For Dallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki, he used fellow NBA icons Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett as motivation.
In an interview with Mavs reporter Dwain Price, Nowitzki recalled his playing days, particularly in the offseason where he followed a strict training regimen. He admitted that there were times when he wasn't motivated but upon thinking of what Duncan and Garnett might be doing, he willed his way out of laziness and got to work. One could infer that this was around the time the San Antonio Spurs and Minnesota Timberwolves were still serious title contenders and at the prime of the power forward position.
“And during my career I always had to find ways to motivate myself. In the summer, every day the same routine, six times, seven times a week. There were obviously times where I wasn’t always motivated, but I always found a way whether you know I’m laying in bed in the morning and I don’t want to get up and I’m saying to myself, ‘Hey, Kevin Garnett is not laying in the bed right now sleeping, and Tim Duncan ain’t laying in the in the bed sleeping, so get your butt up and go to practice.’ Once I get there and once the routine starts, then of course I’m having fun. Sometimes it was just, ‘Oh, get over the hump, get up and get going.’”
Dirk Nowitzki matched up with both Duncan and Garnett at their primes. In the 2000s, the three were considered the top big men in the NBA. So it's a pretty cool story from Dirk. Yes, they were all rivals who hated each others' guts on the floor. But they also used one another as inspiration.
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