Dirk Nowitzki talks about the All-Star Game and his future

Note that Dirk and a German reporter talked for FIVE MINUTES in German before hand. I'm sorry, our "complete Mavs coverage" doesn't include a translator unfortunately. Maybe next year.

On familiar All-Star faces not being at the game this year

Yeah, it's a little sad. It's a little sad when I first got here. There's always Kobe, Tim Duncan, Shaq every year, and now I'm the old guy. I always remember my first All-Star game in Philly back in the day, it was unbelievable. So I'm sure some of these [new] guys are really enjoying every minute of this day. For me, I'm just happy to be back. It's been two tough years for me after winning it all, so I'm happy to be back and hopefully show something tomorrow.

On whether he even knows all the players on the team

Nah, I think I've met everybody.

On the evolution of the stretch power forward

It's part of the game changing as well. They changed the rules, they put in the zone, so now every four has to be able to move and shoot, put the ball on the floor a little bit. Just the power forward spot really changed a lot. Back in the day, it was a lot of back downs, a lot of iso's. The game went away from that. It's a pick and roll game now, you've got to be able to spread the floor. You've got to be able to go full-court, up and down, so it's been fun to watch. It's a more fun game to watch now today.

On what's left for Dirk to accomplish in his career

Man, I just love to compete still. It's fun to go out there and play with the young guys and maybe one day, compete for a championship again. That's what drives me. Winning is what drives me now. We've got a decent team this year. It's been fun again. Hopefully we can keep it up and keep competing at a high level for my last couple of years and we'll go from there.

On how this compares to his first All-Star Game

Well, I think I'll never forget my first. That was the most special one for me, being named an All-Star, how proud you are after all the work you put in. That was in Philly back in the day, that was in 2002. It was an amazing experience to be in the same locker room as all these guys I used to grow up watch playing. That was really special for me, and I'd say my first one was the most special one. But this one is nice because I had some knee problems last season and I wasn't sure what level I could come back to. I put a lot of work in last summer and it kind of paid off for me.

On German soccer

I don't think I'm going to have time to make it all the way out there, but I love soccer. We have a tough group, the group of death with USA, Ghana and Portugal, but I think we're going to get out of the group. We always make the semi-finals.

On whether he missed the All-Star Game last year

Yeah, it was my first time to not be here in a long time. It's good to be back, met some of these new guys that I've never played with in the All-Star Game. That's a pleasure.

On whether he'll ever play for Germany nationally

I'm not sure if I'll ever play with them again in the summers. Our goal was obviously the Olympics in 2016 in Brazil, but I'm not sure. By that point, I'll be 37. I'm not sure.

On his future

I want to become a free agent this summer, I'll be 36, and I'll probably sign on for a couple more years and probably finish my career here. We'll see, maybe in a couple of years I'll still want to play, but right now I don't see it.

On the season with the Mavericks so far

Decent so far. We're in sixth place in the West so hopefully we can keep it up and make the playoffs. That's our goal. We didn't make the playoffs last season which was very disappointing, so we're hoping next year we can reach the playoffs.

On his comments yesterday about liking to watch Steph Curry (conveniently located in the chair to his right)

I love watching Steph. I love watching Kevin Durant play in OKC, he can score so many points with ease. I love watching Carmelo Anthony, he can score with the best of them. Yeah, I sit at home a lot and watch League Pass at night. I'm a big fan of the game still. I enjoy watching these guys play.

On the moment where he went to the locker room to cry after winning the championship

It was one of the most special moments in my career. To work for something that long and that hard, that was the moment I'll never forget for the rest of my life. I just had to go back in the locker room and kind of refocus, take a deep breathe, and let my emotions out for a second. And after I did that for five minutes, I was good.

On his former teammate Zhizhi Wang retiring in China this year (from a Chinese reporter)

I heard about that! The game's going to miss him. He's a great player. We had a lot of fun when we were in Dallas together for a couple of years. He had us over for breakfast one time, he was cooking us some eggs. Yeah, so he's a good man.

On whether he prepares different for this game, compared to any other

You know, now, I'm not going to play as much as ten year ago, so this is more a game of athletes and highfliers, not so much a game of the guy who shoots from 15 feet. But I'm going to be out there and have some fun and compete with some of the guys who I haven't competed with before. There's some first timers here, which is great to see. It should be fun.

On whether he's tried on the sleeved jerseys

I have not. I'm looking forward to that. ("Not to wear it?") Not to wear it.

On whether he's perfected the fallaway

Over the years when you get older, it's an easier shot to get off. Early in your career, you're full of energy, you can drive all the time - right, left, you never get tired. But as you get older, all the driving, all the pounding is hard all game. The fadeaway is just something you can always get off, you don't have to work as hard, you don't get pounded as much on. If you watch [Jordan] his last couple of years, it was all in-between game, one dribble and up, and fadeaways. If you still want to score as you get older, that's a shot, an in-between game you have to have.

On whether there was a particularly moment in time when he started shooting more of those fadeaways

I don't really know, I think I mixed it in when I was younger occasionally, but obviously never a heavy dose like that. Yeah, like I said, it started when the defense really plays up tight on me, and that's a way I can create a little bit of separation. That's all I need, I'm seven feet tall. I can just shoot over people, and that little stepback just creates enough separation for me to get the ball up and get the ball over the defender's hand, and then I like my chances if I get it up.

On who is using the "Dirk fadeaway" the best

Kobe, probably in the game, did it the best. He's so talented, he can do whatever he want. I remember we played them in LA one time, the shot clock was winding down, and he shot a lefty three out of the corner. I don't think there's one shot that Kobe can't do.

On whether it's weird not seeing Kobe

Yeah, I thought he was coming. I don't know if he'll show up for the game tomorrow. Yeah, he'll come tomorrow. You know, it's weird not to see all these guys. Tim Duncan, every year I've been an All-Star Tim was here, KG was here, Kobe was here, Shaq was here every year. Now I'm the oldest guy here, which feels a little weird. In my head, I don't really feel 35. I'm definitely enjoying these last couple of years competing against these young guys, and then I'll slowly go away.