Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki has been involved with Africa through his foundation work away from the court for much of his NBA career.

He also has another reason to continue that with his wife, Jessica Nowitzki, who was born to a Swedish father and a Kenyan mother. According to Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated, this pushed Nowitzki to attempt to speak in Swahili to a group of media members but it didn't go as well as expected:

“I saw some media members I’ve talked to before [from Kenya] and I tried some Swahili on them,” Nowitzki said. “It really didn’t go that well. But Kenya is into other sports. Soccer, cricket and rugby are really big. Basketball is not really their go-to sport.”

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Although it was a light-hearted moment, it shows Nowitzki's commitment to try to connect with the country. He has been heavily involved in helping provide education and health care through his own personal foundation.

In fact, the 39-year-old has been a huge proponent of helping the NBA continue its reach to Africa in the Basketball Without Borders program and has also participated in the NBA Africa Game over the last couple of years.

This shows the kind of person that Nowitzki is away from the court. He has placed a strong importance over the years on helping others through his foundation and charity.