There are players who make basketball history more than just a career stat line. Dirk Nowitzki is part of. Arrived from German D2, the 2011 NBA champion has a street named after him in Dallas, but also a statue in front of the room, and his jersey was retired by his lifelong franchise, the Dallas Mavericks.
It is at the microphone of Marc Steinthat the German confided in on this new immense honor that basketball offers him: an entry into the Hall Of Fame, the other name of the Basketball Pantheon. “I’m very excited, obviously I’m already starting to get a little nervous… I have family and friends who come from all over the world, so yes, indeed, I’m a little nervous”.
Dirk Nowitzki doesn’t really like the spotlight
If he knew how to shine on the parquet floors, thanks in particular to his signature shoot, the “fadeaway” on one leg, the support foot almost anchored to the ground, the German admits to being much less comfortable when he is on the ground. center of attention.
“I’m not a great speaker, so giving a speech… The spotlight isn’t really my thing. So it will certainly be difficult at times, but I will make sure to take advantage of the moment. My family and my children are now old enough to fully understand what is going on… All this stuff, the ceremonies, the famous streets, all that, people are going to ask themselves: “Do we still have to pay homage to you? Like, isn’t your retirement round over yet?” Personally, I think the Hall of Fame is the icing on the cake, and that’s the coolest thing.”
A destiny linked to his best friend, Steve Nash
To accompany him on the stage, Nowitzki has chosen two former teammates, or rather even two friends, since they are the two former emblematic leaders of Dallas, Steve Nash and Jason Kidd. This choice was obvious for the “Wunderkid” who remembers his debut in the NBA, alongside Nash.
“I’m a shy person, it’s my German side. And so that first year, I wasn’t sure… I wondered if I was going to make it, I was afraid of collapsing, there were games, you saw it, during which I didn’t play really not good” he remembers. Even to the point of wondering if he should not have stayed in Europe or gone through the university box. But Steve Nash was there, the beginning of their friendship pushed the two men to face adversity and become the legends that they are today.
“All we could do was work hard. We went to the hall every evening, at the old “Old Landry” centre. We didn’t even have our own facilities, we just did HORSE, one-on-one, shoots, three-on-three with the guys that were there…” he continues. “If it hadn’t worked out, at least people wouldn’t have been able to say we didn’t give it our all. That’s mostly what we didn’t want, so we moved to improve ourselves.
Don Nelson, more than a coach, a visionary
Nash and Nowitzki have worked hard to reach the heights, and they also had the chance to cross paths with a coaching legend, a certain Don Nelson. Emblematic coach of the Mavericks from 1997 to 2005, he was able to detect talent in his German rookie. The Mavericks’ season ended, many coaches would not necessarily have decided to review their rotation plan to revive a rookie in decline. Yet this is what Nelson will do.
“We were eliminated, Nellie came up to me and said, ‘Listen, I’m going to start you again. There are 10 games left, why don’t you let the game come to you and enjoy playing? Dirk Nowitzki recognizes that it was the rocker : “Those words were the biggest turning point in my career… and it proved to me that if I worked hard, Nellie was bound to put me in a position to succeed, with her style of play looking for ‘mismatches’”.
Indeed, Nowitzki will take advantage of defenders who are often smaller than him. Back to the basket, from the height of his 2m13, the German will become irresistible with this fadeaway shot, which other superstars will steal from him later. An unstoppable one-legged shoot that has become as iconic as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s rolled arm.
As in the most beautiful stories and legends of the world of the orange ball, it was a small click that allowed the world to know Dirk Nowitzki: “Those last 10 games in my freshman year really changed everything.”
