The upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics is re-introducing a bunch of national basketball stars to the international limelight. The matchup against Serbia made the world remember the offensive capabilities of Aleksa Avramović, while the Australian squad was putting Josh Giddey in the limelight. Now, Team USA’s recent matchup against Germany provided the star-filled roster with another force to be reckoned with: Andreas Obst. The final exhibition game for Team USA before heading to Paris saw them recording their fifth consecutive win, but again at a narrow margin.

Commenting on the 92-88 win, star guard Stephen Curry marveled at the efforts put forward by Andreas Obst. Given the synonym of the ‘German Stephen Curry’, the player certainly lived up to his name as he went 4-10 with his three-pointers to add 14 points to the overall score. In comparison, the real Stephen Curry only dropped 1-7 three-pointers but performed better with his free throws to take his individual score to 13.

“He can shoot it, he’s got a quick release, he’s fearless,” said Curry during a post-game interview. “So, it’s pretty awesome to know the comparison: guys who have modeled a little bit of their game after me. He’s a great shooter. I saw it last year, I saw it tonight. He requires your attention at all times.”

With this, without any further ado, let us take a look into who this 28-year-old German shooting guard is.

Who is Andreas Obst?

Early life

Born in July 1996, the future basketball star was brought up in the German city of Halle. This early environment didn’t provide much to his initial interest in basketball, since neither the people were majorly interested in the sport, nor were there any major role models to help him. According to the official website of the EuroLeague, Obst described playing basketball at the court of a different school. His mother introduced him to a club that further helped to expand his horizon about the sport and provided a more influential environment than a school.

“We had practice like three times a week. But it was not like practice-practice. It was like, okay let’s see how many people are coming. Maybe we are 10, maybe we can play five-on-five. But mostly we were like just seven or eight and played three-on-three or four-on-four. It was just a little bit like fun, joking around a bit, but after a while, I was a little bit annoyed by it,” said Obst during an interview. “I tried to do a little bit by myself somehow, but it wasn’t too much because the possibilities weren’t that good there in my hometown.”

By the time he turned 15, Obst was given a chance to play for the youth team of Brose Bamberg. The only problem was that Bamberg lay 250 kilometers away from his hometown. Looking to prioritize his dreams, Obst shifted and would go on to visit his family only on Christmas or the Summer. While it was hard for all members of the close family, it was something that needed to be done.

During the shift to a different hometown, Obst reportedly brought a poster of Dirk Nowitzki, the Dallas Mavericks star who had won the NBA championship back in 2011. The poster carried the quote: “All dreams may sound crazy until they come true.” These words helped to provide the motivation that was missing a bit earlier in his life.

Domestic Stint

After his brief stint with Brose Bamberg, Andreas Obst attempted to try out for the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL), the most renowned professional basketball league in Germany. He succeeded and signed on with the Oettinger Rockets before heading to the Liga ACB league after a year. The stint didn’t last long, and he soon returned to the Basketball Bundesliga. During his six-year career with the league, the shooting guard has won two BBL championships, with the most recent one occurring in 2024. Along with that, he was also named to the BBL All-Star game in 2018.

In the 25 games he played for Bayern Munich during the 2023-24 season, the player averaged a score of 7.5 points, 1.5 rebounds, and 0.7 assists. Along with averaging 2.5-6.0 field goals and 0.5-0.6 free throws, he also averaged 2.1-5.2 three-pointers.

International Career

Andreas Obst’s first brush on the international stage came after playing in the World University Games in 2017. Germany secured the fifth position during the tournament, with Obst dropping an impressive 42 points during a memorable game against Israel.

2024 will not be the player’s first Olympic stint, as he also represented Germany during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. While the national team ended in eighth place, Andreas Obst didn’t go down without a fight. In four games, he accumulated an average score of 12 points, 0.3 rebounds, and 1.3 assists. His average points were made possible by the player going 3.8-10.5 with his field goals, 3.5-8.8 with his three-pointers, and 1-1.2 with his free throws.

Andreas Obst first came to the limelight after Germany’s success in the 2023 FIBA World Cup. In the eight games that he played, the player had an average score of 10.4 points via 2.1-4.8 three-pointers and 3.2-6.8 field goals. The Semi-Final matchup saw Germany go up against five-time Gold Medallists Team USA. Obst came out on top during the same, putting up 24 points, 6 assists, and going 4-8 from the deep end. With 30:38 minutes on the court, he outperformed every one of his teammates and rivals, scoring even higher than US star player Anthony Edwards. His contribution helped Germany win by 113-111, providing a fatal blow to Team USA’s reputation. While Obst could not perform better during the final game against Serbia, his presence still played a role in the eventual win and securing the Gold Medal.

Obst’s performance against the USA earned him praise from his teammate Johannes Voigtmann, who stated, “We always say Andy is the best shooter on the planet. He’s unbelievable. He can make a shot from everywhere with this mindset of keeping it cruel.”

He also earned some flowers from USA head coach Steve Kerr, who claimed, “We did not account for Obst. I was Obst as a player. If I could get a free look at a 3 on the first play of the game, the floodgates would open. But if I couldn’t get that look and was being suffocated the whole game, I couldn’t get my shot off. When I look back … I think about detail. We weren’t locked in enough defensively to win the game.”

Andreas Obst was excited to play against Stephen Curry: “He changed the game”

It’s not every day that one gets to go up against a formidable adversary like Stephen Curry. However, with Stephen Curry finally getting to participate in the Olympics after having devoted 15 years to the NBA, Andreas Obst could find out what the Warriors star was made of. While the recent USA-Germany matchup was just an exhibition game, it was still something that the 28-year-old will remember for years to come.

“I was really looking forward to him (Stephen Curry), he was a role model, I have loved his game since I was growing up,” said Obst. “Watching him play, he changed the game, and I was highly motivated to play against him.”

Despite being competitors, Obst’s remarks showed that respect goes both ways. Game recognizes Game. While Andreas Obst may never see the light of the NBA, basketball fans can continue to witness his prowess once the athletes head to Paris for the main games.