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  Interview with NBA Great Dirk Nowitzki: 'You Question Everything -- Your Entire Career'

Interview with NBA Great Dirk Nowitzki 'You Question Everything -- Your Entire Career'

Part 2: 'Money Was Never a Goal in My Life'

SPIEGEL: It's that easy?

Nowitzki: Of course. I always told myself that I didn't want to marry before I turned 30, and that's how it's worked out. But I also don't want to wait until I'm 40 to get married. I'm sure that something will happen in the next four or five years.

SPIEGEL: Did you ever think about leaving Dallas and getting a fresh start somewhere else?

Nowitzki: No. Why should I? Of course, it was a huge day for me when I was named the NBA most valuable player in May. I was supposed to say a few words in front of a giant auditorium, which is something I don't do very well. I even had a joke ready, but then Mark Cuban, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks, starting talking, and when he talked about me he started to cry. Obviously it took me a while before I could say much.

SPIEGEL: Why was he crying?

Nowitzki: We have a very good relationship. After buying a share of the Mavericks in 2000, he put a lot of faith in me, and I always felt that I owed him something. He's a media entrepreneur. He bought the team a plane and got a new arena, and for all that I would love to give him the championship. We almost made it a couple of times.

SPIEGEL: There are rumors that superstar Kobe Bryant is moving from the Los Angeles Lakers to Dallas, possibly as part of a trade. In that case, you'd have to play in Los Angeles.

Nowitzki: Oh, those are the usual rumors that keep our business interesting. The same thing happens in the German soccer league. I couldn't care less about what Kobe is doing in L.A. Our team is strong enough as it is.

SPIEGEL: A trade would be out of the question?

Nowitzki: Definitely. Before the season, I signed up early for another three-year contract -- even though I still had two more years to go.

SPIEGEL: And what if Cuban wants to trade you anyway?

Nowitzki: I couldn't do anything about it, of course. But I couldn't imagine that, given our relationship. I'm pretty sure that he still believes in me, despite the screw up in the playoffs.

SPIEGEL: A switch could be financially lucrative.

Nowitzki: I'm already paid very, very well, and I didn't go to America to make more money. I wanted to play in the best league in the world. Sure, it's nice to know that I never have to think about money again in my life or worry about my family in that regard. But knowing that is good enough for me. Money was never a goal in my life. My upbringing was too down-to-earth for that. I come from a family of painters in Würzburg, and my mother makes sure that I don't let things go to my head.

SPIEGEL: What do you do with your millions?

Nowitzki: Investments. I bought a house here five years ago, but that's all. Six cars and all kinds of jewelry, the way the other guys do it here, that's not something I need.

SPIEGEL: You went to the United States when you were 20. How foreign do you feel in the world of the NBA?

Nowitzki: You wouldn't believe how different I felt here at first. It was a completely new world. I tend to be shy, and it took me two years before I felt completely at home and had the slang down.

SPIEGEL: And now, when you go back to Germany, do you feel a little like a stranger there?

Nowitzki: Würzburg will never change for me. My parents are there, and I still have my buddies there. I feel very comfortable in both places, but after almost 10 years in the NBA and living the American lifestyle, I have outgrown Würzburg a little. America is my home now.

SPIEGEL: How different is the atmosphere in the German national team?

Nowitzki: Of course, lots of those players are completely unlike American players. They move in different circles, and many are graduates of college prep high schools.

SPIEGEL: Could it be that there are too many brains for the team to be truly successful?

Nowitzki: Especially at the European championship, it was obvious, once again, that 19 or 20-year-old talents had grown into the sport on other countries' teams. We haven't had any of that in recent years. I'm not sure if it's because of the trainers or that young people just aren't working hard enough.

SPIEGEL: The German national team has turned into a sort of one-man-show these days.

Nowitzki: That's not true. You need consistency to play at the top of the league. Even the world's best teams sometimes have quarters where nothing works, and yet that doesn't suddenly put them 30 points behind. In our case, we suddenly bottomed out in a couple of games, and there just wasn't anything left.

SPIEGEL: Your manager, Holger Geschwindner, handled your business affairs for many years. In 2005, he spent five weeks in jail on charges of tax evasion, to the tune of €3 million. You paid his bail of €15 million. Geschwindner was later sentenced to one year of probation and fined €50,000. How could that happen?

Nowitzki: You'd have to ask him. All I know is that we went through hell together at the time. It was the most difficult time of my life. I never really paid attention to these things. Perhaps that was my mistake. But I had trusted him completely. He was always a second father to me. He's in Dallas right now and we're getting ready for the season.

SPIEGEL: And how do you feel about it?

Nowitzki: We're still practicing the perfect shot. I still haven't found it.

SPIEGEL: Mr. Nowitzki, thank you for taking the time to speak with us.

Interview conducted by Cathrin Gilbert

Translated from the German by Christopher Sultan