NBA

Dirk Nowitzki recalls hilarious rookie struggles ahead of his NBA Hall of Fame induction

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Ahead of his induction into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame this Saturday, Dirk Nowitzki has been appearing on numerous interviews reminiscing about his days on the NBA courts. The fourteen All-Star player, who played for the Mavericks during all of his illustrious career, recalled the struggles he faced in his first years in Texas.

The German center didn’t only have to endure getting used to the sport in the United States, but also overcame the culture shock as all he knew before becoming a professional was life back in Europe.

In a recent interview with Rachel Nichols, the former athlete joked about one of the biggest lessons he ever learned when starting out his life in Dallas. He recalled how he didn’t even know how to turn on the car’s air conditiong and would sweat every time he drove!

“I was driving it around, it worked great. And of course, the players were always killing me when I drove up to practice or the plane,” he said.

Nowitzki revealed that in his rookie year, the NBA decided to shorten the campaign to 50 games, so he thought it wasn’t worth it to buy a car as he would return to Europe once the season was over. So he opted to rent a car for the time being.