Since the end of his career, Dirk Nowitzki has followed the NBA only as a fan. He sees the NBA bubble as positive. But he is much more concerned about society.
Although Dirk Nowitzki has been putting his basketball shoes away for over a year now, he is still a star in Germany and the USA.
The MVP of 2007 uses this popularity for his Dirk Nowitzki Foundation to bring about social change. In times of Black Lives Matter this commitment seems more important than ever.
But it is not only his social obligations that fill his daily schedule; Corona has also added completely new problems such as homeschooling or lack of exercise opportunities, as he revealed in a video interview with Fortyone, the magazine of his foundation.
Nowitzki enjoys time for children
Above all, the unusual restriction of movement due to the corona pandemic has changed his current life considerably. “We wanted to travel a lot, experience a lot. We had planned to visit our families all over the world,” he reported on the family plans, adding: “This has not been possible since March. But I enjoy the time at home. We spend a lot of time with the kids”.
He draws the positive aspects from the situation. He takes the time spent together with his children as a gift and an opportunity to give something back to the family. “The kids are in the foreground because they have had to put up with a lot in recent years,” he says, aware of the difficulties that his NBA career has brought into family life.
New problems: Homeschooling and refrigerator
However, being together with the children is not just a piece of cake. Homeschooling in particular was unusual, but according to his own statement he mastered it well: “As a home teacher I was quite okay. If they were now 14 or 15 and did algebra and physics, it would become difficult for me relatively quickly. But Malaika (Nowitzki’s daughter; editor’s note) has now turned seven and is in the first grade. All this is still quite manageable. There’s still a lot to do with games and puzzles, I can handle that.
In addition to homeschooling, the corona-induced stay in one’s own four walls presented another problem – the refrigerator! “In Corona, of course, it was a little harder to show discipline there when you’re always at home and walking past the kitchen,” he revealed with a laugh.
Especially since the 2011 NBA champion admitted right after his career that he could finally eat anything he wanted. “But in the meantime I have found my routine with diet and workouts again. Above all, he had discovered cycling for himself.
Change from player to fan
Nowitzki rarely visited the training ground of the Dallas Mavericks even before Corona. “I was hardly ever in the hall. After my career I only went there a few times. My foot needs treatment once or twice a week to get some walking and tennis,” he explained.
During his treatment stays, he naturally had regular contact with the team and staff. So it took him a while to get back to his role as a basketball retiree. “At the beginning of the season, when a player has made a game winner, I was already looking forward to it. But there was always the thought: “It’s a pity you’ll never have that feeling again,” he described his emotions at the beginning of the season.
But in the meantime, he has come to terms with the situation and no longer observes the NBA as a former player, but “I’m just a fan”. He was particularly pleased about his heir to the Dallas Mavericks throne – Luka Doncic.