Denver Nuggets general manager Arturas Karnisovas, a Lithuanian-born former European professional athlete, rang home the importance of Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki in the rise of foreign players in the NBA.
Speaking to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski on his podcast, Karnisovas, 48, says the number of European players “exploded” following the success of the Mavs star.
Karsinovas was hired as the Nuggets GM in June of 2017 after serving as assistant GM for the Mile High City franchise. He also wworked in the NBA league office prior to his stint in Denver. The Lithuanian played in Europe for Statyba Vilnius, Cholet, FC Barcelona, and other teams in his 15-year playing career.
While the German-born Nowitzki enjoys his status as the NBA's sixth-highest scorer in league history, his legacy may also be remembered as a pioneering European professional. Karsinovas mentions in his interview with Woj that every team was looking for “another Dirk” when Nowitzki hit his stride.
The Mavs acquired Nowitzki's draft rights when he was selected ninth overall by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 1998 NBA Draft. He averaged 20.7 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists per contest in 1,522 career games — all for Dallas — in his 21-year tenure.
Nowitzki retired at the end of the 2018-19 season, tallying 30 points in his penultimate NBA game and a double-double in his last professional outing on the hardwood. The NBA brought in the Mavs icon and frenemy Dwyane Wade for the 2019 All-Star Game, showing significance to the two's contributions to the sport.
After Nowitzki's initial success in the league, the NBA saw a boon of top picks being selected from outside the United States, including China's Yao Ming selected first overall in 2002 and Italy's Andrea Bargnani at No. 1 in 2006.
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