The Dallas legend opens up about the steep learning curve of his second career, navigating roster turnover and tactical shifts to find his voice on the screen.
Dirk Nowitzki has for decades around here developed a reputation as a very cool customer.
But he's now admitting that his new gig as a studio analyst for Amazon Prime Video’s NBA coverage had him "freaking out.''
"I was freaking myself out a little bit there in the first couple weeks,” Nowitzki told Shan & RJ on 105.3 The Fan as he begins his second season as a media guy. "It was hard at the beginning.''
How so?
Said the Dallas Mavs legend: “I’ve been out, obviously, seven years out of the league, and so at the beginning it was just trying to catch up. The players have turned over, and the front office, the coaching, and the style is all different. And so I played catch-up there for the first couple weeks, and I wanted to know all the teams that we had on.”
Nowitzki, who retired in 2019 after 21 seasons with the Mavs, added, “So I was watching a lot of hoops and going back the next day, and I’m trying to analyze. So I was freaking myself out a little bit there in the first couple weeks.''
The "freak-out'' eventually fadedm of course.
“Once the season got along a little bit more, I think I relaxed a little bit,'' Dirk said. I knew what teams were trying to do and with coaches and the style of play. And so I relaxed a little bit and was able to enjoy a little bit more in the new year and then going into the playoffs ...
“But it was a piece of work,” Nowitzki added. "I'm looking forward to year two.”
Taylor Rooks hosts the studio show. Nowitzki works on it alongside BFF Steve Nash, plus Blake Griffin, and Udonis Haslem.
Nowitzki has detailed how he is mindful of not trying to mimic the most popular NBA studio show.
"Nobody,'' he said, "is Charles (Barkley) and Shaq (O'Neal).''
"Inside the NBA'' moved from TNT to ESPN for the 2025-26 season. ... and that show does set the standard.
On Amazon, Nowitzki is developing a style all his own. ... and that includes sometimes being critical of players.
“What I try to do is be fair,” Nowitzki said. “Obviously, I want to celebrate the game, but if there’s time to criticize, I can also say that he should have done this. But I think what I always try to do is not make it personal. ...
“I’m not attacking the guy or his character, but in that play, he should have probably done this or switched that or made that pass,” Nowitzki said. “That’s how I want to criticize, not in a personal manner, and I think that’s what we all are trying to do, and I think it’s gotten over pretty well.”
