GER - Nowitzki lauds young national team

DALLAS (EuroBasket/FIBA Basketball World Cup) - Germany’s Dirk Nowitzki is already assured of legendary status in basketball.

The Dallas Mavericks veteran is among a select group of players to have won an NBA title, earned the league MVP award and also captured various honors as a leading international player.

At the 2002 FIBA World Championship in Indianapolis, when his career was just taking off, Nowitzki poured in an average of 24 points per game to lead Germany to a bronze medal.

In 2005 at the EuroBasket in Belgrade, Nowitzki averaged 26.1 points and 10.6 rebounds as Germany reached the Final before falling to Greece.

The moment everyone remembers from that event is the sight of the great Nowitzki pulling himself out of the game near the end when the result was beyond doubt and hugging everyone on the bench, from the physios to coach Dirk Bauermann.

The Belgrade Arena erupted with applause and cheers like never before, so great was the appreciation of all the fans, including the Greeks, for Nowitzki.

In 2006, Nowitzki had a remarkable FIBA World Championship in Japan, not only averaging 23.2 points and 9.2 rebounds but also pouring in 47 points and corralling 16 rebounds in a triple-overtime win against Angola in Germany's last Preliminary Round game.

Nowitzki had to bury a three-pointer at the buzzer to force the second overtime.

He then realized a personal dream by leading Germany at the 2008 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament to one of three berths for the Beijing Games.

Nowitzki went on to experience his first Olympics and was granted the honor of serving as Germany's flag bearer at the Opening Ceremony.

After returning to the national team for the first time since Beijing in Lithuania last year for the EuroBasket, Nowitzki took this past summer off.

It remains to be seen if the basketball world has seen the last of the great Nowitzki, who is now 34, in a Germany shirt.

He didn't play for new coach Svetislav Pesic, yet Nowitzki did pay attention to the national team as it went undefeated in its Qualification Round group for EuroBasket 2013 in Slovenia.

"It was fun to watch," he said in the German media.

"The guys look good and have all competed with confidence."

Nowitzki may be tempted to return to the national side next summer, or when it plays at the inaugural FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain in 2014.

It’s not at the front of his thoughts.

The NBA is.

This year, he'll have a familiar face in the low post with Germany national team center Chris Kaman having joined the Mavs.

“Kaman should be the best center offensively that I’ve ever played with in Dallas,” he said.

Fans in Germany will be keen to see if two of their players from years past, Nowitzki and Kaman, can lead the team into the post-season.

FIBA