German basketball continues to grow in international competition and has really taken off in the last 4 years. Germany under the guidance of Gordon Herbert won the World Cup and a Bronze at the 2022 European Championships and in 2025 won the Gold at the Euro championships and notched a fourth place at the Olympics in 2024. The current count of Germans in the NBA is at an all-time high at 7. That count should rise this summer when Christian Anderson, Hannes Steinbach and Jack Kayil get drafted. The youth movement in Germany also continues to grow as not only winning medals has become normal, but Gold and Silver medals as the U-18 team won the 2024 Euro championships and in 2025 won the Silver at the World Cup. But that incredible talent pool isn’t only in Germany, but also outside. In the last years guys with German roots that grew up in USA have played for the youth national teams in Germany with Sam Griesel who won a Bronze at the 2020 Euro championships, the Anderson brothers led by Christian has won 5 medals for Germany including a Gold at the 2024 Euro and a silver at the 2025 World cup, brother Lucai Anderson and Georgia native Will Dopfer won the Gold at the 2026 AST tournament together. Now there might be that next great prospect with DJ Hines who might be able to play for Germany one day. He is a young man who has a big dream and role model in Christian Anderson in which he would like to follow in his foot steps. ‘It is a dream playing the game I love in a place I want to be in is something I think about every day. I truly want to play over there so bad. I want to go play whenever I can. It doesn’t matter about the money or anything, but the environment and the love of the game. I would love to play in Germany. Christian Anderson is a dog hands down. I think he is more of something I want to be like. He shows me it’s possible and you got to just hoop and want it. I mean I wish I could ask him questions, but I watch his games when I can and see how he does’, stressed DJ Hines.

DJ Hines who lists Anthony Black , Bones Hyland and Cason Wallace as his current favorite NBA guards was born on September 8th, 2008. His dad is American while his mother is German/American. His mom has German relatives near the cities of Hanau and Kassel. He fell in love with basketball at age 8 and was always supported by his family who loved the game as much as he did. ‘Basketball was always there for me. It didn’t matter what happened, that’s really why I love the game. It was an escape from my reality’, stressed DJ Hines. He grew up watching the Orlando Magic and is a fan of the team. ‘I loved watching Victor Oladipo back when he was with us. I also enjoyed Aaron Gordon. I got to meet both of these players and they only gave me great advice and good motivation’, said DJ Hines. He got some of his earliest basketball experience at Oviedo and it was a time that he will never forget. ‘My freshman year I had some of my best moments in my life. I made friends I will never forget. I had a good group of young guys around me. However one senior took me under his wing named Alex Harper. He played Juco and now holds d1 offers and is waiting to commit. He taught me the ropes of varsity basketball’, remembered DJ Hines. He then moved to the Masters Academy where he is now on the Varsity team and continues to grow as a player. ‘My sophomore year, I had a job to take open 3s and play their best player 94 feet. I wasn’t used to it, but I learned a lot and it humbled me. We went all the way to the regional championship losing, but we did only lose 9 games and now hold the best record in school history. This past year I played as a junior I had the role I was used to being the main option scoring and playing defense. We weren’t as successful but I did get all first team in my conference and I was player of the year runner up’, remembered DJ Hines. He also continued to stay faithful to Oviedo where he gets extra experience playing AAU ball as it is different than high school ball. ‘AAU is one of the best basketball moments I have had. I think the competition I play is great. Games are always close chippy and fun I think it helps me mentally getting tougher understanding playing so much your bond to play bad and I learned it’s not about your past but it’s how you approach the next play next game you have to keep pushing to get where you want to be’, commented DJ Hines. Next season will be his senior year and currently he is playing summer league for Hagerty high school.

