#DankeDirk! #GERmeinsam pic.twitter.com/iiB9ZoHM9M
— Jonathan Müller (@dersportmanager) September 10, 2015
Spain defeated Germany 77-76 in a nail-biting finish to their EuroBasket battle featuring NBA players Dirk Nowitzki, Pau Gasol, Dennis Schröder and Nikola Mirotic. Germany’s loss eliminates them from EuroBasket 2015 and qualification for the 2016 Olympics.
But, with under 50 seconds to go, Germany faced what seemed like a daunting seven-point deficit, and Nowitzki chipped in with a quick three, following by another three from his teammate to cut the deficit to one. After Spain knocked down a couple of free throws, they tried to foul Dennis Schröder before he even attempted a game-tying free throw attempt, but the refs missed the foul in the backcourt and were whistled after he lobbed up three that had no chance of even scraping the nylon. On his ensuing three free throws, Schröder knocked down the first two, but the final one rimmed out, ending Germany’s 2015 EuroBasket run.
https://twitter.com/bballbreakdown/status/642027678489378816/video/1
The loss more than likely marks the end of Nowitzki’s international career after what was his seventh EuroBasket appearance for Germany. He’s been playing for them since he was a skinny teenager with shaggy hair and a hoop earring. In a country known more for their soccer prowess, Nowitzki is still a bit of an oligarch amongst his fellow German athletes.
International players are more ubiquitous in today’s NBA, but that was not the case when Nowitzki entered the league in 1998. Even with the recent influx of overseas talent, it hasn’t necessarily translated into elite, upper-tier foreign-born players. Nowitzki and Gasol are the only international prospects drafted in the lottery since 1998 to make an All-Star team. Giannis Antetokounmpo might one day be added to that list, but that factoid highlights how important Nowitzki and Gasol are to their respective countries.
Dirk only registered 10 points on 3-6 shooting in the game. At 37, he doesn’t have the physical durability to play five games in six days. Additionally, it doesn’t help that most of his teammates outside of Schröder do not have the skill level to get him the ball where he’s at his most deadly (God, that one-legged fadeaway is almost as unguardable as Kareem’s Sky Hook). As Dirk exited the court for the final time, the fans in the Berlin gym gave him an ovation that moved him to tears.
Nowitzki’s NBA career isn’t over yet, but his swan song has begun to play.
(via Jonathan Müller and BBall Breakdown)
