(LAST OF TWO PARTS)
(The following Q-and-A is the second part of the interview with Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks on the ongoing NBA playoffs made by STAR Life columnist Anthony Suntay).
STAR: A question concerning the Warriors. I think they have such a special style of playing basketball. Can you describe their style and what makes them such an outstanding basketball team?
Nowitzki: They have unbelievable shooters. Usually a team has like one Steph [Curry] or one Klay [Thompson] or whatever. But to have two of those caliber shooters, two scorers like that on the court at the same time is unbelievable. One of them can go for eight to 10 threes on any given night. And they’re just fun to watch.
And I think the rest of the team is just built perfect around them. They got rebounders. They got some athletes. They got some defenders. They’re really, really good in every position. They’re deep. They’ve got length. They’re just a really, really good team.
And I was happy for them they broke the record. They’ve been incredibly fun all year. Just to lose nine games an entire season, that’s incredible and that record might never be touched again. I’m happy for the guys and they played an incredible season.
STAR: I wanted to ask, since you were involved in the farewell for Kobe with the little statements, how do you think the Lakers handled the whole spectacle of Kobe’s last game? And do you expect the Mavericks to do something similar for you one day?
Nowitzki: I don’t think anybody will get something like that again for a while. Kobe’s meant so much to not only the Lakers, but to the league, to basketball worldwide. He’s been an ambassador. And, obviously, I always say he was the Michael Jordan of our generation and very deservedly got an unbelievable send-off yesterday. With ex-players being there, with his teammates giving him the ball over and over, wanting him to score, and then him winning the game basically at the end, scoring the last, I don’t know, 15 points straight. And, basically, the fans never sat down anymore in the last quarter, just chanting his name. I actually had goosebumps just watching it and I was really happy for him.
Knowing how much Kobe has meant to the league, but also how hard he works, his dedication to the sport and just everything, what he meant and what he put in, all the hard work he put in. So, I was happy for him. It was great to watch. And then, they came back to win. It was kind of like the perfect script to a movie ending to an incredible career.
STAR: You’re at the twilight of your career, any plans already on what you might be doing when you retire?
Nowitzki: Well, I’ve been doing stuff on the side my entire career. I take my foundation work very serious. I’ve got a foundation in the U.S. I’ve got a foundation in Germany. And that’s something I will continue to do even after my career is over.
Other than that, I still love basketball and I’m sure that, after my career, I’ll stay involved with basketball and do some stuff there. Other than that, I don’t think I have many plans as of now. But we’ll just see what life after basketball still brings for me. I know I’m going to be excited to spend some time with my family and see the kids grow up. But anything else will fall in place after.
STAR: After the decision of DeAndre Jordan last summer and the Chandler Parsons injury, Dallas is still there in the playoffs. So can you describe this year’s team?
Nowitzki: Yeah, I think we had some injury problems, but we fought through them. Every time somebody goes down, another teammate has to step in and fill that role and compete and play well.
I think we have one of the best coaches in the league. He motivates us every night. He puts us in position to succeed with the game plan. If we execute it, we usually are in pretty good position to win the game. And, just guys have played well.
I think Deron Williams coming over from Brooklyn, he had a great year for us. I think Wesley Matthews came back from a tough, tough Achilles injury and has played really, really well in parts and lately he’s been great.
Zaza Pachulia has been a find for us after the whole DeAndre Jordan debacle last summer. We didn’t know who was going to start for us at center and we traded for Zaza. And he’s played a really solid year for us on both ends of the floor. So, I think we just had a bunch of guys play well at right times. J.J. Barea has been on fire for us for weeks now.
So, it’s just been certain guys stepping up at the right time for us to make the run here in the playoffs. And I’m looking forward to the playoffs. It’s always the most exciting time of the year. It’s warm out. The fans are more excited. And it should be hopefully fun.
STAR: You say you envision yourself playing a few more years, what kind of role do you imagine for yourself in the near future?
Nowitzki: Yeah, I always just adjust to whatever is needed. To me, I always saw my role as a team leader. I need to do whatever is asked of me to do any given night, and that’s try to help win. Some nights that might be just sitting on the bench and letting some young guy who’s having a great game, and I’m struggling, maybe let him finish out the game and let him win. And I’m cheering for him. Some nights it might be some more scoring. Some nights it might be just getting some rebounds.
I always looked at myself, when we win the game I’ve done my job. Whether I scored 20 or whether I scored five points, it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter if I score or rebound or whatever as long as we get the job done, we get the win. Then I did something right. And that’s how I always looked at it.
So, the last couple years I don’t think anything will change. Maybe my minutes go down as I get older. Maybe my shots go down. It doesn’t matter. I want to be there for the team. I want to help win. And, really, everything else is secondary. I don’t play for records or numbers. I’ve always played to compete and to win with my team. And that’s how it’s going to be the last couple years.
STAR: How important has J.J. Barea been to the team?
Nowitzki: He’s been the man. He has stretches this year where it feels like every shot is going in. And right before he got hurt again here with his groin, he carried us. He scored over 20 every night.
And he’s our little spark plug. He’s a little guy, but he’s got a huge heart. He loves to compete. He’s got pride. And he just comes in there and gives us instant scoring, usually off the bench. And he’s a very close friend of mine, so I’m very happy. We obviously signed him for four years. He just had another baby, so things are going really well for him on and off the floor, and I’m really, really happy for him. He’s a close friend. Obviously, the championship a couple years ago brought us together as friends and as teammates and he’ll forever be family to me.