Germans and the American Dream: Dirk Nowitzki, from Germany to Dallas to the Basketball Hall of Fame
In der Reihe „Germans and the American Dream“ stellen wir jeden Monat einen deutschen Auswanderer vor, der sich auf der anderen Seite des Atlantiks einen Namen gemacht und den Amerikanischen Traum gelebt hat oder lebt. Sportlich wird es in der aktuellen Ausgabe der Read On: Der Basketballspieler Dirk Nowitzki – ein Name, der wohl den meisten geläufig ist – hat in den USA NBA-Geschichte geschrieben. Lesen Sie hier einen Auszug aus dem Porträt.
Dirk Nowitzki, from Germany to Dallas to the Basketball Hall of Fame
His signature move – the one-legged fadeaway – changed NBA history.
By Siobhan Bruns
1 Dunkin Deutschman, the Bavarian Bomber, the Germanator – these are just a few of the many nicknames Dirk Nowitzki was given when he played basketball for the NBA. Tall Baller from the G must have been his favourite, though, because that’s what he uses on X.
2 If you’re wondering how one man could collect so many nicknames in his career, it may help to know that Nowitzki had one of the longest careers in NBA history. He played for 21 years – all of them for just one team, the Dallas Mavericks.
3 Of course, playing for such a long time meant Nowitzki was no spring chicken by the time he’d reached the middle of his career. But growing older didn’t hurt Nowitzki’s game. It’s why he developed what became his signature move, the one-legged fadeaway – one of the 25 Most Unstoppable Moves in NBA History, as the sport website Bleacher Report writes.
4 Born on June 19, 1978, in Würzburg, West Germany, Nowitzki began playing basketball when he was 13 years old. By the time he was 16, he was playing for DJK Würzburg, a second-division professional team in Germany.
5 Nowitzki’s big break came in 1998 when he was 19. He impressed basketball scouts while playing in an international exhibition game and was drafted into the NBA that same year.
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Den vollständigen Artikel lesen Sie in der aktuellen Ausgabe der Read On.
Vocabulary
0 Hall of Fame Ruhmeshalle — signature move Markenzeichen (m. Taktik) — one-legged fadeaway (s. Erklärung im 9. Absatz) — NBA= (US) National Basketball Association US-Basketballliga der Männer
1–2 to dunk dunken (einen Punkt erzielen) — Bavarian bayerisch — Germanator (vgl. Terminator) — nickname Spitzname — though allerdings
3–5 to be no spring chicken (fig) nicht mehr der/die Jüngste sein — to hurt s.th. etw. schaden — second-division team Zweitligist — big break Durchbruch — to impress s.o. jdn. beeindrucken — scout Talentscout(in) — exhibition game Testspiel — to draft s.o. jdn. in ein Team / in einen Verband berufen
Foto: Pixabay/Prawny