Dirk Nowitzki’s first day in Dallas

The ‘German Wunderkind’ jetted to Dallas for a couple of days to play pickup ball with some fellow NBAers. In between games, he spoke to XXL as he tried to catch his breath …

Credit: Scott Womack

A group of current, former and wannabe NBA players are sitting on the sideline of the basketball court at Baylor Health Center near downtown Dallas, Texas.

The health center is the practice facility for the Dallas Mavericks and other NBA types who played pickup ball for most of the summer and all of the fall, awaiting the outcome of lockout negotiations.

The group of men, sweaty and mad about losing a pickup game, fume as they watch another game now in progress. They watch as newcomer Dirk Nowitzki, seven feet tall and thin as a pipe cleaner, grabs a rebound on one end of the court, dribbles like a point guard to the other and pulls up for a 25-foot jumper that barely touches the net and gives his team another victory.

“How tall is he?” one guy asks.

“Seven-oh!” replies another.

“No way, he doesn’t look seven,” the first guy fires back.

“He’s had bad posture and kinda slouches, that’s why he doesn’t look seven.”

“Seven feet or not, he is going to be a great player,” a third guy interjects.

The statement incites criticism from a fourth player. “You can’t say he’s going to be a great player by how he looks in a pickup game. It’s one thing to play in a pickup game and it’s another to bang in a real game. Let’s see what he can do with Scottie Pippen breathin’ down his back for 40 minutes. See what he can do with Charles Oakley bangin’ the s**t out of him.”

Oblivious to the debate going on nearby, Dirk Nowitzki, the Dallas Mavericks’ top pick in the 1998 NBA draft, sat down with XXL in between pickup games to answer a few questions about basketball and his future in the league …

Credit: Scott Womack

Mavericks coach Don Nelson, his staff and the media made a big deal about how much convincing it took to get you to play basketball in the NBA. Did they really have to do much convincing?

I had many choices to make, but I decided to come to the NBA. It is the best league in the world. I think that it was a good decision, but we will have the see once the season starts.

Do you get excited about playing in pickup games with some NBA-style players?

Sure, it’s a big difference between playing in Germany and here. So you have to get used to it. It’s good to get used to the style of the play over here. That was one reason for coming over here for a couple of days.

Do you have a break in your league now?

No, we have no break, but it doesn’t matter. The half-season is over in Germany, so I missed a game last Sunday, but they won against the first-place team, Alba Berlin. They won without me, so that’s OK! Our next game is next Sunday and I fly out tomorrow morning, and I will be back on Friday morning so I can play on Sunday.

You say that there are differences between the game here and the game in Germany. What are some of the basic differences?

The most basic difference is that it’s much more athletic over here. Under the basket it’s much more physical and they are jumping much higher. Germany’s league is not bad, but it’s much more athletic over here.

Have you thought about the intensity and how it’s going to increase from this half-speed pickup game to when the NBA games start? Can you fathom how intense it is going to be?

No, no. I cannot fathom it, because I have never played in this league. I cannot imagine what’s going on. The first two years it’s just about learning everything and getting to know everything and hopefully it works out.

Have you thought about the players you are going to play against once the league starts up?

Sure, I am going to play against players I’ve only seen on TV. It’s a big difference. You know my idol was Scottie Pippen for a long time. It will be great if I get to play against him.

What would you have done if the NBA had not started this season?

I would have stayed in Germany, or switched to Spain or Italy because those leagues are better. The competition is better in Greece, Spain or Italy.

FIBA just announced it is going to open up all the leagues in Europe. What do you think about this decision?

I think that it is good for basketball, but not for the kids in the country. Like me, I started playing when I was 16 in the second division. If it is open I would have no chance at that age to play for a pretty good team. So it is going to be bad for the kids in these countries.