SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA (EuroBasket 2015) - Some people see a little bit of Dirk Nowitzki in rising Germany national team star Maxi Kleber.

Before you dismiss that statement out of hand, consider that both players are skillful big men.

Both were born in Wurzburg.

The two are frontcourt players and each suited up for Wurzburg's basketball team before leaving and competing in a foreign land.

And both Dallas Mavericks icon Nowitzki and Rio Natura Monbus [Obradoiro] forward Kleber have suited up for the German national team.

Here is the difference. 

Nowitzki, 36, is assured of going down in basketball history as one of the greatest players ever.

The 23-year-old Kleber's career is just taking off.

He has turned heads plenty of times in Spain, however, while playing for Obradoiro.

"Many times people want to compare me to him [Nowitzki]," Kleber said in an interview with his club's website.

"What he has accomplished is very special. 

There is no way you want to compare me to Dirk. - Kleber 

"I just want to be Maxi Kleber and play my game."

The Spanish media ramped up the Nowitzki/Kleber comparison in December, when the 2.07m Obradoiro forward had some big plays against European giants Real Madrid and Barcelona.

The one everyone talked about was a play in which he came up with a steal, dribbled the length of the court and scored.

He then poured in 23 points in Obradoiro's 79-67 upset of Barcelona on 30 December.

Kleber hit all four of his shots from long range in that win over the reigning Spanish champions.

Barcelona had their own Germany international, Tibor Pleiss, who impressed with 14 points.

Kleber, though, was the match-winner.

Nowitzki is in a different league, both literally and figuratively.

An NBA superstar, he has captured a title across the Atlantic and has also been the most valuable player.

Nowitzki was the MVP at EuroBasket 2005 and also carried Germany on his back at the 2008 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament, when they claimed a spot in the Beijing Games.

Kleber, however, only played in meaningful games for Germany for the first time last summer in the 2nd Qualification Round for EuroBasket 2015.

Before his arrival in Santiago de Compostela, there was a lot of fanfare about his decision to come to Spain.

In 2014-15 with Obradoiro, he is averaging 12.6 points and 6.6 rebounds.

Looking back at his decision to move to Spain instead of accepting one of the numerous offers to stay in Germany, Kleber says he did the right thing.

He had a good feeling about playing for Moncho Fernandez.

"I sat down with my agent and I had a lot of phone calls from Moncho," he said. 

"We also had time to visit Santiago in the summer. Everything looked good here. 

"I saw a lot of games and I saw of course the names of the players that have been here and had improved a lot so for me, I thought it was a great opportunity."

Tunisia's Salah Mejri spent the 2012-13 season at Obradoiro before leaving for Real Madrid.

The Czech Republic's Pavel Pumprla has improved his game since joining from Nymburk before the 2012-13 campaign.

Stephane Lasme of Gabon, a leading player in Euroleague side Anadolu Efes, spent the 2011-12 basketball year with Obradoiro and Alberto Corbacho, who was an alternate for Spain's national team before EuroBasket 2013, has taken his game to new heights in his four and a half years there.

Kleber says he is improving.

The difference here [in Spain] is that everyone on the court is involved all the time. - Kleber 

"There is no time when you rest, neither on defense nor on offense. 

"You always have to move, especially on offense. 

"The way we play, Moncho wants us to set the screens. Even as the big guy, you don't have a time when you just stand around. You have to move and set a screen. I think this is the difference. 

"Here, you always have to be focused because the game is quicker."

The EuroBasket is still several months away but there is a lot of excitement back home because Berlin will host Group B and Germany will take on Spain, Serbia, Italy, Turkey and Iceland.

Nowitzki has said he could play, but a decision will not be made until after the season.

Germany national team coach Chris Fleming is supposed to travel to the United States in late January to meet Nowitzki for the first time.

If Kleber and Nowitzki were to show up at training camp, the youngster would be able to see just how much his game resembles that of Germany's famous sportsmen.

The expectation is that Kleber will be in Germany's preliminary squad and probably the EuroBasket team.

"I have been talking to the national coach already," Kleber said. 

"It would be a great chance and a great honor for me to be able to play in the European Championship but first of all, I want to focus on the season and all of the stuff that happens this summer is for the future."

FIBA