Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki joined SiriusXM NBA Radio’s NBA Today with Justin Termine and Eddie Johnson recently. Here are some highlights.
Question: On where his new nickname “Big Mummy” came from
Nowitzki: Over the years when you get older your muscles are a little stiff in the morning when you walk in. Darrell Armstrong, who I played with, is one of the first ones who kept calling me the Big Mummy. It’s just like in the mornings, you play a game, let’s say it’s 7:30. You don’t sleep a whole lot, you come in at at 9:30 the next day and you’re older in your late 30s and are supposed to practice at 10:00. I guess at times that looks a little stiff in shoot around the next day or the following day, so that’s where that came from and it’s one of my favorites for sure.
On how much longer he might play for?
“I gotta say I was pretty fortunate during my career. I only had a few things here or there, minor things. I had knee surgery last year, I had a little Achilles problem that almost held me out for two months, but other than that I gotta say I’m doing pretty good. Obviously in the mornings you get up following games, it takes a few steps to get loose a little bit or even sometimes in practice like I mentioned earlier. Other than that, it’s still fun, the games are still fun, I still love to compete so we’ll just see how it goes. I kind of set my goal from year-to-year. Last year I felt fine and thought I might give it another year, going into this year with the mindset of being efficient once more. Hopefully not missing that much time like last year and we’ll just go from there. I’m looking forward to the 20th season. As you know, the time flies by. It feels like yesterday when I came into the league, so you gotta enjoy it and I am still. The only thing that’s getting a little tougher is the summers. The last four or five weeks now I’ve been really busting my butt here in the gym six times a week for hours at a time. That gets a little tougher, I’ve gotta say, but once the games start the atmosphere is there. The hoop and ball goes up and that’ll always be fun.”
On if loyalty exists in the NBA:
“I think I’m old school. Some of these guys that are now stars are obviously younger and the business has changed a bit. I never knew what to expect when I came to Dallas, but everything just came together here. The way when I got here the community kind of embraced me and wanted me to succeed. And then [Mark] Cuban buying the team by the end of my second year was a huge part of why I was here my entire career. He was a huge supporter of mine. He’s a friend of mine. He always supported me on and off the floor. I was here, I belong to this community and it was always easy for me to be loyal. But I understand the new NBA is a little different. It’s regarding making money, it’s regarding winning and not as much regarding being loyal anymore.”
On if he ever came close to leaving Dallas:
“The only reason I would’ve left is if we wouldn’t have won a championship. Late in my career I would’ve maybe tried it somewhere else, but fortunately I didn’t have to be in that position with the run in 2010-2011, which is still one of the amazing moments of my career. I was lucky I didn’t have to do that. For me following that it was clear I was going to finish my career here. It wouldn’t feel right putting on a different uniform. It’s been a pleasure to represent this city for so long and hopefully I can do that another year or maybe two and then it’s time for somebody else to do it.”
On winning the championship with Dallas instead of somewhere else:
“For me it was unbelievably special. Like, I’ve said, I’ve heard the voices here in Dallas over and over every year. You lose in the playoffs, the voices get louder. Dirk’s not the guy, Dirk can’t do this, Dirk’s not going to carry us any further in the playoffs. So you hear that chirping and it kind of motivates you and it drives you in the summer. Every time you lose in the playoffs you work harder that summer. It was amazing to have the right veteran team around me that was great with no egos, and we just had so much fun playing with each other. It was just a perfect year for us and topped off with a championship. That was unbelievably sweet following all these failures when you try something for so long and so long and you finally get it, it was really really sweet.”
On potentially passing Wilt Chamberlain on the all-time scoring list:
“When I was first got in the league I didn’t know what to expect, so to sit here 19 years later and say I have a chance at the top five is completely surreal and insane, but I totally enjoyed the ride. But that’s definitely not something that keeps me going. Whatever happens there happens. What motivates me is still the playing and the competing. I don’t play to make certain numbers. When I call it a day and the body doesn’t feel good anymore and it’s not fun anymore, then it’s time to go. But that’s not something that I’ll say I’ve gotta play one more year to catch such and such. That’s never something what motivated me, but obviously it’s surreal. Just these last couple of years passing all these names that I grew up watching and idolizing has been surreal for sure. I hope there’s a couple of more story lines in Dallas than just that. Dennis Smith Jr. should hopefully be fantastic for us, an amazing athlete. We expect him to be next cornerstone for our franchise, and hopefully Harrison can take another step and be a great franchise player for us. Hopefully we can make a little run at the playoffs. The top in the West is so stacked, but hopefully we can have a good season and we’re definitely going to go for it.”
On sliding into a complimentary role:
“As you get older and your body notices you just don’t have certain moves. When guys really pushed up on me back in the day, just drove them right, drove them left and get to the foul-line. All that is not there anymore. The explosiveness, I think there’s a step or two gone. You do it a little bit with experience, but you also rely on your teammates. I’m basically out there to help. I’m basically out there to spread the floor. I’d get a post up here or there. Everything else, all the big time plays down the stretch we gave to Harrison last year and he had a fantastic year for us. I’m kinda mentoring him and helping him. He’s been a workhorse. He’s been in the gym since basically May so he’s a freak and a hard worker. We’re happy that we have him so hopefully he can take another step.”
On still being able to close out games:
“If there’s a shot that presents itself, obviously I’m not going to pass it up. Down the stretch, there’s a little less movement, a little less fast break, the game slows down and you have to make a couple of more one-on-one moves and that’s just harder at my age. But if there’s an open shot in the move or whatever the case may be, out of a pick and roll or I have a mismatch, obviously I’m still there to help the guys score a big basket.
On being a captain in the NBA’s Africa Game:
“It was awesome. I’ve actually done basketball without borders before a couple of years ago but not combined with the game at the end. We had a blast. I had the whole family over and really enjoyed it. Helping out the community was awesome and seeing some of these young talents over there. There’s so much athleticism. They need to learn the game a little more. The fundamentals, the shooting, the reading in games what to do, I think that can get better. But man there’s so much potential on that continent so that was fun to watch. And then getting to know some of the players like Kyle Lowry. C.J. McCollum worked out everyday. During the season you say hi and bye or whatever and that’s it. I got a chance to hang out with some of these guys. Kemba Walker, I got to practice with Porzingis a little bit. Getting to know some of these guys that you usually just compete once morest was also fun for me.”
On ESPN’s annual NBA rankings:
“I never really try to worry regarding it. I worried regarding my own game, trying to win games, trying to get better and trying to add something every summer. You can’t really worry regarding stuff like that. Now if guys use that as motivation that’s fine. You gotta find the edge some how, something that motivates you, but it’s not something I was ever worried regarding. I just wanted to go out and compete and get better and play hard. But hey if guys use that as an edge and it drives them all year then great for them.”
