German national team superstar Dirk Nowitzki went through plenty of highs and lows last season.

The Dallas Mavericks power forward became the first European to win the NBA's Most Valuable Player award and his team also collected an NBA-best 67 wins in clinching the home court advantage throughout the play-offs.

But, of course, Dirk and Dallas bowed out embarrassingly to the Golden State Warriors in the first round, making them the first top seed to lose a seven-game first round series.

Since then, much time has passed and Nowitzki has had ample opportunity to reflect on his up-and-down season. Especially helpful was a backpacking trip to

		“	... I can't do that alone. The team has to do that."	„
		Nowitzki on Germany's chances at EuroBasket

Australia with his mentor and special trainer and good friend Holger Geschwindner.

Before Nowitzki joined the German national team in the run-up to EuroBasket 2007, Martin Fuenkele caught up with Nowitzki in Rattelsdorf,Germany, where he was conducting his individual workouts with Geschwindner.

Fuenkele: Dirk, more than three months have passed since your last game in early May for the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA. When was the last time you had such a long break?

Dirk Nowitzki: "It's been 10 years or so. In the summer of 2004, after the first round loss to Sacramento, I had a similar amount of time. But I got back into training right away. This year, I didn't touch a ball for two months. That's how I came up with the idea for the Australia trip. I wanted to get away. Mainly, I wanted to get some distance from the season. And Australia was perfect. As the reigning NBA MVP, there aren't a lot of places you can go."

Fuenkele: Because you'll be recognised immediately?

Nowitzki: "Yeah. In Australia, I was only recognised at the big tourist spots, for example the "Uluru" (Ayers Rock). Otherwise I had my peace and quiet among the backpackers."

Fuenkele: What? The best player in the NBA took a backpacking vacation?

Nowitzki: "Most of the time. The long stretches we

		Nowitzki was the Most Valuable Player at EuroBasket 2005

flew. Otherwise, we drove around in a Jeep. You know, camping with a backpack and tent, really old school. It's winter in Australia, so it gets dark around 5pm. Still, you have loads of time during evenings. You can sit at the fire, think or play some guitar. I really enjoyed it a lot."

Fuenkele: What did you think about?

Nowitzki: "About how things will be later. When you're 29, you ask yourself questions you thought were stupid when you were 21. You ask yourself what's still to come and what challenges you still have."

Fuenkele: And what did you come up with?

Nowitzki: "I want to take my job more seriously and bring my game to a more constant level. It was good for me to travel with Holger Geschwindner. He's kind of like my "Nutty Professor". Sharing his wisdom gave me a lot of new ideas. But that only works when you have the time for it. In my world, you go from one event to the next."

Fuenkele: But you don't just take a small trip to Australia ...

Nowitzki: "That's true. There's no need to go for just one or two weeks. The distances are just too far. But to be honest, I would have rather not had the free time and have reached the NBA Finals."

Fuenkele: Did you relive the nightmare first round upset against Golden State in your mind while on vacation?

Nowitzki: Of course you try to block it out. But you can't get something like that completely out of your mind. That's why Australia was so good. They don't show any basketball on television there - not even the NBA Finals. And if so, then they are shown at 10 am. Still, I tried to analyse things and asked myself what could have been. But that didn't help too much."

Fuenkele: How good are your memories of the play offs exit?

Nowitzki: "We lost the series in the fourth game when we flew to Golden State with a 2-1 deficit. Everyone knew we had to win that game! Then we would have returned to Dallas at 2-2, and I am sure that we would have reached the next round. I can remember one scene exactly as I got an offensive rebound late in the game and couldn't find anywhere to pass and rushed up a shot. Golden State then came down and hit a three-pointer. The whole game changed at that point. If I had passed or made the shot, then we would have regained control. But we fell apart in the final minutes."

Fuenkele: Did you realise during that game that the decision was wrong?

Nowitzki: "Looking back, of course it was a stupid shot. When you lead with three minutes to go, you have to play with more control. But you have to make decisions in tenths of a second. That decision was wrong and I've had to deal with it all summer."

Fuenkele: After three months, which is more lasting - the play-offs loss or the MVP award?

Nowitzki: "They are connected. When I think about my MVP season, I will also think about the loss to Golden State. But winning the award as Most Valuable Player of the NBA is just a huge honour. I didn't really realise how big it was until Mark Cuban had tears in his eyes at the award ceremony. Actually, I wanted to crack some jokes on the stage to loosen myself up. But when I saw Mark's tears, that was it. You just don't forget something like that."

Fuenkele: On the court, you seem to stay very cool and always know how much time is left on offense. How do you develop that kind of quality?

Nowitzki: "Experience plays a major role, but your understanding of the game as well. What does the game call of me? Do I have to be more active? Are we behind and do I have to shoot quickly, or should I try to draw a foul and get to the free throw line? A team captain just has to ask himself these types of things. You always ask yourself how you can influence the game."

