Basketball European Championship in Lithuania with Nowitzki?

Will German basketball superstar Dirk Nowitzki (Dallas Mavericks) take part in the European Basketball Championship in Lithuania? Current information suggests that the European Basketball Championship, which will be held in Lithuania in 2011 (as we reported), will be enhanced by the participation of the German NBA (National Basketball Association) star.

Lithuania has been a basketball-crazy country for decades, and its national team has already brought home titles. Basketball hoops hang from garages, in schoolyards, and on playgrounds all over Lithuania. So it is no wonder that the whole country is already looking forward to hosting the European Basketball Championship—and all the more so if international superstars such as Würzburg-born Dirk Nowitzki take to the court at EuroBasket 2011 in Lithuania. Dirk Nowitzki announced that he would take part in EuroBasket 2011 in Lithuania when he withdrew from the upcoming Basketball World Cup in Turkey. The 32-year-old sharpshooter, regarded as the greatest German basketball player of all time, emphasized at the same time that he intended to compete in the 2011 European Championship in Lithuania. Since the European Basketball Championship in Lithuania will also serve as a qualifying tournament for the 2012 Olympic Games in London, and Nowitzki very much wants to compete in another Olympic tournament, it can be assumed that “Dirkules,” as fans in the United States call him, will be at EuroBasket 2011 in Lithuania.

With Dirk Nowitzki, one of the best players in the world, the European Basketball Championship in Lithuania already has a high-profile attraction to promote the tournament, in addition to its homegrown players.