This would make him the only basketball player besides Kobe Bryant to play for the same NBA team for a full two decades. This year, three legendary players have retired: Bryant as well as Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett. Meanwhile, Nowitzki, the European who has left the biggest mark on the world’s best basketball league, is staying put. Germany’s best player of all time is also one of the best power forwards ever. One day, he will join the other two retiring players in the Hall of Fame. All three have won Championship Rings and have been named regular season MVPs. In addition, Nowitzki and the other two have also been named playoff MVPs.
In recent years, Nowitzki agreed to a lower contract in order for the Mavericks to build a stronger team. Before this year’s season, Dallas owner Mark Cuban awarded the longtime face of the franchise a 50-million-dollar two-season contract. "I’ve always wanted to take each year separately and didn’t make plans for the future. Even though I signed a two-year contract, that doesn’t necessarily mean that I will end up playing for two seasons. After this season, we’ll see how my body holds up, and I’ll make my decision then. Of course, I would like to play for two more seasons," says the 38-year-old superstar, a native of Würzburg.
His torn Achilles’ tendon led him to miss the faceoff at the MSG
His on-the-court performance since signing his most recent contract did not start off particularly well. Nowitzki sustained an injury and played only three games this year. Because of his torn Achilles’ tendon, he is still resting, even though he did spend more than an hour warming up before the game in New York, where the Mavericks faced off against the Knicks. "Running is still my biggest problem. My injury is preventing me from running up and down the court. I still cannot complete my training runs. I haven’t reached my previous level, but the good news is that my condition is getting better. I no longer feel as much pain as I did last week, and I can step up my training, my readiness, and my efforts, every day. I hope I’m going to be well soon."
During training, Nowitzki showed that he still had exceptionally agile arms and hands when he made successful shots from a distance and his characteristic turnaround shots, but he was very disappointed that he could not play at Madison Square Garden, the world’s most famous basketball arena, which holds a special place in every player’s heart. "Unfortunately, I couldn’t play against the Knicks, although I really wanted to. This arena is something special for me too. Playing here means a lot to me and I was very disappointed that I had to miss a game at Madison Square Garden for the second time in my career, but I simply had no choice."
Mavericks helpless without Nowitzki
When the Mavericks played against the Knicks (92:77), they felt the absence of their biggest star when their game began to drop off dramatically in the second half. This was the case all season long, since they managed only two wins in nine games. "We have periods when we make too many mistakes. That’s when we have problems scoring. I can help in this area. Maybe I’m no longer at the same level in other areas and I can’t be as useful as I once was, but I can still score. In offense, I can help the team with some breadth/ It’s difficult to sit and watch a game knowing that you aren’t able to help. Especially when we are in trouble, when we just can’t perform on the court," says Nowitzki when talking about his team’s game. He added: "We have to win. If we get too far behind in the West, it will be difficult or impossible for us to catch up."
In the late 1980s and the early ‘90s, Dražen Petrović, Vlade Divac and others blazed the European trail in the NBA. In the late 1990s. when Nowitzki joined the league, the Europeans had an easier time, but even though the door was open for Europeans, he still had to fight for specific opportunities. In just a few years, he became the first name of Dallas and one of the best basketball players in his position. He was one of the first tall players who could play broader and shoot from the distance. "Some played like this even before I came here. I was helped by rule changes that fit my style. After a few years, I got my groove. Now, most tall European players who join the NBA can play turned away from the hoop. They move well, have a team approach, and can score from a distance. They are fun to watch," says Nowitzki.
Is Porzingis Nowitzki’s successor?
Nowitzki is the only European so far to have been made a regular season MVP, and just one of three non-U.S. players (alongside Hakeem Olajuwon and Steve Nash) with this honor. He is currently ranked number 6 on the all-time best scorers’ list and will be remembered as one of the greats after he concludes his career. As always, the league is now looking for his successor. In the past two years, the Latvian wonder boy Kristaps Porzingis has been wearing that crown. The young player, who is thrilling with his performances for the Knicks, has even better stats in his second season than Nowitzki at the same stage of his NBA career. New York coach Jeff Hornacek wishes that Porzingis could spend the summer training with Nowitzki. They couldn’t manage the joint training this time around, but Nowitzki is ready to make the idea come true after the end of this year’s season.
“I gave Kristaps my number last year, when we played in New York. I told him that if he needed anything at all, he could call me when he arrived in Dallas and we could go out to dinner together. We haven’t been in touch for a long time. He is a shy guy and he probably didn’t want to bother me. In September, he sent me a text asking if I was anywhere close, but I was in Europe at the time, so we couldn’t meet up. We couldn’t manage this year, but perhaps we’ll get together next year. His game thrills me. The sky is the limit for him. He can play far from the hoop; he trains a lot with his back against the hoop. He can move, outplay the opponent, and he has a tremendous sense for the ball. He’ll develop into a magnificent player,” says Nowitzki.
Tilen Jamnik reporting from New York; Tranlsated by J. B.
