Great Nowitzki: Basketball and the Meaning of Life

A journey into the mindset of a historic basketball superstar, and the importance of his landmark career.The seven-foot Dirk Nowitzki is one of the greatest players in basketball history. The Dallas Mavericks legend revolutionized the sport, redefining the role of the big man in the modern game. Dirk moved differently: flexible and fast, confident and in control. He thought differently, too. On the court, his shots were masterfulnone more venerated than his signature one-legged flamingo fadeaway, a move that lives on in the repertoire of todays most skilled NBA players.How did this lanky kid from the German suburbs become an all-time top ten scorer and NBA champion? How can a superstar stay so humble? Award-winning novelist and sportswriter Thomas Pletzinger spent over seven years traveling with Nowitzki. He witnessed Dirks summer workouts, involving fingertip pushups and the study of the physics, and spent days discussing literature and philosophy with Holger Geschwindner, Dirks enigmatic mentor and coach. Watching Nowitzki in empty gyms and in packed arenas with 30,000 fans, Pletzinger began to understand how Dirk and Holgers philosophical insights on performance, creativity, and freedom enabled his success and longevity.The Great Nowitzki tells Dirks dramatic story like never before. Pletzinger describes Dirks youth in small-town Germany, follows the steep learning curve of Dirks early seasons, the devastating Finals loss to the Miami Heat, and the triumphant championship five years later. Traveling with Dirk in his final seasons, Pletzinger immerses himself in the community of people impacted by Nowitzkis game, interviewing everyone from average fans in Dallas and security guards at the arena to front office executives and Hall of Fame teammates, who reflect on what Dirks career means to the next generation of ballplayers. And to the game itself.A masterpiece of sports writing that reads like a novel, The Great Nowitzki brims with a fans passion. Pletzinger shows how strongly basketball influences our imagination and the extraordinary journey an icon like Dirk Nowitzki must take to reach the pinnacle of the game.