| Dirk Nowitzki | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Crew | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 1998-99 | LAD | 47 | 20 | 40.5 | 20.6 | 77.3 | 0.9 | 2.6 | 3.5 | 1.0 | 2.2 | 0.6 | 1.6 | 0.6 | 8.2 |
| 1999-00 | LAD | 82 | 36 | 46.1 | 37.9 | 83.0 | 1.2 | 5.2 | 6.5 | 2.5 | 3.1 | 0.8 | 1.7 | 0.8 | 17.5 |
| 2000-01 | LAD | 82 | 38 | 47.4 | 38.7 | 83.8 | 1.5 | 7.7 | 9.2 | 2.1 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 1.9 | 1.2 | 21.8 |
| 2001-02 | LAD | 76 | 38 | 47.7 | 39.7 | 85.3 | 1.6 | 8.4 | 9.9 | 2.5 | 2.9 | 1.1 | 1.9 | 1.0 | 23.4 |
| 2002-03 | LAD | 80 | 39 | 46.3 | 37.9 | 88.1 | 1.0 | 8.9 | 9.9 | 3.0 | 2.6 | 1.4 | 1.9 | 1.0 | 25.1 |
| 2003-04 | LAD | 77 | 38 | 46.2 | 34.1 | 87.7 | 1.2 | 7.5 | 8.7 | 2.7 | 2.8 | 1.2 | 1.8 | 1.4 | 21.8 |
| 2004-05 | LAD | 78 | 39 | 45.9 | 39.9 | 86.9 | 1.2 | 8.5 | 9.7 | 3.1 | 2.8 | 1.2 | 2.3 | 1.5 | 26.1 |
| 2005-06 | LAD | 81 | 38 | 48.0 | 40.6 | 90.1 | 1.4 | 7.6 | 9.0 | 2.8 | 2.0 | 0.7 | 1.9 | 1.0 | 26.6 |
| 2006-07 ★ | LAD | 78 | 36 | 50.2 | 41.6 | 90.4 | 1.6 | 7.3 | 8.9 | 3.4 | 2.2 | 0.7 | 2.1 | 0.8 | 24.6 |
| 2007-08 | LAD | 77 | 36 | 47.9 | 35.9 | 87.9 | 1.2 | 7.3 | 8.6 | 3.5 | 2.6 | 0.7 | 2.1 | 0.9 | 23.6 |
| 2008-09 | LAD | 81 | 38 | 47.9 | 35.9 | 89.0 | 1.1 | 7.3 | 8.4 | 2.4 | 2.2 | 0.8 | 1.9 | 0.8 | 25.9 |
| 2009-10 | LAD | 81 | 38 | 48.1 | 42.1 | 91.5 | 1.0 | 6.7 | 7.7 | 2.7 | 2.6 | 0.9 | 1.8 | 1.0 | 25.0 |
| 2010-11 | LAD | 73 | 34 | 51.7 | 39.3 | 89.2 | 0.7 | 6.3 | 7.0 | 2.6 | 2.4 | 0.5 | 1.9 | 0.6 | 23.0 |
| 2011-12 | LAD | 62 | 34 | 45.7 | 36.8 | 89.6 | 0.7 | 6.0 | 6.7 | 2.2 | 2.1 | 0.7 | 1.9 | 0.5 | 21.7 |
| 2012-13 | LAD | 53 | 31 | 47.1 | 41.4 | 86.0 | 0.7 | 6.2 | 6.9 | 2.5 | 1.8 | 0.7 | 1.3 | 0.7 | 17.3 |
| 2013-14 | LAD | 80 | 33 | 49.7 | 39.8 | 89.9 | 0.5 | 5.7 | 6.2 | 2.7 | 2.1 | 0.9 | 1.5 | 0.6 | 21.7 |
| 2014-15 | LAD | 77 | 30 | 45.9 | 38.0 | 88.2 | 0.6 | 5.4 | 5.9 | 1.9 | 2.1 | 0.5 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 17.3 |
| 2015-16 | LAD | 75 | 32 | 44.8 | 36.8 | 89.3 | 0.7 | 5.8 | 6.5 | 1.8 | 2.2 | 0.7 | 1.1 | 0.7 | 18.3 |
| 2016-17 | LAD | 54 | 26 | 43.7 | 37.8 | 87.5 | 0.4 | 6.1 | 6.5 | 1.5 | 2.1 | 0.6 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 14.2 |
| 2017-18 | LAD | 77 | 25 | 45.6 | 40.9 | 89.8 | 0.3 | 5.4 | 5.7 | 1.6 | 1.9 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 12.0 |
| 2018-19 | LAD | 51 | 16 | 35.9 | 31.2 | 78.0 | 0.1 | 3.0 | 3.1 | 0.7 | 1.5 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 7.3 |
| Total | 1522 | 34 | 47.1 | 38.0 | 87.9 | 1.0 | 6.6 | 7.6 | 2.4 | 2.4 | 0.8 | 1.6 | 0.8 | 20.7 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Shots made / Shots attempted; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def= defensive rebound; Tot = Total bounces; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost bullets; Ct: Counters; Points = Points.
