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Nowitzki, Neuner named top German athletes

Basketball superstar Dirk Nowitzki and biathlon powerhouse Magdalena Neuner have been named Germany’s “Athletes of the Year,” the country’s top sporting honour.

Published: 19 December 2011 10:12 CET

Nowitzki, Neuner named top German athletes

Photo: DPA

At a ceremony before 750 guests Sunday in Baden-Baden, Baden-Württemberg the pair made jokes and said they were grateful for the recognition by 1,500 journalists.

“Thanks to the sports journalists,” Nowitzki said jokingly via satellite video link. “You have proven for the first time that you understand something about basketball.”

Both towering figures in the German sports scene, this is Nowitzki’s first time being selected for the honour but Neuner’s second. She also received the prize in 2007.

Nowitzki, 33, and originally from Bavaria, just beat out 24-year-old Formula One World Championship driver Sebastian Vettel for the award.

A standout in the US National Basketball Association, the 2.13 metre tall Nowitzki won a Most Valuable Player award in 2007 and has led his Dallas Mavericks to 11 playoff appearances, including a championship title this year.

Nowitzki has also played for the German national basketball team since 1999, winning a bronze medal at the 2002 FIBA World Championship.

The 24-year-old Neuner, who is also a Bavarian, has won three medals at the Olympics, including two golds, earned 13 Biathlon World Championship medals and has won more than two-dozen World Cup races.

She announced earlier this month that she is retiring from competitive sports at the end of this winter season.

Last year’s Bundesliga champion Borussia Dortmund was also recognised with the journalists’ “Team of the Year” award.

The squad has won seven German championships and one UEFA Champions Cup since being formed in 1909.

The Local/DPA/mdm

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Spain's greatest-ever basketball player Pau Gasol retires

Spanish player Pau Gasol Saez attends a press conference to announce his retirement, at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, on October 5, 2021. (Photo by LLUIS GENE / AFP)

Gasol, the older brother of recently-released Memphis Grizzlies centre Marc Gasol, won the competition in 2009 and 2010 during his time at the Los Angeles Lakers.

Two years ago, he suffered a foot injury which threatened to end his career earlier than planned.

“It is a difficult decision. As you can imagine, it is difficult, after so many years, but it is a considered decision, you have to change gear a little, and know how to enjoy it,” ex-centre Gasol told reporters at a press conference in Barcelona.

“I wanted to end up playing and enjoying myself, not on crutches and with operations,” he added.

He was a six-time NBA All-Star after being named the league’s Rookie of the Year in 2002 and won his two NBA crowns alongside Kobe Bryant.

Gasol emotionally paid tribute to former Lakers team-mate Bryant, who died in January 2020 in a helicopter crash.

LOS ANGELES, CA - MAY 12: Pau Gasol #16 and Kobe Bryant #24 of the Los Angeles Lakers celebrate a play in the second quarter while taking on the Denver Nuggets in Game Seven of the Western Conference Quarterfinals in the 2012 NBA Playoffs on May 12, 2012 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by KEVORK DJANSEZIAN / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP) — Los Angeles Lakers stars Gasol and Bryant celebrate a play during the Western Conference Quarterfinals in the 2012 NBA Playoffs. Photo: KEVORK DJANSEZIAN/AFP

“One last word for my friend Kobe Bryant. I would have really liked for him to be here, but it’s not possible,” Gasol said with tears in his eyes.

“Life isn’t fair some times. He taught me how to be a better player, a better leader, I always considered him as a big brother,” he added.

‘The Golden Kids’

For Spain, Gasol, who also had spells with the Grizzlies, the Chicago Bulls, the San Antonio Spurs and the Milwaukee Bucks, claimed two Olympic silver medals and a bronze as well as three EuroBasket crowns.

He was the leader of his country’s generation nicknamed ‘The Golden Kids’ as he led a side including his sibling as well as former Grizzlies shooting guard Juan Carlos Navarro and ex-Portland TrailBlazers small forward Rudy Fernandez to the 2006 FIBA World Cup.

(L-R) Pau Gasol, Rudy Fernandez, Marc Gasol and Juan Carlos Navarro react as Spain wins the gold medal of the Eurobasket 2011 in Kaunas on September 18, 2011. Spain defeated France 98-85. AFP PHOTO / JANEK SKARZYNSKI (Photo by JANEK SKARZYNSKI / AFP)

The Catalan, standing at 2.16m, is among the continent’s greatest players in the NBA along with German Dirk Nowitzki, Croatian Drazen Petrovic, the “Greek Freak” Giannis Antetokounmpo and Frenchman Tony Parker, who he passed as EuroBasket’s leading scorer in 2017.

His last international appearance came at this summer’s Olympics in Tokyo during the quarter-final defeat to the USA.

He finished his club career with a Liga ACB title in Spain in June while with hometown club Barcelona but failed to clinch the EuroLeague.

“I am thankful to all. Having won one more league with Barca,” he said.

Gasol said he did not want to become a coach but indicated that his future still lay within the game he has graced for over 20 years. “Consultant or director… We’ll see. I’ve already started to speak with many NBA teams,” he said.

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