Nowitzki and Co.

European basketball fans have reason to be pleased about the labor dispute in the United States. Since the two sides have been unable to agree on how to distribute the billions in revenue that the National Basketball Association takes in, the clubs have locked out the players, leaving players with time on their hands.

As a result, there are more NBA stars hitting the floor in Lithuania than is usually the case for a European championship.

"It's going to be a very strong European championship," Germany's superstar, Dirk Nowitzki, predicted prior to the start of the tournament on Wednesday.

The 33-year-old forward, who won his first title with the Dallas Mavericks and was voted most valuable player of the finals this past June, isn't the only NBA player turning out for Germany in Lithuania. The other is American-born Chris Kaman of the Los Angeles Clippers.

"He is the strongest center that I have ever played with on the national team," said Nowitzki.

The 2.13-meter (7-foot) Kaman became a German citizen three years ago, prior to the Olympic Games in Beijing.

"Chris is a monster under the basket," said Nowitzki.

Six Spanish stars

However, Nowitzki didn't see Germany as the favorite going into the tournament. "Spain, no ifs, ands or buts," the Würzburg native said.

The defending champions from the Iberian Peninsula have a total of six NBA players on their roster. The Gasol brothers, Pau and Marc, as well as Rudy Fernandez, Jose Calderon, Ricky Rubio and Serge Ibaka are hoping to win it all again.

This won't be easy, as their strongest rivals also have their NBA stars in the line-ups for this tournament.

In addition to Tony Parker, France have three other NBA players on their roster. Italy has three NBA players as does Turkey, the runner-up at the last world championship. Even underdogs like Great Britain and Georgia have an NBA player in their line-ups.

Qualifying for the Olympics

Nowitzki believes the Europeans can hold their own against the US.

"Basketball here has been played at an absolutely top level for a long time. The best example of this was the Olympic final in 2008, when Spain almost beat a US team made up of NBA stars," he said.

Nowitzki will be playing his first games for his country in three years. His main goal is to help Germany qualify for the Olympic Games. The two finalists in this tournament automatically qualify for London 2012, while the teams that finish in places three to six will take part in an Olympic qualifying tournament.

Nowitzki confident NBA season will be saved

Nowitzki and the other NBA players could end up finding themselves with much more time to concentrate their efforts on European basketball. Billy Hunter, the executive director of the National Basketball Players Association, believes it's possible that the entire season could be cancelled, but Nowitzki thinks this is unlikely.

"When the first games are cancelled the first players will miss their paychecks. Then the negotiations will become more serious," he said.

Until now, the players have received 57 percent of the $4.3 billion in NBA revenues. The clubs are demanding that the players' share be reduced substantially, after a number of teams lost money last season.

Author: Stefan Nestler / pfd
Editor: Martin Kuebler