The flat-top. The “retro” Pacers jersey. The ducktail. When you think of Detlef Schrempf, these are the things you think of. And, according to this Topps Stadium Club card from 1993, Schrempf was absolutely on fire during the winter of 1992-93. In a span of two months, the Leverkusen, Germany native had four triple doubles.
December 10th, 1992
Playing at ARCO Arena in Sacramento, the Pacers started Reggie Miller, Rik Smiths, Dale Davis, Pooh Richardson and Schrempf. Miller had a particularly off game, going just 3-11 from the field and ending with 12 points. Despite 32 points from Wayman Tisdale, the Pacers held off the Kings with a strong defensive third quarter. Schrempf’s finishing line was 25 points, 12 rebounds and 14 assists. As an added note, Schrempf had zero offensive rebounds – all 12 were on defense. Beast mode.
January 5th, 1993
Playing the Clippers at home, Miller put in another pedestrian performance as the Pacers outmatched the ships at home. With 27 points, 4 rebounds and 16 free throw attempts, Rik Smits made up for Reggie’s down night, who took just eight field goals. While Smits did the majority of the scoring, it was Schrempf who nabbed 18 rebounds (13 of them on defense) 12 assists while adding 15 points. Schrempf was so dominant on the boards that he almost had as much as the starters for the Clippers, who logged just 21 rebounds.
January 12th, 1993
In a game where Miller, Smits, Dale Davis, Sam Mitchell and Kenny Williams all scored in double-digits for the Pacers, Schrempf’s stat line does less to jump off the page in this one than it does to solidify his value. He would go on to score 20 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists while adding three steals. Schrempf had more assists than the entire Pacer bench despite them playing 87 minutes and Detlef playing 39, the most of any starter. The Pacers would go on to beat the 76ers at home that night 112-93.
February 13th, 1993
In the only loss of Schrempf’s run, the Pacers fell to the Milwaukee Bucks by just two points, 115-117. Coming off the bench and playing 33 minutes, Schrempf scored 34 points 12 rebounds and 10 assists. Again, the German’s propensity for defensive rebounds outweighed his offensive intake 8 to 4. Schrempf got to the line 13 times but a fairly pedestrian performance by the rest of the team (except Reggie Miller with 26 points) couldn’t help the Pacers overcome a massive 41 point explosion – including a 27 point 13 rebound performance by Frank Brickowski – by the Bucks in the second quarter.
