After an incredible Hall-of-Fame career, Dirk Nowitzki rode off into the sunset with no one knowing if, or when, he'd be heard from again with regards to the NBA. And for a while, it appeared as though Nowitzki would take the Tim Duncan route and disappear from the scene with the exception of the occasional visit to the franchise he spent all 21 years of his NBA career with.

That is, until Amazon came knocking on his door.

As a new broadcasting rights partner for the NBA in this new, 11-year media rights agreement, Amazon launched NBA on Prime with a star-studded cast featuring host Taylor Rooks alongside former players like Blake Griffin, Udonis Haslem, Steve Nash, Dwyane Wade, John Wall, Rudy Gay, and Dirk Nowitzki.

The former 2011 NBA Champion and Mavs superstar always envisioned himself working in some type of front office role with the Dallas franchise he joined 1998, but circumstances outside of his control — Mark Cuban selling his majority stake in the Mavs, Nico Harrison trading franchise megastar Luka Doncic — made that more difficult than initially thought.

Dirk Nowitzki is arguably the biggest name in NBA on Prime's coverage, providing unmatched insight on the studio show alongside Rooks, Griffin, and Haslem. But how did he get here?

Nowitzki spoke with ClutchPoints about his decision to join Amazon's coverage of the NBA on Prime after half a decade away from the game.

“I thought I was going to go the Tim Duncan route, and you'll never see me again,” Nowitzki joked. “But I've felt like I took a nice break here for six years. I thought originally that I'm going to go help the Mavs, obviously, in a front office-type role after I'm retired, and the more I've been out and traveling and young children, that wasn't really in the cards.

“But now, after six years, I felt like it was time. I was getting itchy. I wanted to be around the game again, talk hoops, and that's when this opportunity came along, and now I'm excited.”

NBA on Prime has dominated Friday night hoops to start the season, including NBA Cup nights throughout the month of November. They'll also have exclusive rights to the NBA Cup knockout rounds and championship, starting December 9th.

Through the first three weeks, fans have been able to tune into lighthearted yet informative conversations between knowledgeable NBA veterans. The 13,000-square-foot NBA studio has allowed the team to provide a unique twist to coverage of the league.

“I'm excited to be here,” Dirk Nowitzki added. “We have great talent behind and in front of the camera, so I'm excited to be a part of it. That's how it came about, just sticking around, sticking my nose in some, doing some stuff with the Mavs, and then I helped out on the TNT show last year in the playoffs one time when Shaq was off for a game and just kinda sniffed around a little bit in that space, and I had a good time. I enjoyed it. And then when Prime obviously approached me, I got to know the guys and what they wanted to do. I was all in.”

Nowitzki played 21 years in the NBA, and although he was always friendly with members of the media, he always appeared more reserved than other players when it came to the cameras. The German star confirmed that was the case, never imaging he'd be a TV analyst.

“For me, while I played, I never thought I'd be in the media space one day. If you would've asked me 10 years ago if I would be a TV analyst, I would have said, ‘you're absolutely out of your mind.' I never saw this coming, but this was a great opportunity. And I've messed around a little bit with the Mavs TV and I've done some studio, even done some play-by-play, or color commentary during the games. But I was just messing around. I never really thought that this was in my cards.”

Among the cast of NBA talent on Prime's new studio show, Nowitzki has the least experience. Udonis Haslem has made spot appearances on ESPN during his post-NBA career, and Blake Griffin has always had the perfect on-camera personality. Steve Nash has also made some television appearances, and also hosted a podcast you might've heard of called, “Mind The Game,” with one LeBron James.

That's why Nowitzki is taking these early season opportunities to learn as much as he can.

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“I mean, I'm here to learn,” Dirk Nowitzki admitted. “I'm here to get better. I'm here to soak up. I might get better from week to week, from show to show, talking about the game, analyzing the game. So I'm always a student of the game. I was the same when I played. I was never satisfied, I always wanted to get better, and I'm going to work hard. If I make some mistakes or say some wrong names, I'm going to work harder again the next week and be better.

“This opportunity came about, and just meeting with [Amazon], and seeing their vision for what they wanted to do here and what they wanted to build with some really cool people in front of the camera, but also behind the camera, and everybody's been amazing. They hired some great talent. Like I said, I'm not coming in here thinking I know it all. I want to learn and I'm going to work hard, and if I make some mistakes, I'm going to learn from them and try to get better.”

Nowitzki's lone title is considered one of the greater playoff runs in recent NBA history, with the Mavs overcoming multiple powerhouse teams en route to the NBA Championship. Dallas swept the defending back-to-back champion Los Angeles Lakers in the second round. They then defeated the Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, James Harden-led OKC Thunder in the Conference Finals, advancing to face the new-look Miami Heat.

As talented as they were, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh were no match for Dallas' cohesiveness and balanced attack. A video showing James and Wade mocking an under the weather Nowitzki went viral on social media in the middle of the Finals, making the series a bit more personal. The Mavericks ultimately won the 2011 NBA Championship in six games.

Dallas Mavericks power forward Dirk Nowitzki (41) drives past Miami Heat power forward Udonis Haslem (40) during the second quarter at the American Airlines Center.
Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Former Miami Heat center Udonis Haslem joked that, in order to get the NBA on Prime team on the same page, Nowitzki and him had to get together first.

“It started with getting me and Dirk in a room together,” Haslem quipped. “I think that once me and Dirk broke the ice, I think everybody was cool and was able to exhale. So I think that was the start of the chemistry. Just me and Dirk getting in a room together, breaking the ice.”

Oh, and don't think Dirk Nowitzki was going to let any interview end without showing immense pride at the success that the German National Team has seen in recent years. Despite not medaling in the 2024 Olympics, Germany won gold in the 2023 FIBA World Cup and in 2025 FIBA EuroBasket.

“I've been super proud, obviously, with how the game has grown. When I first got in the league, there were a few pioneers, some from Europe, like Vlade Divac, Toni Kukoc, Drazen Petrovic. Then I came in the league and I was having a little bit of success, and Tony Parker and Pau Gasol came and we were able to have an impact on the league and help to grow the game internationally, play for our national team every year, for our teams, and for our countries to be able to grow the game that way.

“It's been a fantastic journey to be a part of and to watch now to see these guys come in, not only be role players, but be franchise players, be MVPs. It's been an incredible journey for the foreign players in the last 20-30 years, and it's only going to get better. I'm excited to be a small part of growing the game outside the U.S. and I've been proud watching these guys and German basketball has been great. I mean, we've changed a few things around youth training. Like 10-15 years ago, we have this youth Bundesliga, and I think that really took the game to another level, along with some of the coaching.

“Now we're seeing that it's all worked out, and I'm happy for some of the Federation guys who have been there for like 30 years, working extremely hard. We'll see what else this golden generation can do with Franz [Wagner] and obviously Dennis Schröder and all these guys. It's been fun to watch.”

Amazon's coverage of the NBA continues every Friday throughout the NBA season, including the NBA Cup knockout stages.