DOHA (Qatar) - Dirk is a legend of the game. He was the one who brought the Naismith Trophy on stage for the World Cup 2027 Qualifiers Draw, representing his home country, Germany, as the reigning World Cup champions.

Just minutes after the event, he already had a clear vision of what’s at stake - and where the hot spots are. His first take? The European Qualifiers: Group C, featuring Serbia, Türkiye, and Bosnia and Herzogovina.

"It's a pretty tough draw", he said in the mixed zone of the event. "Some teams are pretty lucky not ending up in that group. It's a tough draw for Serbia - obviously one of the best teams in the world. They had a great tournament last year in the Olympics. So that group is pretty stacked as well.

"But you know, that happens - especially in Europe, with the depth we have on the continent. So many teams, so many countries are very good and can upset anybody at any time. Europe has good groups and will have a fun ride. It'll be fun to watch."

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Another suggestion for a Group of Death in these Qualifiers?

"There are a lot of good groups all across the world. This is the kickoff for the next two years of great basketball across the globe. I'm looking forward to the qualification process. Group A in Asia [Australia, New Zealand, Philippines and Guam] is a very interesting group. There is a lot of history there with sports. There will be some battling going on.

"Obviously, the Philippines have come a long way with basketball and showed us a great time at the World Cup in 2023. That group is pretty stacked!"

Dirk Nowitzki, Chairman of the FIBA Players' Commission, is a great advocate for the Windows. "It's always tough, but I love the windows. You play every couple of months, you have your home court, you have fans that come and support the games. It's important for national teams to play meaningful games regularly, not just in the summer or only once a year. It's good for our sport to be present all the time, to have big home games that count. It's time for the players to come in, for young players to be battle-tested. The windows are big - it will be fun to watch."

Recently, Kenny Atkinson - 2024–25 NBA Coach of the Year and assistant coach for France at the last Olympics - said he would love for the NBA to take a break so that players could join their national teams.

"I would really push for that, it would be amazing, to open more windows and make it mandatory," said the Cleveland Cavaliers head coach. "I think they do that in football, right? Everything stops, you have to go to your national team, not going is not considered good. And again what I think is the development of the players. How do you get better? Through the international experience, the FIBA ​​experience completes you."

"It's a great idea", answered Nowitzki. "We'd love it as FIBA. But the NBA has a lot of games - it's already a super tight schedule. It would be interesting. FIBA and the NBA have been working together for a long, long time now on an interesting NBA Europe concept. They are partners. We'll see what the future brings. We'd love to have the NBA players in the windows. Let's see."

In the last World Cup Qualifiers, Germany - Dirk’s home country - performed very well and gained a lot of momentum heading into the main event. As a result, Die Mannschaft went on to claim the World title. So, what can we expect from Germany this time around?

"The Qualifiers are a good measuring stick against some of the best teams, of course", said Dirk. "If you have ambitions to defend the World Cup, you have to make it - you have to go through the grind of qualifications. It's a two-year process. This is going to be fun for Germany.

"Of course, some of the windows collide with the NBA season, but it's going to be good for the young guys to play on the biggest stage, gain confidence, hopefully step in, play well, and win big games. Like I said, it's a long process to qualify - a long road. Hopefully, Germany will be ready and make it to the next World Cup."

FIBA