The Japan Times - 'We weren't soft, we were skilled': Nowitzki on NBA's European revolution

Arriving in the NBA when European players were often derided as soft, the 2.13-metre (7ft) Nowitzki and the Gasol brothers Pau and Marc not only helped change perceptions; they created an enduring shift in the sport itself.

Nowitzki's legacy is that the skilful European big man who can shoot is no longer a novelty, but very much the incarnation of the modern player.

Already towering over adults while coming through the junior ranks, Nowitzki's long-time coach and mentor Holger Geschwindner told the skinny teenager to focus on fundamental skills rather than bulking up.

"I met Holger, who taught me about shooting and moving on the court. I thought I could shoot a little bit but when we started, he was like 'You're doing everything wrong'," Nowitzki told AFP in Berlin.

"We started from scratch, from zero, like I'd never shot before."

Nowitzki's iconic one-legged fadeaway, the unguardable move sprinkled through his highlights reels, came directly from those early coaching sessions.

- 'We were skilled' -

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

While the groundwork had been laid by European big men like Serbia's Vlade Divac and fellow German Detlef Schrempf, negative stereotypes still lingered.

"When we came over there late '90s, we were tall and we were shooting the ball. That was perceived as soft, but we were skilled."

Nowitzki admits the mid-2000s rule changes designed to improve the flow of the game also helped, including the five-second rule, which restricted solo plays.

"If I got Charles Barkley and I give him 10 seconds to dribble, I couldn't hold him up.

"We got lucky there, I think, for Europeans, for bigs, that the game was changing at the right time."

In 2007, Nowitzki became the first European to win the NBA MVP award and only the third non-American after Nigerian Hakeem Olajuwon and Canada's Steve Nash.

In the present day, an American has not won the game's supreme individual award since James Harden in 2018.

Three of those went to Serbia's Nikola Jokic, who Nowitzki considers the perfect distillation of the modern player.

"Now, the skill level is so much higher across the board.

"Jokic is a perfect example of how he plays positionless. You can put him anywhere on the court.

"There's been a steady growth, an international influx, which has been fun to watch."

One-time Maverick and current Los Angeles Laker Luka Doncic and French centre Victor Wembanyama, who Nowitzki praised for "changing the game as we speak" are continuing the legacy.

- 'Masterful moment' -

Just over 29 years since his Germany debut, Nowitzki returned to be inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame on Tuesday.

Many credit Nowitzki's influence for Germany later becoming world and European champions, but the man himself downplays his role.

"Oh, that's sweet. I'm not quite sure if that's it, but if I'm part of someone else's journey and I inspired them, that's super humbling to hear."

Nowitzki said the induction is "kind of a nice way to wrap up a long international career.

"Right away I thought of my beginnings on the international team and some of the early tournaments. Travelling around Europe, which was an incredible experience.

"It is kind of a nice closing moment. And 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 my closest people who were there from the beginning to the end."

Now a basketball pundit on American TV, Nowitzki considered skipping the ceremony due to his NBA finals coverage commitments, but the gravity of the occasion drew him to Berlin.

"I got on a plane Sunday to be here and I go straight back Wednesday after the gala to LA to work.

"So it's been a lot. But, of course, I wanted to make it happen for this masterful moment... Yeah, it'll be fun."

K.Abe--JT