Dirk Nowitzki's NBA career spanned two decades, all of which he spent as a part of the Dallas Mavericks. One of the most well-respected superstars of the 2000s, Nowitzki was a perennial All-Star, a scoring machine, and an automatic from midrange. Dirk carried the Mavericks to relevance year after year, taking them to multiple NBA Finals and eventually winning one of the most incredible championships in the game's history.
The Big German's game wasn't predicated on explosive athleticism, although Dirk was quite strong and agile for a man his size. It was his elite footwork, his unerring consistency with his shot, and his excellent mentality that made Nowitzki as great as he was. But even with that being the case, being as consistently good at the top as Dirk was taking a lot of commitment to your body and to conditioning, something Nowitzki himself learned a bit late.
Back in the day, when sports science wasn't as advanced as it is now, even elite athletes ate mostly like normal people. Now, vegan, gluten-free, and sugar-free diets have become all the rage, but Dirk didn't much care for that early in his career. Speaking to Graham Bensinger, Nowitzki talked about his diet change and how it made things different for him.
"Beginning of my career in the late 90s, we didn't know that much about nutrition like you do now. I mean, now everybody's vegan and gluten-free and what not. Back in the day, maybe that wave was slowly starting, but I didn't really care about it. I didn't think it would make a difference for me that much. So it was basically like burgers and chicken sandwiches after games. Pasta before the game.
"And then, as you get older, you care more about your body and you learn more about your body, and what you put in it. So I completely changed my diet when I was 27-28. Oh, it was amazing. I always say, I would probably go back now and do it earlier.
"I was in my prime... I'm what, 27, 28, I should be feeling great. Why am I not feeling good? I started reading more and more and that's when I changed basically everything. Cut out sugar, no sodas, no desserts during the season, barely any alcohol... cut all red meat, so yeah, it was pretty strict there for the last 10 years or so of my career."
There is a lot to staying at the top of the game in a field as competitive as professional sports, and it seems Nowitzki realized in time to prolong his career. His dedication to winning was second to none, and he revolutionized the game in more ways than one. Dirk was a winner, something he showcased in 2011, and this big change surely contributed to how good he was during that championship run.