Berlin (AFP) – "We were skilled, not soft." On the day of his induction into the FIBA ​​Hall of Fame, Dallas Mavericks and German basketball legend Dirk Nowitzki is, as usual, humble about his role in transforming the game in recent decades.

First modification: 04/21/2026 - 17:39

When he arrived in the NBA in 1998, at a time when European players were often labeled as soft, Nowitzki, along with Pau and Marc Gasol, not only helped change that perception: he ushered in a lasting transformation in the sport itself.

The legacy of Nowitzki, 2.13 meters and 47 years old, is that the skilled European center who can shoot baskets ceased to be a rarity and became the model of the modern basketball player.

Already much taller than adults as he progressed through the youth ranks, Nowitzki's longtime trainer and mentor, Holger Geschwindner, told the skinny teenager to focus on fundamental skills rather than gaining muscle.

"I met Holger, who taught me how to shoot and how to move on the court. I thought I could shoot a little, but when we started, he told me: 'You're doing everything wrong,'" Nowitzki told AFP in Berlin.

"We started from scratch, as if I had never launched before," he adds.

Nowitzki's iconic single-leg fadeaway, that indefensible shot that appears again and again in his highlights videos, came directly from those early training sessions.

"Jokic is a perfect example"

Drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks in 1998, Nowitzki was immediately traded to the Dallas Mavericks, where he spent his entire 21-year career.

Although other Europeans such as the Serbian Vlade Divac and his German compatriot Detlef Schrempf had already laid the foundations, many negative stereotypes were still present.

"When we got there in the late '90s, we were tall and shot baskets. That was perceived as soft, but we were skilled," Nowitzki says.

The power forward acknowledges that rule changes in the mid-2000s, designed to improve the flow of the game, also helped, including the five-second rule, which limited individual plays.

"If I had Charles Barkley and gave him 10 seconds to dribble, I couldn't stop him... We Europeans were lucky with this that the game was changing at the right time."

In 2007 Nowitzki was the first European to win the NBA MVP award and only the third non-American to do so, after Nigerian Hakeem Olajuwon and Canadian Steve Nash.

These days it's business as usual: No American has won the game's top individual award since James Harden in 2018. Three of those awards went to Serbian Nikola Jokic, whom Nowitzki considers the perfect embodiment of the modern player.

"Jokic is a perfect example of how to play without a fixed position. You can put him anywhere on the court," he explains.

Former Mavericks player and current Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic, and French center Victor Wembanyama, whom Nowitzki praised for "changing the game as we speak," continue the European legacy in the NBA.

"Masterful moment"

Three decades after his debut in Germany, Nowitzki is inducted into the FIBA ​​Hall of Fame.

Many attribute him to being the reference for Germany becoming world and European champions today, but he downplays his importance.

"I'm not entirely sure that's the case, but if I'm part of someone's journey and inspired them, that's a deeply honest thing to hear," he says.

Nowitzki added that entering the Hall of Fame is "a nice way to close a long international career."

"I immediately thought about my beginnings in the national team and some of the first tournaments. Traveling through Europe was an incredible experience... It makes it even more special to have it here in Germany."

"My parents can come. Holger is here. My sister is coming. So I have some of the closest people, who were there from the beginning to the end," he explains.

Now a commentator on American television, Nowitzki considered skipping Tuesday's ceremony because of his coverage of the NBA play-offs, but the magnitude of the occasion brought him to Berlin.

"I got on a plane on Sunday to be here and I return directly to Los Angeles on Wednesday after the gala to work," he says.

"It's been a lot. But I wanted to make a worthwhile moment come true. And like I said, this comes to close my international career and the incredible moments and experiences. It will be fun."

© 2026 AFP

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