Surely to no one’s surprise, Gazzetta dello Sport gave its prestigious Euroscar Player of the Year Award to Dirk Nowitzki, he of the defending NBA champion Dallas Mavericks. Clearly the favorite to take FIBA Europe’s equivalent award, the Mav was bestowed with the honor on the same night he collected his bling-bling title ring in Dallas.
Enrico Cellini has gathered a few choice quotes from la Gazzetta’s interview with Nowitzki, including the German’s thoughts on his favorite Italian player, meeting Angela Merkel and topping Arvydas Sabonis.
On January 27, Dirk Nowitzki did not play for the Mavericks against the Minnesota Timberwolves but still brought home two interesting souvenirs from American Air Center. As you are reading BallinEurope, you don’t probably care too much about the diamond-encrusted $40K NBA championship ring (courtesy of Mark Cuban) that Dirk received in a touching ceremony (courtesy of Rick Carlisle), do you? Instead, what’s worth reporting about that night is the fact that Wunder Dirk also received the Europlayer 2011 award, an acknowledgement assigned by Italian Gazzetta dello Sport to the best European basketball player of the season.
You may see the ceremony here.
All right, so it wasn’t quite as dramatic as the ring ceremony but still …
Gazzetta dello Sport later published in its printed version an interview with Nowitzki, in which Würzburg’s finest touched on several topics.
Said Dirk on the loss in the 2005-06 NBA Finals to the Miami Heat: “That experience actually helped me – it made me improve: Now I handle the fourth quarter with more intelligence.”
Seriously hardcore readers of BallinEurope (plus possibly Azusa Pacific University alums and Armenians) may faintly recall the name Mike Danielian. 
Now *this* is what Beşiktaş Milangaz fans have been waiting for: In the Eagles’ third FIBA Eurochallenge game of the 2011-12 season, 
Yet another strange twist in the NBA Nuclear Winter! 
Yahoo! Sports this morning reported that at least three major clubs – 
The Auburn (California) Journal is today running a Q&A with local Bernhard Peat, an 18-year veteran of German and Swiss professional basketball. Born in Germany, Peat played mostly in his homeland throughout the 1980s and most of the ‘90s; he takes on the old standbys – the remuneration situation, the scheduling, etc. – in recalling his days in the Journal story. However, there’s a real stopper when it comes to reporter Sara Seyydin’s question, “What will you miss … about watching the NBA?”
After an incredible 13th year with Team Germany came to an end with its defeat at the hands of Lithuania yesterday, Dirk Nowitzki may be contemplating retirement – in fact, the Germany-based Sport 1 believes it’s a done deal.