Fuenkele: Do you simulate such situations? Do you put yourself under pressure in practice?

Nowitzki: "Yeah. Holger's and my goal was always for me to become an all-around player - someone who can figure out every situation."

Fuenkele: Are you as well organised in your private life?

		An Olympic berth with Germany and an NBA title remain Dirk Nowitzki's career goals.

Nowitzki: "I don't really care a lot about what happens in one or two weeks. I don't have much free time, and when I do I seldom make plans. Sometimes I'm aggravated because I actually wanted to play the guitar or take piano lessons. But hopefully I will have enough time for that when my career is over."

Fuenkele: So, the possessed athlete in practice goes by his gut in his private life?

Nowitzki: "I play with a lot of desire and can get very emotional. But off the court, I would describe myself as calm."

Fuenkele: Then the life style of a professional athlete surely fits you better than your father - who was a painter?

Nowitzki: "I turned my hobby into my job. Not everybody has that privilege. I know that I am in a very lucky situation. I used to work in my father's shop and have a lot of respect for handicraftsmen. What they have to do every day is amazing. But I think I could have done that too."

Fuenkele: On the one side, you enjoy financial and personal freedom as a professional athlete. On the other side, through sports you are dependant on others. Isn't that a contradiction?

Nowitzki: "No one is really free. Recently, I was in a hotel which only had breakfast until 11am. Why not until noon? I can't determine that and have to adjust myself to it. Every worker is dependant on someone else in a certain way. But I don't really feel that way. You're only free when you want what you have to do. The good thing about my situation is that I know: If I can stay at this high level for five or six more years, then I will have a lot of time for me and my family - without having any financial concerns."

Fuenkele: German national team coach Dirk Bauermann said your ability to decide games in the final seconds brings Germany a decisive advantage at the 2007 EuroBasket. Do you see it that way as well?

Nowitzki: "Of course it's good when you have a player on the team who can remain calm. But you can't win games just by scoring in the final seconds. It's important that you make the right decisions. But I can't do that alone. The team has to do that."

Fuenkele: From the first minute on, everybody will be looking to you at this EuroBasket. Do you long for the times when you were just one of 12 players?

Nowitzki: "Yeah. But that makes it exciting as well. When I go into the gym, I know the others are thinking about me. They want to shut me down. That's a special kick."

Fuenkele: And is this kick important?

Nowitzki: "Basketball would be fun for me even if I wasn't the star but just the 12th man. I also have days when I'm tired and can't get into gear. But when the ball is in the air, the gym is full and you make your opponent nervous - that's motivation enough. When you're the star of your team, the opponent is concentrating on you. That's a great feeling. Everyone wants to stop you and you try to show how good you are. I love the competition."

Fuenkele: Individually, you have won nearly every meaningful title in your sport. Your goal was always to take part in the Olympic Games and win an NBA crown. Do you sometimes have the feeling that, at 29, your time is running out?

Nowitzki: "Until now, no. I think I'm just now coming into my best age and still can play a few years at the highest level. I think I'll still get my chance."

Fuenkele: At the EuroBasket, you could fulfil your dream of the 2008 Olympics. But besides world champions Spain, only two other Europeans qualify directly for Beijing. Do you even see Germany with realistic chances for the Olympics?

Nowitzki: "It's going to be really tough. When you see how high the level is, it's going to be very, very hard. And even if we don't directly qualify and go through the pre-Olympic tournament, it won't be any easier."

Fuenkele: You recently acted as co-author on your biography. How did you experience your trip into your past?

Nowitzki: "It wasn't easy to remember things which happened in my childhood. But it was exciting to think back. But since I really didn't remember many things, it was really difficult. It was funny because I told one version of an event and then Holger remembered it entirely different and my parents just as different from Holger. Sometimes, we sat there with three different stories even though it was the same event. Just everyone experienced it differently. That was interesting."

Fuenkele: Did you come up with any especially important moments in your career?

Nowitzki: "There were a lot of things there. Like how I played tennis earlier and my father came with me. Or my first experiences in basketball. Or when in 1997, the former Mavericks owner (Ross Perot), Don Nelson and his son visited me in Wurzburg. After the game we wanted to grill together at Holger's. Back then, I had a Golf II and used a rail to push back the seat. So the younger Nelson had to sit behind the big Nelli. The car had a jammed piston and began screaming on the highway. They looked at each other and wondered if they'd survive the trip at all. But there were some really nice memories in there."

Fuenkele: Is the book sort of a "legacy"? That's kind of popular among your American colleagues ...

Nowitzki: "No, it's more like a progress report. A Kobe Bryant or a LeBron James want to establish themselves as a brand. I never cared about all that marketing stuff. If I wanted to, I could surely have a lot more sponsors. For me, it would be enough for people to later remember me as the one who won the first NBA championship for Dallas."