https://www.sport1.de/news/us-sport/nba/...-mavericks
Nowitzki pays a painful price
Dirk Nowitzki once made his big breakthrough in the NBA and became a legend there. The Würzburg native ended his career only at the age of 40 - with consequences for his health.
In his adopted country of the USA, Dirk Nowitzki is one of the biggest legends in the sport. He is to be honored once again at the game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Golden State Warriors.
. SPORT1
02.02.2022 | 07:30 Uhr
It was an emotional evening for Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks on this April 10, 2019.
The "German wunderkind" ended his long career after more than 1,500 games and over 31,000 points in the NBA and said goodbye to retirement.
As a 20-year-old, the Würzburg native had once been traded to the Mavs and from then on played basketball at the highest level. A long career that left traces due to the high load - and took a toll on his body at the end of his career, as Nowitzki now admitted.
"I can't move much anymore," the NBA legend revealed in the weekly podcast Einfach mal Luppen mit Felix und Toni Kroos, questioning the timing of his career's end. (NEWS: All the latest info on the NBA)
Nowitzki struggles with timing of his career end in the NBA
"I sometimes already think about whether the last two years were really worth it. Sure, I still set a few nice highlights, but in the end, we were not good athletically. I couldn't really move anymore."
In particular, his damaged left ankle, which ultimately also led to the end of his career, was a constant problem for Nowitzki. Numerous operations did little to change that, and the 43-year-old is still struggling with the consequences of his long career.
Whether an earlier departure would have made a difference is hard to say, but the former national player still occasionally wavers about his decision to remain loyal to professional sports until 2019. (DATA: NBA results and schedule)
"Maybe my foot would be a little better and I could move a little better. I think about that sometimes in the evening," Nowitzki said.
Nowitzki was mentally fit at Dallas Mavericks until the end
Meanwhile, the fact that things went so well at all for so long was largely due to the good mental state of Nowitzki, who crowned himself NBA champion with the Dallas Mavericks in 2011.
"You're still having fun to some extent, the body is going like this, but the motivation and the head are still there," the longtime Mavs captain explained with regard to the late phase of his career, emphasizing the difficulty of finding the right time to retire under these circumstances.
In the end, a career full of highlights and accolades stood for Dirk Nowitzki, whose career served as a role model for an entire basketball generation. (DATA: All tables of the NBA)
And a career that is now coming to an end on the tennis court, which the thoroughbred athlete still enjoys.
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
(02-02-2022, 01:59 PM)WillE Wrote: https://www.sport1.de/news/us-sport/nba/...-mavericksEnglisch translation:
Nowitzki pays a painful price
Dirk Nowitzki once made his big breakthrough in the NBA and became a legend there. The Würzburg native ended his career only at the age of 40 - with consequences for his health.
In his adopted country of the USA, Dirk Nowitzki is one of the biggest legends in the sport. He is to be honored once again at the game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Golden State Warriors.
. SPORT1
02.02.2022 | 07:30 Uhr
It was an emotional evening for Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks on this April 10, 2019.
The "German wunderkind" ended his long career after more than 1,500 games and over 31,000 points in the NBA and said goodbye to retirement.
As a 20-year-old, the Würzburg native had once been traded to the Mavs and from then on played basketball at the highest level. A long career that left traces due to the high load - and took a toll on his body at the end of his career, as Nowitzki now admitted.
"I can't move much anymore," the NBA legend revealed in the weekly podcast Einfach mal Luppen mit Felix und Toni Kroos, questioning the timing of his career's end. (NEWS: All the latest info on the NBA)
Nowitzki struggles with timing of his career end in the NBA
"I sometimes already think about whether the last two years were really worth it. Sure, I still set a few nice highlights, but in the end, we were not good athletically. I couldn't really move anymore."
In particular, his damaged left ankle, which ultimately also led to the end of his career, was a constant problem for Nowitzki. Numerous operations did little to change that, and the 43-year-old is still struggling with the consequences of his long career.
Whether an earlier departure would have made a difference is hard to say, but the former national player still occasionally wavers about his decision to remain loyal to professional sports until 2019. (DATA: NBA results and schedule)
"Maybe my foot would be a little better and I could move a little better. I think about that sometimes in the evening," Nowitzki said.
Nowitzki was mentally fit at Dallas Mavericks until the end
Meanwhile, the fact that things went so well at all for so long was largely due to the good mental state of Nowitzki, who crowned himself NBA champion with the Dallas Mavericks in 2011.
"You're still having fun to some extent, the body is going like this, but the motivation and the head are still there," the longtime Mavs captain explained with regard to the late phase of his career, emphasizing the difficulty of finding the right time to retire under these circumstances.
In the end, a career full of highlights and accolades stood for Dirk Nowitzki, whose career served as a role model for an entire basketball generation. (DATA: All tables of the NBA)
And a career that is now coming to an end on the tennis court, which the thoroughbred athlete still enjoys.
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)