Dirk Nowitzki will start the 21st season of his NBA career in a few weeks with the Dallas Mavericks. Before the start, the German spoke in an interview with SPOX about loyalty in the world’s best basketball league, the increase in German players in the NBA and his expectations for the 2018/19 season.
Also: How the title changed him in 2011 and who will shape the next era at the Dallas Mavericks.
SPOX: Mr. Nowitzki now will soon start the 21st season in Dallas. You’re the first player to make it in a franchise – will you be the last? The trend is towards more changes in the course of a career.
Dirk Nowitzki: Times have definitely changed a bit, but I wouldn’t rule out that something like this will happen again. At Russell Westbrook, for example, many years ago thought he would leave, but instead he signed a huge contract with Oklahoma City. I’d like more players to stay with a team, but of course there’s a lot to it.
SPOX: It’s long gone by now anyway, but was there ever a moment in your Mavs time when you thought you could be traded or go somewhere else as a Free Agent?
Nowitzki: The only time I thought about it was summer 2006, after we failed in the finals. I’d been thinking about it, but luckily it didn’t come out. In 2010 I was a Free Agent and immediately decided to stay with the Mavs. We won the title directly in the first year and after that there was no question for me anymore. I always wanted to end my career in Dallas and I am very happy that it worked out like this.
SPOX: Through the Finals 2011 you will always be connected to LeBron James, meanwhile he talks about you as one of his favourite players. How do you experience him these days, maybe even compared to before?
Nowitzki: We say hello before the games and wish each other every success for the seasons, but apart from that we don’t really have anything to do with each other. It is of course an honour for him to talk about me in this way and to show so much respect for what I have achieved in my career. My impression of him is that he still wants to get better every year and does everything for success. What he’s achieved with Cleveland in recent years is madness. In my opinion, the defeat at that time made him stronger, both mentally and in terms of playing. LeBron is a fighter who hates to lose. That’s why it certainly gave him a certain incentive back then.
SPOX: Looking back, how have you changed yourself through this success in 2011?
Nowitzki: You loosen up a bit after you’ve finally achieved what you’ve been working so hard for all your life. Especially after the bankruptcy in 2006, which followed us all a little bit. I’m sure I’ve lost a lot of ground since the victory. The five years before you automatically thought back over and over again, because you didn’t know if there was such a chance again.
SPOX: Would you be unhappy with your career if it hadn’t been for that title?
Nowitzki: Something would have changed already. I probably would have thought all my life about 2006, where we’re 2-0 ahead, have everything in our hands and then Dwyane Wade plays an absolutely perfect series, unlike us. That would certainly have always remained in the back of my mind. It was something special that we were also able to fulfill this dream as a franchise in 2011. The Mavs have existed since 1980 and to this day this is the first championship to be brought to Dallas. It was incredible being a part of it.
SPOX: Another topic: Last season there was already a record, now there will be more German players in the NBA squad. How do you see this development?
Nowitzki: It’s nice to see so many players making the leap into the NBA now. Especially since I think that the guys all have a future and can play a good role for their respective teams for a longer time. I hope there’ll be even more of them. Basketball in Germany has developed well and you can see that in the boys who are now asserting themselves here.
SPOX: Would you wish this wave had happened a few years earlier? Especially with regard to the national team …
Nowitzki: That would have been interesting, but we always had a good team and achieved good things together, so I’m not wistful or so. But now Dennis [Schröder] and Maxi [Kleber] and I have a very good team together, a lot of young players who want to play together. I hope that this can grow over a couple of years and that they will take German basketball even further.
Page 1: Dirk Nowitzki on loyalty in the NBA and the title 2011
Page 2: Dirk Nowitzki on youth work in Germany and the coming season