He just about made it: Daniel Theis can play at the home European Championship.
The German Basketball Federation (DBB) had given itself the last second to assess the situation of the NBA professional from the Indiana Pacers.
Knee problems put Theis out of action for two weeks and he missed four of six preparatory games.
One day before the start of the tournament, he reported himself fit for the EuroBasket, which will be held this Thursday in Germany, Italy, Georgia and the Czech Republic.
The German team starts in Cologne in the evening against title candidate France (8.45 p.m./stream: Magentasport; you can find the schedule for the European Championship here).
The question is: will Theis be on the field directly or will he intervene later in the tournament?
At what level will he be able to play?
The fact that there are many question marks around a player fits into the picture of a difficult German preparation for the European Championship, which was characterized by imponderables and bad news.
Endless failures
There were the early cancellations of the NBA professionals Maxi Kleber (Dallas Mavericks) and Isaiah Hartenstein (New York Knicks), who prioritized their individual protection and further development after long seasons in the USA.
There were the cancellations of Danilo Barthel (Fenerbahce Istanbul), EuroLeague winner Tibor Pleiss (Anatole Efes) and ex-NBA player Isaac Bonga (Bayern Munich) due to injury.
In addition, top star Dennis Schröder had ankle problems, and in the meantime there were also concerns about his services.
And finally there was the absence of NBA player Moritz Wagner (Orlando Magic), who had to break off the preparation injured.
"It felt like it never stopped," said Guard Andreas Obst (Bayern Munich) a few days ago in the "Got Nexxt" podcast.
'Every day something new came along, a new message that we really didn't need.
That hurts."
At the beginning of the summer, before the flood of cancellations hit DBB, many had dreamed of the highest-calibre German team in history.
Internationally, too, she had been considered a serious medal contender;
as a natural part of the group of favourites, alongside teams like France, Slovenia, Greece and Serbia.
However, the personnel problems coupled with the changeable appearances in the preparation have worn away this optimism.
Some even doubt whether this team will even survive the demanding group phase in Cologne.
The Germans have to be at least fourth out of six in order to move into the knockout phase in Berlin.
Permanent favorite France and European champion Slovenia are top contenders for the first two places.
Germany would fight for the remaining tickets with Lithuania, Hungary and Bosnia-Herzegwonia – none of which are easy opponents, although the DBB is the strongest next to the Lithuanians.
The uncertainty and public skepticism have left their mark.
When it comes to personnel issues, a sober, tight-lipped tone prevails, interspersed with perseverance rhetoric.
You have to work with what you have, they say.
It is a stark contrast to the sound before the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo: hardly any self-confident announcements, hardly any clear ambitions: When youngster Franz Wagner stated a medal as a team goal on Tuesday, co-captain Voigtmann rowed back minutes later;
He didn't know anything about that, but Franz could do his best to help.
It seems that this team still has to convince itself that it can play a successful tournament under the given conditions.
There is no question that a lot is still possible for this team.
Best German duo?
With Dennis Schröder and Franz Wagner, the DBB is led by perhaps the best and most versatile duo that basketball Germany has ever seen.
Team captain Schröder is probably the fastest player in Europe and one of the best scorers.
He finished the EM 2017 as the second highest scorer of the tournament (23.7 points).
He hasn't lost any of his speed since then, but has gained in maturity as a playmaker and leader.
At the beginning of July he achieved a new best performance in the national jersey with 38 points in the World Cup qualifier against Poland (93:83).
Wagner, on the other hand, made the best NBA debut of a German player at the Orlando Magic.
In the vote for the best newcomer of the season, he came fifth.
The 21-year-old can play in various positions.
He can defend, shoot, basket and create for others.
In addition to this versatility, what distinguishes him above all is his decision-making, which is outstanding for his age.
Should Wagner and Schröder achieve their optimum performance in the course of the tournament, they formed a one-two punch, which even in the best of Nowitzki's times (due to a lack of congenial partners) did not exist.
Voigtmann is to act as the third pillar of the team.
After Nikola Jokic, the most valuable player of the past NBA season (MVP), he is probably the best matching Big Man in the tournament.
His creativity will decide the statics of the German game, almost more than those of the defenders Schröder and Maodo Lo.
The latter leads the squad of important role players, including sniper Andreas Obst, energizer Jo Thiemann and Theis.
However, it is problematic that there are also question marks behind the German top performers: Schröder has not played a competitive game for Germany for three years.
In addition, his ankle problems are not fully over.
Voigtmann does not come out of his contract in Moscow
Meanwhile, Wagner has not played a single minute of tournament basketball in national dress.
His five appearances in preparation were his first ever for the DBB men.
He made a good, confident impression, but it remains to be seen how well he will perform under tournament conditions.
And Voigtman?
He hasn't been able to get out of his contract with CSKA Moscow for months and has therefore not played competitive basketball since the outbreak of war in Ukraine.
Physically he feels good, but he is not yet one hundred percent playful, Voigtmann told SPIEGEL.
Coach Gordon Herbert, who only took over the coaching position a year ago, is now faced with the task of leading his team to a successful home EM despite suboptimal preparation.
At least the team finds itself.
If his team's game was still quite wooden at the beginning of the preparation, they delivered their clearly best performance at the end against defending champion Slovenia - and won dominantly 71:51.
In the World Cup qualifiers, mind you, not in a friendly.
However, this victory should not be overestimated, nor should the even more violent 56:83 smack a few days earlier in the Supercup against Serbia (when Schröder was not on the floor).
Rather, these results also nourish the impression of an extremely broad corridor of possibility: from early elimination to a medal, a lot seems conceivable before the tournament starts.
The most realistic is probably reaching the quarterfinals.