The Florida native who lists Lebron, Jordan, Shaq and Kobe on his personal NBA Mount Rushmore is 185cm and plays like a more athletic Tyrese Haliburton or Bones Hyland and models his defensive game after Anthony Black. He is a combo guard and doesn’t have a preference to playing the point or the position 2. ‘I can do both I have been told I am a better point guard. However I truly don’t care what I play as long as I am playing and winning. If I got to pick I would want to be more of a shooting guard’, stated DJ Hines. At first glance at game footage from him, it is his shooting that really stands out, but he has more assets than just that. ‘Offensively I do have a good percentage but I enjoy shooting so I shoot. However I learned from the past few months to get to the rim easier and more efficient, I also have been able to get my teammates involved’, added DJ Hines. As a teenager, his shot is still in the development phase, but he knows that staying extra in the lab will continue to help his shooting grow. ‘I think I am learning how to shoot properly. I think I was just throwing the ball at the rim and praying, but I work on my shot very often and my coach at school helps me on it as well shooting has taught me the smallest things have the biggest impact’, warned DJ Hines. It is often that kids love offense and defense takes a back seat, but he has learned already how valuable it is playing defense now. ‘I love defense as of right now I am a great on ball defender and play the passing lanes even better. I do want to improve my paint defense, but that comes with strength and time which I am working on in my off season. I want to be a great all around defender’, said DJ Hines. He also understands that in order to get better as he prepares to play college soon he will have to gain weight and get stronger. ‘If I can do that than I will keep getting to the rim and my spots effortlessly. If I do this, I think it will take my game to the next level’, stressed DJ Hines.

The guard who names Caleb Penny Feather and Andrew Thelwell as his toughest foes so far on the court biggest dream is to one day play for Germany. He has obviously taken a special interest to German basketball on account of his roots. ‘ I have seen German basketball in person and I played against some great players. What I learned is the pace is very different. It’s very slow and controlled over there while over here we run and gun a lot, but I think the game is more physical over there because of that, but I love watching and playing good basketball and I think Germany has this’, expressed DJ Hines. He already has had a first close connection to German basketball as he was able to practice with the Alba Berlin NBBL (U-19) team in Florida. ‘I learned a lot in just an hour and a half. The biggest thing I noticed was how serious everyone was. They loved basketball, but they treated it like a job. There was time to joke around, but once practice started, it was all business. I thought I did okay, but I know I could have shown more of my game. I’m at my best when I’m playing fast, scoring, and making efficient decisions. The experience also showed me some areas where I can improve, especially getting stronger physically and playing more under control. Competing against high-level players helped me see what I need to work on, and it motivated me to keep getting better every day’, warned DJ Hines. Was he able to adapt his game to the Euro style in that short period of time? ‘Definitely my change in pace and keeping it simple, but effective I think they taught me just go no need for anything extra and just use your body and GO’, said DJ Hines. A few months after his practice session some guys won the well known Albert Schweitzer tournament and a month later the team won the 2026 NBBL title. Did some guys stick out to him? ‘I remember a lot of them but 2 stood out to me with Matheo Hermann and Finn Borczanowski. Mateo was a good leader very confident and talented. Finn was just a bucket. He could go I don’t say that about a lot of people but he could hoop. I don’t remember most of their names but those 2, I can’t forget’, added DJ Hines. The respect is mutual. ‘I remember DJ as having a lot of ambition and character and he was a really nice guy’, stressed 2026 NBBL champion Matheo Hermann. But it wasn’t only the Alba Berlin players that stood out, but also head coach Marius Huth. ‘I liked him. I thought he was a good person which is always a good start and he was honest and wanted his team to be a team. He was fundamental and respected which is rare to fine but I really like him as a coach’, stated DJ Hines. Once again the respect is mutual. ‘DJ was a very smart player that has a great basketball foundation and a good shot. He was able to get integrated to our training group quickly’, remembered 2026 NBBL champion Marius Huth. It will be interesting to see how the next years continue for DJ Hines. Unfortunately there wasn’t anymore contact between family Hines and Alba Berlin since the practice session in Florida in January 2026. DJ Hines is a young prospect that could enrich the German youth national teams if given a chance.