The NBA is popular throughout the world, and Arenas has a large following because of his spectacular play, his blog and his knack for self-promotion. But the Wizards are not particularly well known overseas as a franchise -- or at least that appeared to be the case Sunday.

After players filed on to buses to take them back to the hotel following Sunday's practice, an English-speaking Berliner who happened to be walking by tried to figure out what she was seeing.

"Who are the Wizards?" she asked.

When told that the team is from the United States and plays basketball in the NBA, the woman smiled.

"Oh, like the Lakers," she said.