Dirk Nowitzki
“I can’t move much anymore”
Dirk Nowitzki can look back on an outstanding career.
© imago/Gartner
In a podcast, Dirk Nowitzki spoke openly about the physical consequences of his career and his new life as a full-time father.
Dirk Nowitzki (43) has the podcast “Einfach mal Luppen” by Toni (32) and Felix Kroos (30) paid a visit. From vacation in Sweden, the basketball legend spoke to the footballers about topics such as the end of his career, his own street and health problems.
Nowitzki ended his unprecedented basketball career three years ago. However, he had imagined his life afterwards to be much more relaxed. “I thought, when it’s over, I’ll sit down every day and watch Netflix first. That never happened,” says Nowitzki. In his job as a consultant with the Dallas Mavericks, however, he has all the freedom and can accept things “as he pleases”.
Halligalli all day
His main focus right now is on family. Nowitzki lives in Dallas with his wife Jessica and their two sons and a daughter between the ages of 5 and 8. “There’s always something going on with kids, you know that yourself. We have three who are of a really good age and where Halligalli is always all day. It’s really fun to be at home now and there’s a lot too Being able to make an impact. And driving them to sporting events. I’m a full-time dad right now when I’m home.”
Nowitzki also says that he was looking forward to this life during his career: “The kick and the emotions and the locker room with the boys – of course you miss that, definitely. But I was also looking forward to life afterwards .”
“I can’t move much anymore”
Nowitzki also says that his foot suffered badly from playing basketball at the age of 21 and that he is struggling with the timing of his career end. “I can’t move much anymore,” said the athlete about occasional tennis games, which he now plays several times a week. “I also think about it a bit, have the last two years been worth it? […] As a team we haven’t achieved anything, that’s going through my head a bit.” It’s “damn difficult” to find the right time to end your career.
Nowitzki is considered one of the best players in basketball history. He became the first European to be named the league’s most valuable player in 2007 and won the championship with the Dallas Mavericks in 2011.
His own street is embarrassing for him
About his own street, which was named after him in Dallas in 2019, Nowitzki says that he is “of course a little embarrassed”. He still has to blink when he drives past there: “I mean, I left Würzburg when I was 19 or 20 years old and didn’t really know what to expect or whether I could assert myself, whether I was really good enough. And then, 20 years later, you have your own street.”