Photo: FIBA

Tristan da Silva has made quite the impression in his first EuroBasket with Germany, averaging 10.4 points per game during the preliminary round and helping his team advance to the knockout stage as the top seed in Group B.

Ahead of Germany’s Round of 16 matchup with Portugal, the 24-year-old forward shared his thoughts with Eurohoops about his journey so far.

“It’s been really good,” da Silva said when asked about his debut at the senior level, where he also got the chance to play alongside his brother, Oscar da Silva.

“Most of these guys I’ve watched growing up playing basketball. So, it’s really funny to be on the same team with them. They’re all super welcoming with open arms when I got into the first practice, into the first meeting. Everybody’s super chill, super cool. And they’re easy to play with, easy to be around. So, it was really, really exciting to be a part of this team.”

Da Silva emphasized how much the opportunity means to him, not just personally but in the larger context of German basketball’s progress.

“It’s really humbling,” he explained. “It’s really fun to be a part of this, put yourself aside and play for the better of the group, and just know how much dedication it takes to be at this point and have an appreciation for what the guys have already accomplished and done to bring German basketball to the point where it’s at right now and keep pushing it to higher levels.”

The family connections extend beyond just his brother. Two of da Silva’s NBA teammates, Franz and Moritz Wagner, are also key figures for Germany, though Moritz is missing this tournament due to injury.

“We talked a lot about the national team and how much it means to them and how fun it is to play here and to come here and know everybody’s playing for the right reasons and everybody loves just to come together as a nationality and represent the country, and it’s a really special thing to be part of this,” da Silva said.

Germany has also faced challenges, including the absence of head coach Alex Mumbru due to illness during pool play in Finland, as well as the loss of Johannes Voigtmann to injury. Da Silva noted how those setbacks have fueled the team’s determination.

“We had a lot of motivations,” he said. “We have a lot of different reasons why we play, and then the way we play I think represents that really well.”

Looking ahead to Saturday’s game against Portugal in Xiaomi Arena, da Silva acknowledged the threat posed by Celtics big man Neemias Queta.

“Yeah, definitely,” he said when asked about Queta. “It’s always national pride on the line. So you know everybody’s a little more pumped up, a little extra motivated. FIBA rules are also a little bit different. So, he probably has another extra presence in the paint, being able to stay in the paint and tip basketballs off the rim and stuff like that. So, we know that we already looked at some of the scouting that we’ve done. But it’s gonna be fun.”