When a promising Slovenian kid landed in Dallas with the number three of the 2018 draftalmost no one in Texas could imagine the true dimension of the phenomenon that was coming to the city. Luka Doncic took the Mavericks out of the hole and gave an unexpected boost to the last years of Dirk Nowitzki, the great legend of the franchise, as a professional player. The German, one of the greatest exponents of the globalization of the NBA, confessed his reluctance about the former Real Madrid player when he met him.
“The end of my career was not pretty. We were having a hard time, and there was even a debate about whether to tank or not. “We needed a spark to change things and I didn’t think that child was going to be it.”Nowitzki confesses on the All The Smoke podcast, in conversation with Stephen Jackson and Matt Barnes. When he first came to the training hall he looked like a big boy, but I had my doubts: is he fast and athletic enough to surpass players like he did in Europe? There were quite a few doubts on the part of the entire team”recalls the former player.
In the month prior to the official preseason, Doncic was able to earn the respect of the group and its leader, who was then facing his last season after 21 years of career in the NBA. “The guys tried to test him, foul him here and there on the blocks. And then we saw it: he had something special. He knew how to move, he knew how to play, he knew how to pass to make others shine,” says the German, who also never imagined the superstar that Luka is today: “Then we started to think that he was going to be a very good player, but I couldn’t imagine him at the level he is now either.”
Although Doncic has always appreciated Nowitzki’s warmth and help in his first season in the NBA, the myth of the franchise wanted to take away from those who place him as their mentor. “During my senior year I was really hurt. I missed the first 34 games and couldn’t travel on tour for months. It was tough, and I didn’t get to spend the time with him that I would have liked. But it was his time to shine and he did it, he caught the ball and continued with it from then on,” he reflects.
Currently Doncic and Nowitzki share a good friendship and see each other regularly when the German visits Dallas. “We are friends. We hit it off. We’re ok. When I’m in town, we go to dinner. But being a mentor sounds too strong because he doesn’t need me for that. As you can see, He plays like he’s 32 years old. How he reads the game, how he moves around the floor, etc. I would love to say that I have helped him by talking about certain things, but the guy has been a professional almost since he was 11… his improvement has been incredible. I didn’t think he was going to do so well from year to year, but he continues to do so and I’m super happy for him,” says the former player and legend of world basketball.
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2023-12-06 12:05:00
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