“Dirk Nowitzki Wanted To Hug Me Goodbye”: 7ft” Mavericks Star Was Stopped by Steve Nash and ‘Lady Lysa’ From Leaving America

European players coming into the NBA and becoming a superstar in the league was not as normal as it is today. Dirk Nowitzki first made it look possible for his successors like Giannis Antetokounmpo and Luka Doncic, who now rule the league.

But even the 7ft tall legendary German forward was homesick when he first came to a wholly new country of so many skyscrapers and so fewer people who could understand him.

His Mavericks teammates Steve Nash, Michael Finley, and a certain Lady Lisa helped him feel at home and kept him in America.

Also read: Dirk Nowitzki, Who Was About to Gift $250,000 Ring to His ex-Fiancee, is Still ‘Super Embarrassed’ by Her Arrest

How Steve Nash, Michael Finley, and a Mavericks staff helped Dirk Nowitzki feel less homesick

In his recent appearance on the “In Depth with Graham Bensinger” show, the 14x All-Star opened up about how his former teammates, and accountant Lisa Tyner, who treated him like her own kids, helped him overcome his sickness and stopped him from almost leaving the country within the first few years of coming in.

As Lisa recalls, the 2011 Finals MVP even “wanted to hug her goodbye” when he was also sick of his coach Don Nelson who supposedly didn’t treat the rookies right.

Mark Cuban must be thankful to Nash, Finley, and Lisa for making Dirk feel this foreign environment is his home. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have stayed like most players before him, or even if he did, he wouldn’t have become a superstar in the league.

Many European stars paved way for the European stars to take over the league

We saw how a superstar in European Basketball couldn’t replicate his talents in the NBA with the then-Yugoslavian Tony Kucoc. The 3x NBA Champ despite having a Hall of Fame career did not reach his full potential.

But there were several before him as well who either didn’t make it to the biggest stage of basketball at the right time in their career like Dirk did, or didn’t feel at home when they did.

All among Dražen Petrović, Arvydas Sabonis (Domantas’ father), and Šarūnas Marčiulionis and the ones who came after Dirk and Kukoc – Darko Miličić, Luigi ‘Gigi’ Datome, and Nando de Colo, must have worked as examples for the current generation for what to do and most importantly, what not to do when they do make it to the United States.

Also read: $400 Million Worth Shaquille O’Neal Once Had to Work at Burger King to Get His Hands on Michael Jordan’s Biggest Gift to ‘Ball Fans’

About the author

Akash Murty

An Electrical and Electronics Engineer by degree, Akash Murty is an NBA Editor at The SportsRush. Previously a Software Engineer, Murty couldn’t keep himself away from sports, and his knack for writing and putting his opinion forward brought him to the TSR. A big Soccer enthusiast, his interest in basketball developed late, as he got access to a hoop for the first time at 17. Following this, he started watching basketball at the 2012 Olympics, which transitioned to NBA, and he became a fan of the game as he watched LeBron James dominate the league. Him being an avid learner of the game and ritually following the league for around a decade, he now writes articles ranging from throwbacks, and live game reports, to gossip. LA Lakers are his favourite basketball team, while Chelsea has his heart in football. He also likes travelling, reading fiction, and sometimes cooking.

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