The German big man was pivotal in helping his nation reach the semifinals on Wednesday night (PHOTO: FIBA)
Daniel Theis finding his feet at EuroBasket 2025 is great news for Monaco
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Last season was quite the experience for Daniel Theis, who marked his long-awaited return to Europe by joining EuroLeague force AS Monaco in February on deal until the end of the 2025-26 campaign.
Theis – following eight and a half years in the NBA with six different franchises – made an immediate impact for coach Vassilis Spanoulis’s team and ended up helping the Monégasque outfit secure its first-ever appearance in the 2025 EuroLeague Championship Game. But by the end of the EuroLeague campaign, there was the feeling that the 33-year-old’s impact had diminished somewhat when compared to his first couple of months in the principality.
After posting 13.8 points and 6.1 rebounds across eight regular-season games as Monaco locked up the fourth seed – and home-court advantage in the playoffs – he had a strong Game 1 performance against FC Barcelona with 22 points and 5 rebounds. Things then took a turn for the worse as he averaged 6.4 points and 4.0 boards from Game 2 until the championship game, but he picked things up in the title decider with 12 points and 8 rebounds – effectively doubling his averages from the previous five games.
In the end, Monaco found itself on the losing side in Abu Dhabi as Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul lifted its second EuroLeague championship with a 70-81 win. Things did not get much better at home as Monaco failed to retain its French League crown with a 3-2 series defeat to Paris Basketball in the French League Finals, with Mike James not playing a single minute due to an in-house suspension. Theis and Monaco will no doubt be out for revenge in the coming season, and he has the chance to enter the new campaign in high spirits if everything goes to plan for himself and Germany.
Theis is currently looking to add a EuroBasket gold medal to his résumé after helping Germany reach the semifinals with a 99-91 win over Slovenia, having already achieved a gold medal at the 2023 FIBA World Cup. The Monaco center earned Player of the Game honors for his part in the quarterfinal victory on Wednesday night after finishing with 15 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 1 block, which came against Luka Doncic, in just over 26 minutes on the floor, while his EuroBasket 2025 averages stand at 11.3 points and 6.0 rebounds per night.
Germany takes on a confident Finland side in the last four on Friday in a repeat of their group-stage meeting, a game Theis and co. won in dominant fashion, 61-91. The prize for the winner? A date with the victor from the other semifinal between Greece – led by Coach Spanoulis, no less – and Turkiye, with the final set for Sunday.
Theis and many of his Germany teammates already made history in 2023 and are keen to do so again, but for Theis personally, he seems to have rediscovered his mojo at EuroBasket 2025, which can only spell good news for Monaco next season.