Germany's basketball players no longer have great respect for the NBA stars after the dream start at the home European Championship.

The often outstanding Slovene Luka Doncic, who succeeds Dirk Nowitzki in the Dallas Mavericks, nevertheless ensures respect in the team of national coach Gordon Herbert. "He's the key player. He actually does everything and can of course also decide games. He can rebound and pass, score anyway. He's very difficult to defend," said center Johannes Thiemann.

This Tuesday evening (8.30 p.m. / Magentasport) there will be a duel in the Lanxess Arena. Just nine days ago, Germany clearly won a game in the World Cup qualifier against the European champions with 90:71. "I think they're better now and we're better now. It's a very good basketball team. It's a completely different team than Lithuania," said head coach Herbert, whose team has already made it into the final round of the European Championship in Berlin Has.

Doncic, who won the European Championship with Slovenia in 2017, is considered one of the top players in the North American NBA league and led the Mavericks to the final of the Western Conference last season. "He's one of the best players in the world. He's fun to watch. What I like about him is his passion," said Herbert. In Nick Weiler-Babb, Franz Wagner and Andreas Obst, the Germans have several options for defending the 23-year-old playmaker.