“Dirk lives the game,” says Rick Carlisle. Since age 13, everything he does in his life is and has been geared toward being the best basketball player he can be. And the thing that you love about Dirk is that he loves living this life. The life for Nowitzki – All-Star, NBA MVP, future Hall of Famer – is and has always been only about basketball. “He’s not flashy. He’s not conspicuously spending money or hanging with high profile friends. He’s not after every dollar he can get. It isn’t interesting to him.”
“I’m not going to jump over two guys and dunk it or stare or muscle you down,” he says of is style, which is quiet, quick and efficient. Nowitzki is old school, a workhorse. He loves doing all sorts of drills, he does push-ups on his fingertips, and late night shooting practice. Sometimes the coaches will ban him from the practice facility because they think his body needs rest so he sneaks down to the local high school to use their gym. He does not drink or smoke.
A driver for Hotel ZaZa, the Dallas glitterate hangout, sums up Dirk: “I know all the players. They all come hang out here. But Dirk? Him I never see. “
