New Orleans Pelicans Center Advances to Semifinals of Summer Olympics

New Orleans Pelicans center Daniel Theis, representing Germany in the 2024 Summer Olympic Games, helped his team advance.

Aug 6, 2024; Paris, France; Germany power forward Daniel Theis (10) runs onto the court before the game against Greece during a menís basketball quarterfinal game during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Accor Arena. / Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

New Orleans Pelicans center Daniel Theis has been busy this NBA offseason.

Not only did he join the team in free agency, but he has been representing his country, Germany, in men’s basketball at the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris.

Germany was entering this tournament with a ton of momentum. After not qualifying for the Games in 2012 and 2016, they were able to qualify in 2020 but did not have a strong showing.

They went 1-3, finishing in eighth place, but during the 2023 FIBA World Cup, something clicked for the national team.

They went 8-0 to win gold and entered this year’s Olympics as one of the better squads.

Germany has lived up to that billing, as they have looked great in Paris. After going 3-0 in Group Play, the Germans improved their undefeated record to 4-0 after defeating Greece 76-63 on Tuesday morning.

That victory puts Germany in the Olympic semifinals for the first time ever.

Their previous best finish at an Olympic Games was seventh place in 1992. Tuesday was not the best game for Theis, who had his hands full matching up against two-time NBA MVP and Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo for parts of the contest.

Antetokounmpo led all scorers with 22 points as he helped Greece jump out to an early double-digit lead. The Greeks led by as many as 12 in the first quarter, but Germany was able to claw back into the game during the second quarter to enter halftime tied at 36.

In the second half, Theis and his teammates were able to pull away for the 13-point victory.

He finished the game with six points, struggling from the field as he went only 1-5, but he did secure a team-high seven rebounds to go along with one assist and one steal in 25 minutes of action.

Leading the way for Germany in the scoring department was Franz Wagner.

The Orlando Magic emerging star had 18 points with three rebounds, two assists and three steals. Dennis Schroder came off the bench to score 13 points with eight assists in 31 minutes.

Germany will now wait to see who their next opponent will be. They will face off against the winner of France and Canada on Thursday. Both teams present unique challenges for Theis and Germany.

Plenty of NBA players are present on each squad.

Theis will be tested if the Germans draw France with their big-man duo of Victor Wembanyama and Rudy Gobert. Canada has Dwight Powell manning the pivot along with Kelly Olynyk and Khem Birch.