Hall of Fame Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki played his final season alongside Luka Doncic, the Mavs' rookie phenom, in 2018-19. In a recent interview with Eurohoops.com, Nowitzki opened up about his initial impressions of Doncic, who is now a five-time All-Star and 2024 NBA scoring champion. He helped the Mavs reach the NBA Finals in June.

The move from overseas to the States was seamless, according to Nowitzki.

“The transition was pretty smooth for him. I played with him for one year, my last one. We all didn’t know how good he was. He was the MVP of the EuroLeague, but that didn’t mean anything when he came to the NBA. From the first practice, I knew how he felt about the game,” Nowitzki said, per Eurohoops.com.

“He plays like a 35-year-old: wicked basketball IQ, what he sees on the floor I never saw. He knows how to handle big moments. We talk about basketball often, but I don’t need to mentor him anything. He’s an incredible talent and player. It was fun seeing him transitioning to the NBA. The start of something special, we’ve been witnessing greatness from him.”

For Dirk, moving to the U.S. from Germany wasn't as smooth. When the Mavericks drafted Nowitzki with the seventh overall pick in the 1998 NBA Draft, he was unsure of what to expect in Dallas.

However, things changed when Mark Cuban acquired a majority stake in the Mavs for $285 million.

“I didn’t know what to expect when I first got to Dallas,” Nowitzki said, per Eurohoops.net. “Things changed when Mark Cuban bought the team, we became food friends and had a good relationship, he was always loyal to me, and the city put me under their wings. I was fortunate to stay there. It’s my new home.”

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Dirk Nowitzki on his new ‘Advisor' role with the Mavericks

Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) drives to the basket against Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) in game five of the 2024 NBA Finals at TD Garden.
Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports

Nowitzki watched Kyrie Irving, Doncic, and the Mavs lose 4-1 in their best-of-7 NBA Finals series. In 2021, the Mavs named Dirk in a special advisor role for the team.

“Advisor is really an interesting word, I’m not advising that much,” Nowitzki admitted, per Eurohoops.com. “There were some shifts in the General Manager position, they asked me if I wanted to be involved. They had good people in place to do some job, J-Kidd is a good friend of mine. We talk basketball all the time, it’s not like I go to the gym every day. An advisor is probably a little strong word.”

Dallas will look to build on its Western Conference championship in 2024-25.