Nowitzki: “Spain is great in any sport played with a ball”

The 2023 NBA Hall of Fame will elevate a handful of personalities into history. It will be a day to remember in terms of Spanish basketball with Pau Gasol becoming the first player from Spain to enjoy such an honor. And he will be inducted just a few months after the Lakers decided to retire his jersey, the No.16 that now has pride of place at the top of the Crypto Arena, flanked by the No.8 and No.24 that his inseparable team mate Kobe Bryant wore during his career. A true honor that will put the finishing touch to a career that will be rewarded with his umpteenth honor in October, when he will also enter the FEB Hall of Fame. A legend in every regard.

But Pau is not the only one that will enter that select club of NBA history this weekend. Among many others, Dirk Nowitzki will also be recognized - an extraordinary star who wore the Dallas Mavericks jersey for 21 seasons and who met Pau in many contests in the best league in the world as well as international clashes between Spain and Germany in FIBA basketball. The former player has taken it upon himself, during one of the many interviews he is granting prior to his entry into the Hall of Fame, to praise Spanish basketball... and Spanish sport in general.

“In any sport in which the ball is played, don’t ask me why, but Spain is great”, assured Nowitzki, who cited not only basketball, but also tennis or football as examples of sports in which Spanish sportsmen and women excel. During the talk, the German recalled Germany’s victory over Spain in the Eurobasket 2005 semifinals, citing it as one of the most meritorious victories of his career and one he will never forget. In that particular tournament, the Germans went on to collect the silver medal after losing the final to Greece, while Spain had to settle for fourth place after defeat to France in the battle for bronze.

Dirk Nowitzki is not only the best German player in history, but he is also part of the NBA all-time elite and has earned in his own right to be considered one of the greatest basketball players of all time - a 12-time all-star, he won the MVP of the best league in the world in 2007, while he was crowned with the ring of 2011 and the MVP of the finals. A victory to achieve redemption after the defeat against the Heat in the 2006 finals. One that will surely be well remembered in a Hall of Fame that will serve to elevate one of the greatest to the top, without any doubt