Career: Würzburg (Germany-2.Bundesliga, 1996-98), Dallas Mavericks (NBA, 1998-2007). Selected in the first round of the 1998 NBA draft (#9), by the Dallas Mavericks.
Do we have to rewrite his story? Is Dirk Nowitzki maybe not half as great as we thought he was? After losing to the Golden State Warriors in their first-round playoff series the great German had to face even harsher criticism, but the plain truth is that Nowitzki’s helplessness against Golden State was shocking. But now, after months of recovering from his biggest personal failure, the interesting questions aren’t about the reasons for his break-down, but about his reaction it. EuroBasket 2007 is the biggest tournament Nowitzki has faced so far as it is the ultimate battle for his life long dream of playing in the Olympics. With the ultimate prize comes a lot of attention. All eyes will be on the superstar, waiting for him to either crack under pressure or return to his supernatural powers which allowed him to win the 2006-2007 NBA Most Valuable Player award. In doing so, Nowitzki placed himself in the history books by becoming the first European to ever win NBA MVP.
The German national team obviously hopes to see the strong Nowitzki again and there are reasons to believe. First is that there has always been a difference between his approach to European and NBA basketball. Playing for Germany, Notwitzki is even more involved in the game than in Dallas. Meaning, an emotionless Dirk waiting in the low post for his teammates to feed him the ball is hard to imagine. Rather will he pick up the rock at the base line and look for his shot from a point guard’s position. Second is that Nowitzki is his own toughest critic and he is a perfectionist. Add it up, and you know how he spent his summer working on his game! EuroBasket 2007 will proudly present the result of Nowitzki’s anger management.
Besides that, the fans in Spain may be witnessing Nowitzki’s final appearance on the German national team. If the squad fails to qualify for the Olympics or the Pre-Olympic tournament, Nowitzki has already announced his desire for a break in between his exhausting NBA seasons.
What is certain is that Nowitzki is the best player ever to come out of Germany and maybe even out of Europe. The 29-year old is still a nightmare to guard because he moves his 2.13m body like a small forward and shoots like a guard. After the playoff disaster he admitted that his low-post game is still his biggest weakness and he promised to work even harder to close that gap. So the big question is not only how he recovers mentally but also what kind of new tools he added to his game during the off-season. EuroBasket 2007 will be the world premiere for Nowitzki reloaded.
