Looking back on 2011 – The German Wunderkind

Dirk Nowitski has arrived at the end of a long journey. In his 13th season in the North American NBA, he finally managed to fulfil his childhood dream. This season, in his 6th championship-final game, Nowitski's Dallas Mavericks beat Miami Heat 105-95 and gave the German his first ever NBA Championship. “I was so pleased for Dirk. He never lost sight of his goal and never let himself be defeated when he suffered setbacks. You have to admire character like that, I think”, said Starke, who has followed Nowitski, originally from Würzburg, throughout his career. ‘Dirkules' had come close to winning the title in 2006, but lost 4-2 in a ‘best of seven' series against the Miami Heat. This year, however, he could celebrate an amazing achievement that had been a long time coming.