to his debut season with L.A., the 27-year-old playmaker recognized his raising star profile and balked at signing a contract extension with the reigning NBA champions, hoping to enjoy the thrill of free agency for the first time in his career this summer.
And recently, Schroder appeared in a commercial promoting the latest update to one of the most popular video games on Earth, Call of Duty. The map of its WarZone edition, an online battle royale taking place in the fictional city of Verdansk, was destroyed on Wednesday as part of a special event. But just the following day, the game’s developers unlocked a throwback 1984 Verdansk map in an over two-minute long trailer that included Schroder:
LET'S GOOOOO.
Tag your #CODSquad and drop into #Verdansk84 today.#LetsGo #Warzone #CallOfDuty pic.twitter.com/0QuaDJqD3M
— Call of Duty (@CallofDuty) April 22, 2021
In the star-studded commercial, Schroder warns L.A. Dodgers star, Mookie Betts, away off a grenade heading toward the two athletes. Betts then bats it away with his rifle before fireworks light up the sky.
Lakers fans had a chance to learn about the extent of Schroder’s passion for Call of Duty in recent weeks. LeBron James interrupted the guard’s online battle with Anthony Davis last month; a video showing the three-time NBA champion calling his All-Star teammate during the streamed battle to update him on his rehab went viral on social media.
Then last week, another social media clip showed Schroder hilariously screaming at his screen after he got kicked out of the server due to connection issues.
Schroder ‘proud’ of Lakers’ perseverance
The Lakers split the recent back-to-back games against the Utah Jazz at Staples Center. L.A. could have easily lost both contests, though, after allowing the Western Conference rivals to come back from a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter of the overtime 127-115 win on April 17.
Regardless of the late slump, Schroder — who led the team in crunch time, tying the game with less than 10 seconds to go in the last period — praised his teammates for staying calm despite a barrage of 3s launched by Utah. “It’s a game of runs,” he said. “I think we kept cool. … We knew they were going to bring a lot of intensity in the game and they’re going to shoot a lot of threes. I think they shot 59 threes.
“End of the day, I’m just proud of the group staying calm and keep playing through the runs they had.”
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